They are ignorant about cabinets， courts， populations， treaties， precedents， timely forms and requisite style. Their guide and counselor in foreign relations is Brissot whose pre-eminence is based on their ignorance and who， exalted into a statesman， becomes for a few months the most conspicuous figure in Europe.[47] To whatever extent a European calamity may be attributed to any one man， this one is to be attributed to him. It is this wretch， born in a pastry-cook's shop， brought up in an attorney's office， formerly a police agent at 150 francs per month， once in league with scandal-mongers and black-mailers，[48] a penny-a-liner， busybody， and meddler， who， with the half-information of a nomad， scraps of newspaper ideas and reading-room lore，[49] added to his scribblings as a writer and his club declamation， directs the destinies of France and starts a war in Europe which is to destroy six millions of lives. In the attic where his wife is washing his shirts， he enjoys rebuking rulers and， on the 20th of October， in the tribune，[50] he begins by insulting thirty foreign sovereigns. Such keen， intense enjoyment is the stuff on which the new fanaticism daily feeds itself. Madame Roland herself delights， with evident complacency， in it， something which can be seen in the two famous letters in which， with a supercilious tone， she first instructs the King and next the Pope.[51] Brissot， at bottom， regards himself as a Louis XIV， and expressly invites the Jacobins to imitate the haughty ways of the Great Monarch.[52] -- To the tactlessness of the intruder， and the touchiness of the parvenu， we can add the rigidity of the sectarian. The Jacobins， in the name of abstract rights， deny historic rights； they impose from above， and by force， that truth of which they are the apostles， and allow themselves every provocation which they prohibit to others.
"Let us tell Europe，" cries Isnard，[53] "that ten millions of Frenchmen， armed with the sword， with the pen， with reason， with eloquence， might， if provoked， change the face of the world and make tyrants tremble on their thrones of clay.""Wherever a throne exists，" says Hérault de Séchelles， "there is an enemy."[54]
"An honest peace between tyranny and liberty，" says Brissot， "is impossible. Our Constitution is an eternal anathema to absolute monarchs . . . It places them on trial， it pronounces judgment on them； it seems to say to each： to-morrow thou have ceased to be or shalt be king only through the people. . . War is now a national benefit， and not to have war is the only calamity to be dreaded." [55]
" Tell the king，" says Gensonné， "that the war is a must， that public opinion demands it， that the safety of the empire makes it a law."[56]
"The state we are in，" concludes Vergniaud， "is a veritable state of destruction that may lead us to disgrace and death. So then to arms！
to arms！ Citizens， freemen， defend your liberty， confirm the hopes of that of the human race. . . Lose not the advantage of your position.
Attack now that there is every sign of complete success. . . The spirits of past generations seem to me crowding into this temple to conjure you， in the name of the evils which slavery had compelled them to endure， to protect the future generations whose destinies are in your hands！ Let this prayer be granted！ Be for the future a new Providence！ Ally yourselves with eternal justice！"[57]
Among the Marseilles speakers there is no longer any room for serious discussion. Brissot， in reply to the claim made by the Emperor on behalf of the princes' property in Alsatia， replies that "the sovereignty of the people is not bound by the treaties of tyrants."[58] As to the gatherings of the émigrés， the Emperor having yielded on this point， he will yield on the others.[59] Let him formally renounce all combinations against France.
"I want war on the 10th of February，" says Brissot， "unless we have received his renunciation."No explanations； it is satisfaction we want； "to require satisfaction is to put the Emperor at our mercy."[60] The Assembly， so eager to start the quarrel， usurps the King's right to take the first step and formally declares war， fixing the date.[61] -- The die is now cast.
"They want war，" says the Emperor， "and they shall have it."Austria immediately forms an alliance with Prussia， threatened， like herself， with revolutionary propaganda.[62] By sounding the alarm belles the Jacobins， masters of the Assembly， have succeeded in bringing about that "monstrous alliance，" and， from day to day， this alarm sounds the louder. One year more， thanks to this policy， and France will have all Europe for an enemy and as its only friend， the Regency of Algiers， whose internal system of government is about the same as her own.
IV.
Secret motives of the leaders. -- Their control compromised by peace.
-- Discontent of the rich and cultivated class. -- Formation and increase of the party of order. -- The King and this party reconciled.
Behind their carmagnoles[63] we can detect a design which they will avow later on.
"We were always obstructed by the Constitution，" Brissot is to say， "and nothing but war could destroy the Constitution."[64]