months. Mirabeau alone preserved his presence of mind in the midst of
this ruin. His character of tribune ceases, that of the statesman
begins, and in this he is even greater than in the other. There, when
all else creep and crawl, he acts with firmness, advancing boldly. The
Revolution in his brain is no longer a momentary idea--it is a settled
plan. The philosophy of the eighteenth century, moderated by the
prudence of policy, flows easily, and modelled from his lips. His
eloquence, imperative as the law, is now the talent of giving force to
reason. His language lights and inspires every thing; and though almost
alone at this moment, he has the courage to remain alone. He braves
envy, hatred, murmurs, supported by the strong feeling of his
superiority. He dismisses with disdain the passions which have hitherto
beset him. He will no longer serve them when his cause no longer needs
them. He speaks to men now only in the name of his genius. This title is
enough to cause obedience to him. His power is based on the assent which
truth finds in all minds, and his strength again reverts to him. He
contests with all parties, and rises superior to one and all. All hate
him because he commands; and all seek him because he can serve or
destroy them. He does not give himself up to any one, but negotiates
with each: he lays down calmly on the tumultuous element of this
assembly, the basis of the reformed constitution: legislation, finance,
diplomacy, war, religion, political economy, balances of power, every
question he approaches and solves, not as an Utopian, but as a
politician. The solution he gives is always the precise mean between the
theoretical and the practical. He places reason on a level with manners,
and the institutions of the land in consonance with its habits. He
desires a throne to support the democracy, liberty in the chambers, and
in the will of the nation, one and irresistible in the government. The
characteristic of his genius, so well defined, so ill understood, was
less audacity than justness. Beneath the grandeur of his expression is