MIEABEAU. 577 MIRABEAU. until the publication of his works, and especially his correspondence with La Jlarck, many years after his death. l'"rom the first jMirahcau saw tliat the royal and ministerial sclienie of financial reform would be insullieient to cure the existing evils, but he likewise saw that reforms could be successfuU.v carried out only b}' a strong (jov- crnnicnt. Kroni the opening of the States-Gene- ral until his death two years later, JSIirabeau was undeniably the most important figure in puldic life in France, and the story of his life is that of the Revolution. He took part in the debates eou- cerning the status of the members of the Third Estate, and his bold attitude as their spokesman at the royal session of June 23d marked him as the champion of the Third Estate in the struggle which ended iu the reorganization of the States-General as the National Assembly. He ]>rotested vigorously against the attempt to over- awe the Assembly by the mobilization of troops around Paris, but his father's death on July l;Jth prevented his participation in the stirring events of the following day when the Bastille was stormed and <lestroyed by the populace of Paris. The protracted debates on the rights of the indi- vidual, and the reckless haste in the destruction of the idd order by the Assembly on August 4th, called forth his protests. Still he recognized the im- portance of the proposed Declaration o.f the Rights of 5Ian, and took an active part in framing it. Mirabeau, however, saw that neither theoretical nor destructive, but constructive statesmanship was the need of the hour. One by one he brought forward his favorite con.stitutional measures and defended them with all his powers of logic, elo- quence, and persuasion, only to see them voted down. After the failure of his proposition to choose the royal Ministers from the members of the National Assembly, on November 7, 1789, Mirabeau strove earnestly to put his great abili- ties at the service of the King, whom he had attempted to advise as early as October 15th. He tried to work with Lafayette and Necker, but everywhere he was viewed with suspicion, his advice was never followed, and his assistance was rejected entirely or accepted with ill grace. Fi- nally in May, 171)0. he abandoned his attempts to cooperate with Necker and Lafayette, and, through La Marek, entered into regular relations with the King and Queen, for whom he wrote his famous series of notes of advice. This change was marked in the Assembly by his speech in favor of the royal prerogative, especially in ques- tions of peace and war, which directed suspicion toward him. and caused a temporary outburst of popular indignation against him. He was large- ly responsildc fcir Neckcr's resignation in Sei>tem- ber. 171)0, and for the appointment of ClaviJ're in his place. In July he had been placed on the Diplomatic Conuiiittee of the Assembly, and, in cooperation with his old friend Jlontmorin, the Minister of F'orcign Affairs, had dealt with the perplexing questions of foreign relations, such as the annexation of Avignon and the main- tenance of the Family Compact with Spain. He insisted that no other coinitry should interfere in the internal atTairs of France; that other coun- tries must keep their agreements with F' ranee; and that France must respect her agreements with other countries. On November ^0. 1700. he was elected president of the Society of the Friends of the Constitution, popularly known as the Jacobin Club, and on Januarv 20. 1791, he received the coveted honor of election as presi- dent of the National Assembly. His last note to the Court, through L.a Marek, was sent on Feb- ruary 3d. His last appearance in the Asseml)ly was on March 27th. On April 2, 17'J1, he died in the Rue de la Chaussee d'Antin in Paris. He was buried in the Church of Sainte-Genevi&ve (the Pantheon), but three years later his remains were removed to make room for those of Marat. The greatness of Alirabeau has been generally recognized, but in estimating the details of his life and policy there has been the widest di- vergence of opinion. French republicans have condemned him unsparingly for his monarchical sympathies, but most of all liccause in return for his services the Court paid his debts and supplied him with funds. In his defense it must be said that Mirabeau regarded himself as de facto prime minister, charged with the duty of saving France, a task to which he felt he alone was equal. The keynote of his advice to the Court was that the King should transfer the Court and the Assembly from Paris to Fontainobloau, or Compi&gne, or some other small town of Central France, where the influence of the mob of Paris would cease to control the Assembly, and the King and the As- sembly would be free to give France a strong monarchical constitution. Mirabeau had great power over men, <and made those who came under his fascination willing to merge their personali- ties in his and allow him to take all the credit for their labors. The ^ouccnirs of Etienne Du- mont, one of his collaborators, first showed fully Mirabeau's methods of work, and the way in which he made regular use of the services of Dumont, Reybaz, Pellene, and even better known persons like C'lavi6rc and the Abbe Lamourette. In Mirabeau everything was on a colossal scale; in personal appearance and moral character he was almost a monster; in intellect and powers of endurance he was a titan. In his personality all that was noblest and best of the F^rench Revolu- tion seemed combined with the greatest of its characteristic evils. The philosophers of history have mourned Mirabeau's death, because they be- lieved that had he lived he would have saved France from the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It would he safe to s.ay that he was the only one who might have rendered France that service, but it is to be doubted whether even the man whose character can best be summed up in the word excess could have saved his nation from the evil of excess. Alike terrible in their greatness, Mirabeau and Napoleon were the greatest men of the French Revolution. Bibliography. Mirabeau, (Euvres (9 vols., Paris. 1825-27), is the most complete collection of his writings, but lacks the Monarchic prus- sienne. Mcmoires dc Mirabeau Merits par lui- menie, par son pfre, son onclc, ct son fils adoptif (9 vols., Paris, 1834-35), is still the most im- portant authority, in spite of many defects. Wil- lert, Mirabeau (l,ondon, 1898), is the only recent life in English, but may be supidemented by Morse Stephens, The French Rcroliitiou ; Carlyle, The French Reroliitinn ; and Von Hoist. The French I'erolution Tested bti Mirabeau's Career (Chicaixo. 1804). For Mirabeau's relations with the Court, consult Correspovdanee entre le Comte de Mirabeau ct Ic Oomie de La Marek pendant les annces ]7f(9, 1790. ct 1791 (Paris, 1851). For Mirabeau as an orator, see Aulard, L'Hoquence parlementaire pendant la Revolu-
