As we begin summer it is always a pleasure to visit old friends in the library. One such book is Recollections by Alexis De Tocqueville. In particular, one should value the translation by George Lawrence, edited by J. P. Mayer and A. P. Kerr, and published by Doubleday in 1970. Tocqueville's Recollections presents a vivid image of King Louie Philippe who sat astride the French economy and rode it into the dirt in 1848. What makes this book so significant is the analytical judgement of Tocqueville in assessing the character of the prince. And, with only a few word changes, to bring his topical writing to the present.
The objective of the puzzle is to select words that bring life to Tocqueville's writings. You must substitute words of your own choice for those that are bold. To help you along, I have provided a number of alternative words. Feel free to substitute as you see fit to make Tocqueville's writings live. Use a smaller number of alternative words and phrases than I have chosen and you win.
***
In (1830) the triumph of the (middle class) was decisive and so complete that the narrow limits of the (bourgeoisie) encompassed all political powers, franchises, prerogatives, indeed the whole government, to the exclusion, in law, of all beneath it and, in fact, of all that had once been above it. Thus the (bourgeoisie) became not only the sole director of society, but also, one might say, its cultivator. It settled into every office, prodigiously increased the number of offices, and made a habit of living off the public Treasury almost as much as from its own industry.
No sooner had this occurred than a marked lull ensued in every political passion, a sort of universal shrinkage, and at the same time a rapid growth in public wealth. The spirit peculiar to the (middle class) became the general spirit of the government; it dominated foreign policy as well as home affairs. This spirit was active and industrious, often dishonest, generally orderly, but sometimes rash because of vanity and selfishness, timid by temperament, moderate in all things except a taste of well-being, and mediocre; a spirit that, combined with that of the ( ) people or of the (aristocracy), could work wonders, but that by itself never produces anything but a government without either virtues or greatness. Mistress of all, as no (aristocracy) ever has been or perhaps ever will be, the (middle class), which must be called the ruling class, entrenched in its power and shortly afterwards, in its selfishness, treated government like a private business, each member thinking of public affairs only in so far as they could be turned to his private profit, and in his petty prosperity easily forgetting the people.
Posterity, which sees only striking crimes and generally fails to notice smaller vices, will perhaps never know how far the government of that time towards the end took on the features of a trading company whose every operation is directed to the benefit that its members may derive therefrom. These vices were linked to the natural instincts of the dominant class, to its absolute power, and to the enervation and corruption of the age. (King Louis-Philippe) did much to make them grow. He was the accident that made the illness fatal.
Although this (prince) sprang from (the noblest family in Europe) and had, buried in the depths of his soul, a full measure of hereditary pride, certainly not considering himself like any other man, he nevertheless shared most of the good and bad qualities associated primarily with the lower ranks of society. He had regular mores and wanted those around him to have the same. He was orderly in his behavior, simple in his habits, and moderate in his taste; he was naturally on the side of law and hostile to any excess; sober in all his acts if not in his desires; kind, although without sensitivity; greedy and soft. He had (no) raging passions, (or) ruinous weaknesses, (or) striking vices, and only one kingly virtue, (courage). His politeness was extreme but without discrimination or dignity ^politeness of a tradesman rather than of a prince. He had no taste for letters or the fine arts, but cared passionately for (business). He had a prodigious memory which was capable of relentlessly recalling the smallest details. His conversation was prolix, diffuse, original, anecdotal, full of little facts and wit and meaning, in short of all the pleasures of the mind that are possible in the absence of delicacy and elevation of spirit. His mind was distinguished, but restricted and clogged by the meanness and narrowness of his soul. He was enlightened, subtle and tenacious, but all his thoughts turned to the useful, and he was filled with such a deep contempt for truth and such a profound disbelief in virtue that they clouded his vision, not only making it impossible for him to see the beauty that always goes with truth and honesty, but also preventing him from understanding their frequent usefulness. He had a profound understanding of men, but only in respect to their vices; in matters of religion he had the disbelief of the (eighteenth century) , and in politics, the scepticism of (nineteenth). Having no belief himself, he had no faith in the belief of others. He was by nature fond of power and of dishonest courtiers, as if he really had been born (on a throne). His ambition, which was limited only by prudence, never either satisfied or carried him away, but always remained close (to the ground).
