Scarcely one of these is found in the "Logique" and in the "Traité des Sensations" by Condillac， in the "Idéologie" by Destutt de Tracy， or in the "Rapports du Physique et du Morale" by Cabanis.[39] Never， with them， are we on the solid and visible ground of personal observation and narration， but always in the air， in the empty space of pure generalities. Condillac declares that the arithmetical method is adapted to psychology and that the elements of our ideas can be defined by a process analogous "to the rule of three." Sieyès holds history in profound contempt， and believes that he had "perfected the science of politics"[40] at one stroke， through an effort of the brain， in the style of Descartes， who thus discovers analytic geometry. Destutt de Tracy， in undertaking to comment on Montesquieu， finds that the great historian has too servilely confined himself to history， and attempts to do the work over again by organizing society as it should be， instead of studying society as it is. - Never were such systematic and superficial institutions built up with such a moderate extract of human nature.[41] Condillac， employing sensation， animates a statue， and then， by a process of pure reasoning， following up its effects， as he supposes， on smell， taste， hearing， sight and touch， fashions a complete human soul. Rousseau， by means of a contract， founds political association， and， with this given idea， pulls down the constitution， government and laws of every balanced social system. In a book which serves as the philosophical testament of the century，[42] Condorcet declares that this method is the "final step of philosophy， that which places a sort of eternal barrier between humanity and its ancient infantile errors." "By applying it to morals， politics and political economy the moral sciences have progressed nearly as much as the natural sciences. With its help we have been able to discover the rights of man." As in mathematics， they have been deduced from one primordial statement only， which statement， similar to a first principle in mathematics， becomes a fact of daily experience， seen by all and therefore self-evident. - This school of thought is to endure throughout the Revolution， the Empire and even into the Restoration，[43] together with the tragedy of which it is the sister， with the classic spirit their common parent， a primordial， sovereign power， as dangerous as it is useful， as destructive as it is creative， as capable of propagating error as truth， as astonishing in the rigidity of its code， the narrow-mindedness of its yoke and in the uniformity of its works as in the duration of its reign and the universality of its ascendancy.[44]
___________________________________________________________________Notes：
[1] Voltaire， "Dict. Phil.，" see the articles on Language. "Of all the languages in Europe the French is most generally used because it is the best adapted to conversation. Its character is derived from that of the people who speak it. For more than a hundred and fifty years past， the French have been the most familiar with (good) society and the first to avoid all embarrassment . . . It is a better currency than any other， even if it should lack weight."[2] HIST： honnête homme means gentleman. (SR.)[3] Descartes， ed. Cousin， XI. 333， I. 121， . . . Descartes depreciates "simple knowledge acquired without the aid of reflection， such as languages， history， geography， and， generally， whatever is not based on experience. . . . It is no more the duty of an honest man to know Greek or Latin than to know the Swiss or Breton languages， nor the history of the Romano-Germanic empire any more than of the smallest country in Europe."[4] Molière， "Les Femmes Savantes，" and "La Critique de l'école des femmes." The parts of Dorante with Lycidas and of Clitandre with Trissotin.
[5] The learned Huet， (1630-1721)， true to the taste of the sixteenth century， describes this change very well from his point of view. "When I entered the world of letters these were still flourishing； great reputations maintained their supremacy. I have seen letters decline and finally reach an almost entire decay. For I scarcely know a person of the present time that one can truly call a savant." The few Benedictines like Ducange and Mabillon， and later， the academician Fréret， the president Bouhier of Dijon， in short， the veritable erudites exercise no influence.
[6] Nicole， "Oeuvres morales，" in the second essay on Charity and Self-love， 142.
[7] Voltaire， "Dialogues，" "L'intendant des menus et l'abbé Grizel，"129.
[8] Maury adds with his accustomed coarseness， "We， in the French Academy， looked upon the members of the Academy of Sciences as our valets." - These valets at that time consisted of Lavoisier， Fourcroy， Lagrange， Laplace， etc. (A narrative by Joseph de Maistre， quote by Sainte-Beuve， "Causeries du lundi，" IV. 283.)[9] This description makes me think of the contemporary attitudes pejoratively called "politically correctness." Thus the drawings-room audience of the 18th century have today been replaced by the "political correct" elite holding sway in teacher training schools， schools of journalism， the media and hence among the television public. The same mechanism which moved the upper class in the 18th century moves it in the 20th century.. (S.R.)[10] Today in 1999 we may speak of the TV mold forced by the measured popularity or "ratings"of the programs. (SR.
[11] Vaugelas， "Remarques sur la langue fran？aise：" "It is the mode of speech of the most sensible portion of the court， as well as the mode of writing of the most sensible authors of the day. It is better to consult women and those who have not studied than those who are very learned in Greek and in Latin."[12] One of the causes of the fall and discredit of the Marquis d'Argenson in the eighteenth century， was his habit of using these.
