The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-03-03


Jean Paul Marat. the Peoples Friend,
is the title Of new work by Ernest Bel
fort Bax. author of several works on phi
losophy and socialism. The title is likely
TO he something of a surprise to the gen,
eral public, inasmuch as the character OF
Marat has been believed for rather more
than a hundred years to N the incarnd,
ton OF all that was devilish in the French
Revolution. Few, perhaps. have stopped
TO think how far this impression may h,
due to the efforts of politicians strongly
opposed to democratic Institutions tC
discredit all the revoutionists of the
Reign of Terror. The present writer has
endeavored to present what he believes
to he the true Marat. without prejudice OF
favor; and whether one agrees with his
view or not, the work cannot fail TO be
interesting and valuable to the student
of history.
The principle which the author has
conducted his Investigations is indicated
quite clearly in the opening paragraph of
the preface, which reads, in part, as fol-
lows:
LAS being perhaps the hest abused
man in modern history. the Peoples
Friend has always exercised a fasci-
nation over the writer Of this volume.
The verdict OF the world on pub
lie character as well as on moral
worth in general ana its opposite like
the public opinion Of the world on
other matters, represents only too
often the verdict or the opinion OF
class prejudice and ignorance. II Is.
in fact. fairly safe plan to ascer-
tain for ones self what most people
thiak on such questions. and then
assume the opposite to be true The
result is a good working hypothesis.
which remains. Of course, to he pos
sfblN modified OF even abandoned by
subsequent invt stigation, hut which is
generally the nearest approach to
truth we can make in the absence of
the requisite knowledge for forming
Al unbiased judgment Acting on this
principle, the very eN' raVaGance Of
abuse with which Marat has been
sailed suggested to me the probability
that AZ exceptionally noble and dis
interested character lay behind it
Modern research on the subject of the
French Revolution has certainly more
than justified this assumption. The
old legend IF the monster Marat has
been 50 completely blown to the winds
that any historian who attempted to
reslIsCiJate il nowadays would as
siIreily put himself out Of court with
all serious students of the French
Revolution
The rest of the preface is devoted to a
list of thu authorities from whom Mr.
Bax has gained his information The
book is illustrated with three portraits
Of Marat. a picture of the house where
he was born, and two or three other pic
lures which add interest To the work.
Besides the preface there is an intro
duction mainly given up to a general sur
rey OF the conditions under which the
subject of the biography lived; and the
review Of the eighteenth century given
herein is worth reading, If nothing else
in the book We're The author says:
The eighteenth century represents
IN a sense a unique division of uni
NeTSll history. he SiNTgpOth
tury saw the breakup in its older
form Of the political, social, and relig-
ious systems of the Middle Ages But
though the real life of medieval insti-
tutions was passing away the forms
their outer husk-stiil remained in
MANY cases intact These forms in
the course of the social evolution in
the second half OF the sixteenth CEN
fury and during the sel enteenth be-
came gradually filled with d new con-
tent, which completely changed their
nature. To enter in detail into the
character Of these changes would
carry us too far. They were how
ever. sEery where characterized by two
main featurcs-the substitution of
bureaucracy or officialIsm for the per
sonal or group relation. ana the fusion
OF local autonomies INTO centralized
state systems. These two features re-
acted upon one another. and were. in
fact. parts OF the same movement
Bureaucracy tended to be the condi-
non at the. centralized State; and on
The other hand. the centralized State
NHei II baa'HfflF a conscious purpose.
with monarchs and statesmen. in
VOWED the weakening abolition of
the personal or group relation. and
the consequent creation Of an official
class Of bureaucracy with all its at
tendant forms.
I9eudal forms We're preserved as the
enc2sement under cover OF which bu-
reaucratc realities were called into.
being Immediately by the rapacity Of
kings and courtiers, this rapacity it.
self having been called forth by the
fGi of
Its World-market and its new finance
based thereupon. with all that this in
VOWED economically and socially. But |
the eighteenth century was not far ad-
TanCed before ii became oby-fot-s that
the whilom new reality itself had be-
come crystallized and was incompati-
Die with further progress on the same
lines The only branch OF human af-
LARS that escaped stagnation WAS the
speculative. In spite If all re1rrssive
Laws. in spite of the sword of the cx-
ecutioner. theoretically suspended over
the head OF any exponent Of views
hostile to the status quo. political and
reilsious, the Intellectual revolt head
en bA the philosophers. went on apace
Apart from this, II was not only 20
ntcaHH mat the eightesn century
"dSone Of arrested Development It's
art its literature. and its social lie
bore the Impress Of the stiffness which
It's pohtical side 50 prominently ex-
limited. Pictures la Vatican Louis
eeuinze furniture. pcTiwigs. and shoe
buckles all testify to the rornaiisrn
that flowed from the arrested de-
Velopment in the body polite and So
cial and these charact eristics were
not confined to France alone France
was then setting the tone to an the /
rest 81 Europe in manners. In art in
literature, and to some extent In public
p'Htcy- England had her po.ie her
samuel johnson. her Sir Godfrey |
knelleT- her new parish churches with
their sham ciassicism and their be
scroiled monuments and tombstnnes.
and her formal gardens with stone
arbors. grOttces, and statuary. In
Germany. all the century $ distinctive |
art and architecture-alI that there
was IN addition To the traditional me- |
dleN al cNamples-wss no more than /
sfafish imitation of French models
As Tor the political forms In Ger
many, the court Of every petty poten-
tale was more or less successful at
tempt to emulate Versailles alike in
Its etiquette and amusements and in
the public policy tsave the n-arkD that
issued from il.
France being therefore the classical
land of the political system which SUI
TefSeded medieval feudal.sn uroupr-
the land where the system Of .entfaI-
lzation ana bureaucracy had been
carried out more logically than In any
other-France became also the classi
cal land of the political Revolution
that was To inaugUrate the BopuIar
political forms under which the eco
monte realities of nineteenth century,
capitalism should work In England
post-medicVal ofiicialism never reach
ed the point IL did Ia France and the
court oligarchy never showed the
same capacity for eXtortion. English
taxation WIS not so oppressive as
French, and English finance never
reached the hopeless confusion and ea-
tingl"ment Of that Of France As for
"