Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 13.djvu/38

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REVOLUTION


16


REVOLUTION


ist conspiracy of Babeuf was discovered, which showed that danger lav on the Left; and on 25 Aug., 1796. the dreadful project which had only been passed with much difficulty by the Five Hundred was re- jected bv the Ancients.

The Directory began to feel that its pohcy of reli- gious persecution was no longer followed by the Councils. It learned also that Bonaparte, who in Italv led the armies of the Directory from victorj^ to victory, displaved consideration for the pope. P'ur- thermore, in France the electors themselves showed that they desired a change of policy. The elections of 20 Mav, 1797, caused the majority of Councils to pass from" the Left to the Right. Pichegru became President of the Five Hundred, a Royalist, Barthe- lemv, became one of the Five Directors. Violent dis- cussions which took place from 26 June to 18 July, in which Rover-Collard distinguished himself, brought to the vot«"the proposal of the deputy Dubruel for the abohtion of all laws against non-juring priests passed since 1791. The Directors, alarmed by what they considered a reactionary movement, com- missioned General Augereau to effect the coup d'etat of 18 Fructidor (4 Sept., 1797); the elections of 49 departments were quashed, two Directors, Carnot and Barthclomy, proscribed, 53 deputies deported, and laws against the emigres and non-juring priests restored to their \-igour. Organized hunting for these priests took place throughout France; the Directory cast hundreds of them on the unhealthy shore of Sinnamar>', Guiana, where they died. At the same time the Directory commissioned Berthier to make the attack on the Papal States and the pope, from which Bonaparte had refrained. The Roman Re- pubhc was proclaimed in 1798 and Pius VI was taken prisoner to Valence (see Pius VI). An especially odious persecution was renewed in France against the ancient Christian customs; it was known as the decadaire persecution. Officials and municipalities were called upon to overwhelm with vexations the partisans of Sundaj^ and to restore the observance of decadi. The rest of that day became compulsory not only for administrations and schools, but also for business and industry. Marriages could only be celebrated on decadi at the chief town of each canton.

Another religious venture of this period was that of the Theophilanthropists, who wished to create a spirit- ualist church without dogmas, miracles, priesthood or sacraments, a sort of vague religiosity, similar to the " ethical societies of the United States". Contrary to what has been asserted for one hundred years, M. Mathiez has proved that Theophilanthropism was not founded by the director, La Reveilliere-Lepeaux. It was the private initiative of a former Girondin, the hbrarian Chemin Dupontfes, which gave rise to this cult; Valentine Hauy, iiLstructor of the blind and former Terrorist, and the physiocrat, Dupont de Nemours, collaboraU'd with him. During its early existence, the new Church was pcrs(!cuted by the agents of Qjchon, Minister of Police, who was the Ux)\ of Camot, and it was only for a short time, aft^T the coup d'etat of IS Fructiilor, that the Theo-

fihilanthropists benefited by the protection of >a R(5veilli^ire. In propf)rtion to the efforts of the Directory for the c^dle decadaire, the Theophilan- thropists Buflfered and were persecuted; in Paris, they were Bometimes treated even worse than the Cath- olics, Catholic priests being at times permitted to occupy the builaings connected with certain churches while the Theophilanthropists were driven out. On a curious memoir written aftxT IS Fructidor entitled "Dr« circrmstances Hjc\np\\i'» qui peuvent U^ininer la R/;volution et d'-s prinripes qui doivent fonder la R/'publique en France", the famous Ma^lame de Sta/'l, who was a Protentanf, declared herself against Thefjphilanfhropy; like many Prot^'stants, she hoped that Protastantism would becx)me the State religion


of the RepubUc. Through its clumsy and odious reUgious policy the Directory exposed itself to serious difficulties. Disturbed by the anti-religious innova- tions, the Belgian provinces revolted; 6000 Belgian priests were proscribed. Brittany, Anjou, and Maine again revolted, winning over Normandy. Abroad the prestige of the French armies was upheld by Bonaparte in Egypt, but they were hated on the Continent, and in 1799 were compelled to evacuate most of Ital}'. Bonaparte's return and the coup d'etat of 18 Bruniairc (10 November, 1799) were necessary to strengthen the glory of the French armies and to restore peace to the country and to consciences (see Napoleon).

Bibliographical. — Tourxeux, Bihl. de I'hisl. de Paris pendant la RevohUion (Paris, 1896-1906); Tuetey, Repertoire des sources manuscriles de I'hist. de Paris sous la Revolution, 7 vols, already- published (Paris, 1896-1906); Fortescue, List of the three col- lections of books, pamphlets, and journals in the British Museum relating to the French Revolution (London, 1899).

