La Vie Chere et la Mouvement Social sous la Terreur by Albert MathiezReview by: Henry E. BourneThe American Historical Review, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Jul., 1927), pp. 858-860Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1837880 .

Accessed: 25/06/2014 01:36

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

Oxford University Press and American Historical Association are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize,preserve and extend access to The American Historical Review.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.12 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 01:36:25 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

858 Rcvicws of Books

which in itself implied an affirmation of the integrity of the Empire. In- (leed, the prinices affectedl to be defendini- the rights of the Empire against the Emperor himself, and it was as " Vindex Libertatis Ger- maniae" that they acclaimed their royal ally.

But, whatever the character of the princes' act, andl however remiss they mnay have been in their duty to the Germiian cause, the detachment of thie Three Bishoprics from the Empire was in accord with the logic of events. The proof is found in the ease with vhiclh it vas accomplished. The bonds that held them to the Empire had become purely formal; their ctultural ties were all with France; they belonged to the " Pays Welches"; whatever Germanism they had ever had was well-niigh extinct; more than once Metz protested that it was a citce galliquc. As for the Empire, it had long heen undergoilng a double transformationi-shrinlking in size, and in the process becoming less and less heterogenious, more anid more exclu- sively German. And to the extent that it became German, it weakened its hold upon the non-German. It began to crumble at the edges. Small woll(ler that the borderlands yielded to the centrifugal impulse, and that in the fullness of time the Three Bishoprics should fall into the hands of the kinig of France, almost without effort on his part or struggle on theirs.

Such is Dr. Zeller's interpretation of the occupation of Metz. There canl be nothing but admiration for the pains witlh which he has collected and(I correlated his evidence and the skill with which he has developed his tlhesis. But he himilself would be the last to expect unanimous acceptance of all hiis conclusions. The " significance " of an even-t is, after all, some- wlhat a imiatter of individual judgment. And beyond the Rhine, at least, there are likely to be few who will condone, even in the light of the " logic of events ", a pact wvhich their compatriot J.anssen branded as " a monu- meint of Germani shamie ", or a surrender which Lamprecht denounced as " all act of treason ". And even on this side of the Rhinie there may be somne who will ponder the word of Michelet and wonder if, after all, it was worth wlhile: " We kept Metz, Toul, alnd Verdun, an admirable bit of the Empire. But what was of more value, the good opinion of the Empire and the friendship of Germany, that we did not keep; that we lost forever." And vet, happily, niot forcver; since Michelet wrote we have lhad Locarno.

THEODORE COLLIER.

La Vic Chl i-e et ie Mouvemient Social solls la Terre ur. Par ALBERT

MATHIIEZ, Charge du Cours d'Histoire de la Revolution Franuaise a l'Universite dle Paris. (Paris: Payot. 1927. Pp. 620. 32 fr.) Tri is is a work of primary importance for the student of the economic

and social history of the Frenclh Revolution. MIost of its chapters have already appeared in the Annals Rcvolattionniiaircs and its successor, the .Annalces Historiqites de la Rcvolt[ioii Fraui aise-, of which Professor i\Mathiez has heen the editor. As the second part of the title suggests, ecolinomic coniditions are niot the sole themiie. This embraces also the

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.12 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 01:36:25 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Alfathiie: TVic Chc're 859

political and social tendlenicies wlhich were in part cause, in part effect of the crisis. The narrative opens with a brief introduction describing the practices of regulation which were applied to the problem of food supply during the old r6gime, and wlvich gradually broke down under the attacks of the Economists. It closes with the overthrow of Robespierre, leaving for later treatment the experiences of the Thermidorian period and the results of the repeal of the maximnum legislation in December, 1794. The treatment in point of view is hostile to the bourgeois regime. The history of the actual application of the maximum laws, especially after their revision in the spring of 1794, is given in a rather fragmentary manner, doubtless for the compelling reason that here the preliminary labor of col- lecting and publishing documents, fostered by the Commnission on the Economic History of the Revolution, has not been pushed far. Professor Alathiez remarks that in regard to several problems he must attempt little mlore than general indications, suggesting lines of research for others. Onie problem upon which the reader will feel most need of light is the practical operation of the system of requisitions. The author mentions scattered examples of local resistance, but says there was less rioting than under the regime of freedom of trade in 1792, inertia and latent hostility being the 1nain obstacles to enforcement.

