There it is， completely in his hands； other authorities to him are merely for show or as instruments.[22] The mutes of the Corps Législatif come annually to Paris to keep silent for four months； one day he will forget to convoke them， and nobody will remark their absence. - As to the Tribunat， which talks too much， he will at first reduce its words to a minimum "by putting it on the diet of laws；"afterward， through the interposition of the senate， which designates retiring members， he gets rid of troublesome babblers； finally， and always through the interposition of the senate， titular interpreter， guardian， and reformer of the constitution， he ventilates and then suppresses the Tribunat itself. - The senate is the grand instrument by which he reigns； he commands it to furnish the senatus-consultes of which he has need. Through this comedy played by him above， and through another complementary comedy which he plays below， the plebiscite， he transforms his ten-year consulate into a consulate for life， and then into an empire， that is to say， into a permanent， legal， full， and perfect dictatorship. In this way the nation is handed over to the absolutism of a man who， being a man， cannot fail to think of his own interest before all others. It remains to be seen how far and for how long a time this interest， as he comprehends it， or imagines it， will accord with the interest of the public. All the better for France should this accord prove complete and permanent； all the worse for France should it prove partial and temporary. It is a terrible risk， but inevitable. There is no escape from anarchy except through despotism， with the chance of encountering in one man， at first a savior and then a destroyer， with the certainty of henceforth belonging to an unknown will fashioned by genius and good sense， or by imagination and egoism， in a soul fiery and disturbed by the temptations of absolute power， by success and universal adulation， in a despot responsible to no one but himself， in a conqueror condemned by the impulses of conquest to regard himself and the world under a light growing falser and falser.
Such are the bitter fruits of social dissolution： the authority of the state will either perish or become perverted； each uses it for his own purposes， and nobody is disposed to entrust it to an external arbitrator， and the usurpers who seize it only remain trustee on condition that they abuse it； when it works in their hands it is only to work against its office. It must be accepted when， for want of better or fear of worse， through a final usurpation， it falls into the only hands able to restore it， organize it， and apply it at last to the service of the public.
____________________________________________________________________Notes：
[1] "The Revolution，" P.193 and following pages， also p.224 and following pages. The provisions of the constitution of the year III， somewhat less anarchical， are analogous； those of the "Mountain"constitution (year II) are so anarchical that nobody thought of enforcing them.
[2] "The Revolution，" vol. III.， pp.446， 450， 476.
[3] Sauzay， "Histoire de la persecution révolutionnaire dans le département du Doubs，" X.， 472 (Speech of Briot to the five-hundred， Aug.29， 1799)： "The country seeks in vain for its children； it finds the chouans， the Jacobins， the moderates， and the constitutionalists of '91 and '93， clubbists， the amnestied， fanatics， scissionists and antiscissionists； in vain does it call for republicans."[4] "The Revolution，" III.， 427， 474. - Rocquain， "L'état de la France au 18 Brumaire，" 360， 362： "Inertia or absence of the national agents.
. . It would be painful to think that a lack of salary was one of the causes of the difficulty in establishing municipal administrations. In 1790， 1791， and 1792， we found our fellow-citizens emulously striving after these gratuitous offices and even proud of the disinterestedness which the law prescribed." (Report of the Directory， end of 1795.)After this date public spirit is extinguished， stifled by the Reign of Terror. - Ibid.， 368， 369： "Deplorable indifference for public offices. . . . Out of seven town officials appointed in the commune of Laval， only one accepted， and that one the least capable. It is the same in the other communes." - Ibid.， 380 (Report of the year VII)：
"General decline of public spirit." - Ibid.， 287 (Report by Lacuée， on the 1st military division， Aisne， Eure-et-Loire， Loiret， Oise， Seine， Seine-et-Marne， (year IX)： "Public spirit is dying out and is even gone."[5] Rocquain， Ibid.， p.27 (Report of Fran？ois de Nantes， on the 8th military division ，Vaucluse， Bouches-du-Rh？ne， Var， Basses-Alpes， and Alpes-Maratimes， year IX)： "Witnesses， in some communes， did not dare furnish testimony， and， in all， the justices of the peace were afraid of making enemies and of not being re-elected. It was the same with the town officials charged with prosecutions and whom their quality as elected and temporary officials always rendered timid." - Ibid.， 48：
"All the customs-directors complained of the partiality of the courts.
I have myself examined several cases in which the courts of Marseilles and Toulon decided against the plain text the law and with criminal partiality. - Archives nationales， series F7， Reports "on the situation， on the spirit of the public，" in many hundreds of towns， cantons， and departments， from the year III to the year VIII and after.
[6] Cf. "The Revolution，" III.， book IX.， ch. I. - Rocquain， passim. -Schmidt， "Tableaux de la Révolution fran？aise，" III.， parts 9 and 10.
- Archives nationales， F7， 3250 (Letter of the commissioner of the executive directory， Fructidor 23， year VII)： "Armed mobs on the road between Saint-Omer and Arras have dared fire on the diligences and rescue from the gendarmerie the drawn conscripts." - Ibid.， F7， 6565.