Sources. — Reprint of the Moniteur Universel (1789-99); the two collections in course of publication of Documents inidits sur I'hist. economique de la Rivolution franQaise, and Documents sur I'hist. de Paris pendant la Revolution fran^aise; the works of Barruel (q. v.); Bourgin, La France et Rome de 1788 a 1797, regeste des depiches du cardinal secretaire d'etat, tirees du fond des " Vescovi " des archives secretes du Vatican (Paris, 1909), fasc. 102 of the Library of French Schools of Athens and Rome; among numerous memoirs on France on the eve of the Revolution may be mentioned: Young, Travels in France, ed. Betham-Edwards (London, 1889); and on the Revolution itself: Memoires de I'in- ternonce Salamon, ed. Bridier (Paris, 1890) ; Gottverneur Morris, Diary and Letters (New York, 1&S2); Un sijour en France 1 792 a 1 7.95, lettres d'un temoin de la Revolution fran^aise, tr. Taine (Paris, 1883) ; the work of the famous Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, ed. Selby (London, 1890), remains an important criticism of Revolutionary ideas.

General Works. — Thiers, Hist, de la Revolution franQaise (tr. Paris. 1823-27) ; Mignet, Hist, de la Revolution franqaise (Paris, 1824); Carlyle, The French Revolution (London, 1837); Miche- LET, Hist, de la Revolution franqaise (Paris, 1847-1853) ; Louis Blanc, Hist, de la Revolution franqaise (Paris, 1847-63); Tocque- viLLE, L'ancien regime et la Revolution (Paris, 1856); Taine, Les origines de la France contemporaine: la Revolution (tr. Paris, 1878-84) ; Sorel, L' Europe et la Revolution franQaise (Paris, 1885-1904) ; Sybel, Gesch. der Revolutionszeit (Dusseldorf, 1853- 57); Chuquet, Les guerres de la Revolution (Paris, 1889-1902); AuLARD, Hist, politique de la Revolution franQaise (Paris, 1901) ; Idem, Etudes et IcQons sur la Revolution franQaise (Paris, 1893- 1910) ; Gautherot, Cours professes a V Institut Catholique de Paris sur la Revolution franQaise, a periodical begun at the end of 1910 and promising to be very important; Madelin, La Revolution (Paris, 1911), a summary commendable for the exactness of its information and its effort at justice in the most delicate questions; The Cambridge Modern History, planned by the late Lord Acton, n. The French Revolution (Cambridge, 1904); MacCarthy, The French Revolution (London, 1890-97); Ross, The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Era (Cambridge, 1907) ; Lego, Select Documents Illustrative of the History of the French Revolution (Oxford, 1905); Gibes, Men and Women of the French Revolution (London, 1905).

Monographs and Special Works. — Aulard, Taine, historien de la Revolution franQaise (Paris, 1907); Cochin, La crise de I'hist. rivolutionaire: Taine et M. Aulard (Paris, 1909); Bord, La francnuiQonnerie en France des origines d 1815, bk. I, Les ouvriers de Videerivolutionnaire (Paris, 1909) ; Idem, La conspiration revolu- tionnaire de 1789, les complices, les victimes (Paris, 1909); Funck- Brentano, Ligendes et archives de la Bastille (Paris, 1898) ; Mal- let, Mallei du Pan and the French Revolution (London, 1902); Fling, Mirabeau and the French Revolution (London, 1906); Lenotrb, Mimoires et souvenirs sur la Rivolution et I'Empire (Paris, 1907-9); Idem, Paris rivolutionnaire, vieilles maisons, vieux papiers (Paris, 1900-10) ; Warwick, Robespierre and the French Revolution (Philadelphia, 1909); Bliard, Fraternity rivolution- naire, Hudes el ridls d'aprks des documents inidits (Paris, 1909); Mortimer Ternaux, Hist, de la Terreur (Paris, 1862-81); Wali-on, Hist, du tribunal rSvolutionnaire (Paris, 1880-2); Idem, La journie du 31 mai et le fidiralisme en 1793 (Paris, 1886) ; Idem, Les representanls en mission (Paris, 1888-90); Daudet, Hist, de I'imigration pendant la Rivolution franqaise (Paris, 1904-7); LaI/- lemand. La Rivolution et les pauvres (Paris, 189H); Aloeb, Eng- lishmen in the French Revolution (London. 1889); Dowden, The French Revolution and English Literature (London, 1897) ; Cestre, La Rivolution franQaise et les poHes anglais (Paris, 1906).

Religious History. — Sicard, L'ancien clergi de France, II, III (Paris, 1902-3); Idem, L'iducation morale et civique avant et pen- dant la RivobUion (Paris, 1884); Pierre de la Gorge, Hist, religieuse de la Rivolution franQaise, I (Paris, 1909); Mathiez, Rome et le clergi franQais sous la Constituante (Paris, 1911); Idem, lyi thiophilanlhropie et le culte dicadaire (Paris, 1903); Idem, Lea origines des r.nltes rivolulionnnires (Paris, 1904); Idem. Conlrtbu- linn A I'histoire religieuse de la Rivolution FranQaise (Paris, 1907); Idbm, La Rivolution et I'Eglise (Paris, 1910); Aulard, La Rivolu- tion franQaise et les congrigations (Paris, 1911); Idem, Le culte de la raison et le culte de I'Etre suprime (Paris, 1892); Champion, La Kiparalion de I'Eglise et de I'Elat en 17.94 (Paris, 1903); Pierre, La diportation eccUsiastique sous le Dircctoire (Paris, 19()('i).

Georges Goyak.