Page:Sarolea - Great Russia.djvu/221

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THE REVOLUTION
205

one—as she herself would have to dread as much as the Government from the party of revolution.

I am convinced that the revolution is strong only because the Church is weak, and that the Church is weak only because she has been degraded into a Government department. Let the Government realize that there must be an independent constructive spiritual power to keep in check the destructive intellectual forces. Let the Government realize that it is its own interest to emancipate that spiritual power and it seems probable that a regenerative Russian Church will rally round the Government and use all her increased influence to secure the loyalty of the people.

(c) The French Revolution, like the English Revolution, was essentially a middle-class revolution. Qu'est-ce que le Tiers Etat? Rien. Que doit-il être? Tout. Without a strong middle class, there can be no public opinion, and without the constant and jealous control of public opinion, there can be no successful liberal régime.

Now in Russia, no such middle class as yet exists. Russia is still an undifferentiated peasant State—without either bourgeoisie or aris-