A8 | 
great and first cause of all the phe- 
“nomena in the universe. To mark 
some of the principal. occasions or 
cirumstances in the orderaccording 
to which things are produced, is all 
that is permitted to the civil histo- 
~ rian or natural philosopher. 
.The French monarchy was es- 
tablished on great vigour of charac- 
ter, formed in a rude, but manly 
age, by a devotion to chiefs and 
‘kings, who were the patrons, as 
well as the judges of the people in 
peace, and their leaders in war; by 
military pride, and a reverence for 
religion. A strong and mutual 
band of attachment subsisted be- 
tween the feudal chieftain and his 
faithful vassals, whether they at- 
tended him in the field of battle, or 
joined the chace on his domain, or 
shared in hishospitality at his castle, 
or acknowledged him as the arbiter 
of differences between themselves 
and their neighbours; while the 
doctrines and ceremonies of reli- 
gion confirmed and heightened all 
those sentiments of duty, whether 
of individuals towards one another, 
or to the Supreme Power that unit- 
ed men in society. A very differ- 
ent order of affairs was gradually 
introduced by progressive know- 
ledge and refinement, luxury, li- 
centiousnss of manners, and, final- 
ly, by the decay and death of reli- 
gious faith, and the fatal misappli- 
_ cation of certain maxims in political 
. philosophy. When the brave and 
hospitable Baron, forsaking his 
lands and tenements, had become 
a supple courtier: the Abbé a wit 
and an infidel; the Bishop a licen- 
tious beau ; and the hereditary and 
independent judge had delegated 
his power to venal deputies, then 
it was evident that there was some- 
thing rotten in the political fabric ; 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1792. 
and that it had begun to totter and 
decline from that bold and perpen- 
dicular line in which it had been 
first erected. 
The gradual declination from ~ 
this line was precipitated by the 
interference of Lewis XVI. in the 
American war, which accelerated 
the movement that had been al-— 
ready given to public opinion, in 
a direction directly contrary to the 
spirit of an absolute monarchy. 
The philosophers of France, who - 
had for many years become ex- 
tremely self-conceited, and arro- 
gated to themselves a right to give, 
instead of receiving the tone from 
the court, began now to discourse 
concerning the rights of man, and 
the nature of representation. On 
these subjects they indulged in 
much refinement; their natural 
genius on this occasion being se- 
conded by an emulation of produc- 
ing a political system that should 
excel that of England, and even of 
America. 
It was an error common to the 
French, with other reformers, that 
they proceeded on a kind of ma- 
thematical principle; followed 
analogies taken from inanimated 
matter, and seemed to conceive 
that they should set to work on 
their new constitution in the same 
manner as_ carpenters, smiths, 
potters, taylors, and other opera- 
tors on dead substances ; whereas 
there is a closer analogy, which it 
would be well to keep in view, 
between societies or governments, 
and plants or animals, which re- 
quire particular soils, food, and 
culture. No man in his senses 
thinks of making a seed, or a plant: 
he digs around it, he waters it, he 
feeds it with proper manure; but 
he never thinks of creating ‘such — 
another, 