There have been many princes who resemble this portrait, but what was peculiar to (Louis-Philippe) was the analogy, or rather the kinship and consanguinity between his defects and those of his age; it was this that made him an attractive (prince), but one who was singularly dangerous and corrupting for his contemporaries, and particularly for the class that held the power. Placed at the head of the (aristocracy) he might perhaps have had a happy influence on it. At the head of the (bourgeoisie), he pushed it down the slope that was by nature only too inclined to go. It was a marriage of vices, and this union, which first provided the strength of the one and then brought about the demoralization of the other, ended by bringing both to destruction.
....
This (prince) really did improvise the answers he made, even the most critical moments, to the great State bodies; he was as fluent on these occasions as in his conversation, but he spoke with less felicity and spice. Generally in such cases his utterances were a deluge of commonplaces weighed down by false and exaggerated gestures, a great effort to seem touched, and great thumps on his chest. At such times he was often obscure, for he would start off boldly, headfirst, so to speak, on long sentences whose duration he had not measured and whose end he had not foreseen, from which he would finally break his way out, smashing the grammar and leaving his meaning unfinished. Usually his style on these solemn occasions reminded one of the sentimental jargon of the (late eighteenth-century), copied with facile fluency and singular lack of accuracy; (Jean-Jacques) refurbished by a vulgar nineteenth-century kitchenmaid. ...
On the other hand the preponderant influence of (Louis-Philippe) acquired by taking advantage of the mistakes and, especially, the vices of his adversaries prevented anybody from straying very far from that prince's ideas, lest by doing so they lose all hope of success, and so reduced the differences between parties to slight nuances, and the contest, to a quarrel over words.
.... I doubt if every a (parliament) has ever contained more varied and brilliant talents than ours of the closing years of the (July Monarchy). But I can assert that these great orators were very bored with listening to each other, and, what was worse, the whole nation was bored with hearing them. Gradually the nation became accustomed to regarding the debates in (parliament) as exercises of wit rather than serious discussions, and to thinking of the differences between the (parliamentary) parties, ^rity, left-center and dynastic opposition ^uarrels between the children of one family over the distribution of their inheritance. Such glaring instances of corruption, accidentally discovered, suggested that other scandals lay hidden everywhere and convinced the nation that the entire governing class was corrupt. So the nation conceived a quiet contempt for that class, which was generally interpreted as a trusting and satisfied submission.
The country was at that time divided into two parts, or rather into two unequal zones; in the upper one, which was meant to contain the entire political life of the nation, languor, impotence, immobility and boredom reigned; but in the lower one an attentive observer could easily see from certain feverish and irregular symptoms that political life was beginning to find expression.
...Provided with all the machinery of liberty, everything seemed to combine to produce an immense royal power, a power so absolute that it bordered on despotism, and that was effortlessly produced by the regular, peaceful movement of the machine. ...He was concerned only with keeping it in order and using it in accordance with his own views, forgetting the society upon which the ingenious mechanism was poised; he was like a man refusing to believe that his house had been on fire because he had the key in his pocket....
***
Here are a few words that may be changed in De Tocqueville's writings, to bring his musings up to Y2K for our Country, rather than France.
Word /phrase/number list:
1996
socialistic movement
cabal
Democratic party
President
modest family in Arkansas
equality
60's
his generation
to the office
at hand
F. D. Roosevelt
Congress
twentieth century
delete word
add word
****
Please note. In his classic, Synonymes published in 1849, George Crabb had this to say about a cabal: "The object of a cabal is always petty, and mostly contemptible; its end is to gain favor, credit, and influence; to be the distributor of places, honours, emoluments, reputation, and all such contingencies as are eagerly sought for by the great mass of mankind; at court it makes and unmakes ministers, generals and officers; in the republick of letters it destroys the reputation of authors, and blast the success of their works; in publik societies it stops the course of equity, and nips merit in the bud; in the world at large it is the never-ending source of vexation, broils, and animosities." pp 489.
***
Joe Wortham is a consultant to the biotechnology industry. A long love-affair
with old books is enough to remind him that little new is of this world. The
processes of discovery, interpretation and confirmation by those who labor in
the Sciences help, but do not always avoid pitfalls from false prophets. As
biotechnology builds on foundations laid by other Sciences, and is open to
critical survey by its practitioners; so should a citizen's political
awareness be built on an understanding of the past so old mistakes are not to
be repeated.
Our Republic will survive. Revised July 4, 2002. God Bless America!
jsw/wp
boyking
990614c
****
Joe Wortham's Home Page , About Joe Wortham Directory