Especially instructive are the parts of the work which touch the relation of the different political factions to the problem. The individual and the faction whiclh receive most attention are Jacques Roux and the " En- rages Jacques Roux is sketched sympathetically. although his personal faults and his exaggerations as an agitator are not disguised. The atti- tude of the Girondins and that of the Mountain toward price regulation differ little, Professor MIathiez finds, except that the Girondins were moved by class prejudice and selfishness. To win in their struggle against the Girondlins the Mountain party was obliged to waive its theoretical ob- jections to price-fixing and to make terms with the followers of the " Enrages ". Again, after HUbert in September, 1793, had become the actual leader of the " Enrage-s ', the Mountain reluctantly introduced the mlost important maximumii laws. Professor Mathiez brings out clearly the close relation between the excitement in Paris over the high cost of living anid the inauguration of the Terror. September 4 and 5 were indeed a new Mav 31. But the Mountain never heartily accepted the principle of price regulation. At most, after the Committee of Public Safety had destroyed the " Ultra " and the " Citra " factions, the government honestly endeavored to enforce the law in its new form. The author recognizes the fact that "la grande coupable ' in the whole series of miseries was the iniflation of the assignats, which the general war had aggravated. No anmount of regulation could cure evils as long as their fundamental cause remlained. The strange fact is that the best minds in the Convention never seemiied to begin to understand that economic freedomii was impossible in the inidst of suchi a world struggle. Professor MIathiez mnakes the poinit at the outset that wlhile the intellectuals had becomle convinced before the

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.12 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 01:36:25 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

86o RcvicWs of Books

Revolution of the soundness of the principle of freedom in meeting the problenm of supply the popular classes were far from accepting the idea, and that as soon as difficulties arose they instinctively recurred to metlhods of control which had so long been adopted by the rulers of the older France. The American student of the subject must also be struck by a further fact, namely, that although France was mainly rural, and the farmers made up the largest single group, no other class was so vilified by the politicians. The " farnmer vote'" did not frighten the leaders of the urban proletariat.

HENRY E. BOURNE.

ZVa poleon. By 1-MIL LUDW IG. Translated by Eden and Cedar Paul. (New York: Boni and Liveright. 1926. Pp. xii, 707. $3.00.)

THE most brilliant exposition of the Napoleoinic legend should rightfully be noteworthy and popular. Such an attempt to enliven history is praiseworthy, and two factors have contributed to its success. The first is the author's style, perhaps the foremost example of the way the historical present should and should not be used-for it is the medium of the enitire work. The second is the copious use of the words of Napo- leon himself (often frankly imaginary) and of his contemporaries. The result is to give an exceedingly vivid portrayal of his reactions to his surroundings and in particular of his relations to Josephine and his family. Herein lies perhaps the chief value of the book. The writer has indeed achieved to a marked degree that intangible quality " atmosphere ".

That the work contains nothing new is not necessarily a condemna- tionl. In the field of biography, the artist is free to establish his own canons, and Ludwig (Cohn) confines himself to the "inner history of Napoleon ". Yet it may well be asked, for instance, why no serious con- sideration of his r6le as organizer and administrator is included. Is it legitimate to divorce the man so completely from his work? No adequate conception is giveni of the titanic struggle with England. Seventy-one pages are devoted to the St. Helena episode which Fournier treats in twenty-two. Obviously such a purely psychological study can not take the place of a more well-rounded account.

The task of the critic is rendered exceedingly difficult by the enltire ab- sence of critical apparatus. Nevertheless errors of fact and interpreta- tion, contradictionis, and (lisregard of chronology are apparent throughout. Many of the dates given are incorrect. A few typical slips may be cited. The translation of the first campaign manifesto is unwarrantably free. Joseph was not a deputy in 1799. Half statements often give an entirely wrong impressioni (this is the cardinal error throughout). One would think that Bernadotte and Napoleon had never met before the return from Egypt. The treatment accorded Moreau and his troops after the cam- paign of i8oo is entirely omitted, and Napoleon's gratitude is stressed! The statement that "all the reports from the provinces have been full of comlplaints regarding the lack of public safety" perpetuates the old legend

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.12 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 01:36:25 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions