"[124] Whoever does not make over to the masses the excess of
what is strictly necessary. . . . places himself in the rank of
'suspects.' Rich egoists, you are the cause of our misfortunes!"[125]
"You dared to smile contemptuously on the appellation of sans-
culottes;[126] you have enjoyed much more than your brethren alongside
of you dying with hunger; you are not fit to associate with them, and
since you have disdained to have them eat at your table, they cast you
out eternally from their bosom and condemn you, in turn, to wear the
shackles prepared for them by your indifference or your maneuvers." In
other words, whoever has a good roof over his head, or wears good
clothes, man or woman, idler or industrious, noble or commoner, is
available for the prison or the guillotine, or, at the very least, he
is a taxable and workable serf at pleasure; his capital and
accumulations, if not spontaneously and immediately handed over, form
a criminal basis and proof of conviction. - The orders of arrest are
generally issued against him on account of his wealth; in order to
drain a town of these offenders one by one, all are penned together
according to their resources; at Strasbourg,[127] 193 persons are
taxed, each from 6,000 to 300,000 livres, in all 9 million livres,
payable within twenty-four hours, by the leading men of each
profession or trade, bankers, brokers, merchants, manufacturers,
professors, pastors, lawyers, physicians, surgeons, publishers,
printers, upholsterers, glass-dealers, rope-makers, master-masons,
coffee-house and tavern keepers.
Pages:
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728