appreciated or conceived. The power of a part of his subjects was an
insurmountable barrier to the tyranny of the prince; and the monarch,
who felt the almost divine character which he enjoyed in the eyes of
the multitude, derived a motive for the just use of his power from the
respect which he inspired. High as they were placed above the people,
the nobles could not but take that calm and benevolent interest in
its fate which the shepherd feels towards his flock; and without
acknowledging the poor as their equals, they watched over the destiny of
those whose welfare Providence had entrusted to their care. The people
never having conceived the idea of a social condition different from its
own, and entertaining no expectation of ever ranking with its chiefs,
received benefits from them without discussing their rights. It grew
attached to them when they were clement and just, and it submitted
without resistance or servility to their exactions, as to the inevitable
visitations of the arm of God. Custom, and the manners of the time,
had moreover created a species of law in the midst of violence, and
established certain limits to oppression. As the noble never suspected
that anyone would attempt to deprive him of the privileges which
he believed to be legitimate, and as the serf looked upon his own
inferiority as a consequence of the immutable order of nature, it is
easy to imagine that a mutual exchange of good-will took place between
two classes so differently gifted by fate. Inequality and wretchedness
were then to be found in society; but the souls of neither rank of men
were degraded. Men are not corrupted by the exercise of power or debased
by the habit of obedience, but by the exercise of a power which they
believe to be illegal and by obedience to a rule which they consider
to be usurped and oppressive. On one side was wealth, strength, and
leisure, accompanied by the refinements of luxury, the elegance of
taste, the pleasures of wit, and the religion of art. On the other was
labor and a rude ignorance; but in the midst of this coarse and ignorant