The Revolution provides an internal outlet and an unlimited career. -Effect of this. - Exigencies and pretensions of the modern man. -Theoretical rule of selection among rivals. - Popular suffrage raised to be lord and judge. - Consequence of its verdict. - Unworthiness of its choice.
But the Revolution arrived and the ambitions which， under the ancient Régime， found a field abroad or cooled down at home， arose on the natal soil and suddenly expanded beyond all calculation. After 1789， France resembles a hive in a state of excitement； in a few hours， in the brief interval of an August morning， each insect puts forth two huge wings， soars aloft and "all whirl together pell-mell；" many fall to the ground half cut to pieces and begin to crawl upward as before；others， with more strength or with better luck， ascend and glitter on the highways of the atmosphere. - Every great highway and every other road is open to everybody through the decrees of the Constituent-Assembly， not only for the future， but even immediately. The sudden dismissal of the entire ruling staff， executive， or consultative， political， administrative， provincial， municipal， ecclesiastical， educational， military， judicial and financial， summon to take office all who covet it and who have a good opinion of themselves. All previously existing conditions， birth， fortune， education， old family and all apprenticeships， customs and ways which retard and limit advancement， are abolished： There are no longer any guarantees or sponsors； all Frenchmen are eligible to all employments； all grades of the legal and social hierarchy are conferred by a more or less direct election， a suffrage becoming more and more popular， by a mere numerical majority. Consequently， in all branches of the government under central or local authority and patronage， there is the installation of a new staff of officials. The transposition which everywhere substitutes the old inferior to the old superior， is universal，[19] "lawyers for judges， bourgeois for statesmen， former plebeians for former nobles， soldiers for officers， officers for generals， curés for bishops， vicars for curés， monks for vicars， stock-jobbers for financiers， self-taught persons for administrators， journalists for publicists， rhetoricians for legislators， and the poor for the rich." A sudden jump from the bottom to the top of the social ladder by a few， from the lowest to the highest rung， from the rank of sergeant to that of major-general， from the condition of a pettifogger or starving newspaper-hack to the possession of supreme authority， even to the effective exercise of omnipotence and dictatorship - such is the capital， positive， striking work of the Revolution.
At the same time， and as an after-effect， a revolution is going on in minds and the moral effect of the show is greater and more lasting than the events themselves. The minds have been stirred to their very depths； stagnant passions and slumbering pretensions are aroused. The multitude of offices presented and expected vacancies "has excited the thirst for power， stimulated self-esteem， and fired the hopes of men the most inept. An fierce， gross presumption has freed the ignorant and the foolish of any feeling of modesty or incompetence； they have deemed themselves capable of everything because the law awards public office simply to the able. Everybody had a perspective glimpse of gratified ambition； the soldier dreamt only of displacing the officer， the officer of becoming general， the clerk of supplanting the head administrator， the lawyer of yesterday of the supreme court， the curéof becoming bishop， the most frivolous littérateur of seating himself on the legislative bench. Places and positions， vacant due to the promotion of so many parvenus， provided in their turn a vast career to the lower classes. Seeing a public functionary issue out of nothingness， where is the shoeblack whose soul would not stir with ambition？" - This new sentiment must be taken into account： for， whether reasonable or not， it is going to last， maintain its energy， stimulate men with extraordinary force[20] and become one of the great incentives of will and action. Henceforth， government and administration are to become difficult matters； the forms and plans of the old social architecture are no longer applicable； like construction is not possible with materials of a different kind， whether with stable or unstable materials， with men who do not dream of quitting their condition or with men who think of nothing but that.