comme il les faut conduire."
Montaigne.
Alexis de Tocqueville made his entrance in political life in 1839.[1] At the outbreak of the Revolution of February he was in the prime of his age and in the maturity2 of his talent. He threw himself into the struggle, resolving to devote himself to the interests of the country and of society, and he was one of the first among those whole-hearted, single-minded men who endeavoured to keep the Republic within a wise and moderate course by steering3 clear of the two-fold perils4 of C?sarism on the one hand and revolution on the other. A dangerous and thankless [vi]enterprise, of which the difficulties were never hidden from a mind so clear-sighted as his, and of which he soon foresaw the ephemeral duration.
After the fall of his short-lived ministry6, which had been filled with so many cares and such violent agitation7, thinking himself removed for a time (it was to be for ever) from the conduct of public affairs, he went first to Normandy and then to Sorrento, on the Bay of Naples, in search of the peace and repose8 of which he stood in need. The intellect, however, but rarely shows itself the docile9 slave of the will, and his, to which idleness was a cause of real suffering, immediately set about to seek an object worthy10 of its attention. This was soon found in the great drama of the French Revolution, which attracted him irresistibly11, and which was destined12 to form the subject-matter of his most perfect work.
It was at this time, while Alexis de Tocqueville was also preoccupied13 by the daily increasing gravity of the political situation at home, that he wrote the Recollections now first published. These consisted of mere14 notes jotted15 down at intervals16 on odds17 and ends of paper; and it was not until the close of his life that, yielding to the persuasions18 of his intimates, he gave a reluctant consent to their publication. He took a certain pleasure in thus retracing19 and, as it were, re-enacting the events in which he had taken part, the character of which seemed the more transient, and the more important to establish definitely, inasmuch [vii]as other events came crowding on, precipitating20 the crisis and altering the aspect of affairs. Thus those travellers who, steering their adventurous21 course through a series of dangerous reefs, alight upon a wild and rugged22 island, where they disembark and live for some days, and when about to depart for ever from its shores, throw back upon it a long and melancholy23 gaze before it sinks from their eyes in the immensity of the waves. Already the Assembly had lost its independence; the reign24 of constitutional liberty, under which France had lived for thirty-three years, was giving way; and, in the words of the famous phrase, "The Empire was a fact."
We are to-day well able to judge the period described in these Recollections, a period which seems still further removed from us by the revolutions, the wars, and even the misfortunes which the country has since undergone, and which now only appears to us in that subdued25 light which throws the principal outlines into especial relief, while permitting the more observant and penetrating26 eye to discover also the secondary features. Living close enough to those times to receive evidence from the lips of survivors27, and not so close but that all passion has become appeased28 and all rancour extinguished, we should be in a position to lack neither light nor impartiality29. As witness, for instance, the impression retained by us of the figure of Ledru-Rollin, which nevertheless terrified our fathers. We live in a generation which has beheld[viii] Raoul, Rigault and Delescluze at work. The theories of Louis Blanc and Considérant arouse no feeling of astonishment30 in these days, when their ideas have become current coin, and when the majority of politicians feel called upon to adopt the badge of some socialism or other, whether we call it Christian31, State, or revolutionary socialism. Cormenin, Marrast and Lamartine belong to history as much as do Sièyes, Pétion or Mirabeau; and we are able to judge as freely of the men and the events of 1848 as of those of 1830 or 1789.
Alexis de Tocqueville had the rare merit of being able to forestall32 this verdict of posterity33; and if we endeavour to discover the secret of this prescience, of the loftiness of sight with which he was so specially34 gifted, we shall find that, belonging to no party, he remained above all parties; that, depending upon no leader, he kept his hands free; and that, possessed35 of no vulgar ambition, he reserved his energies for the noble aim which he had in view—the triumph of liberty and of the dignity of man.
Interest will doubtless be taken in the account contained in these Recollections of the revolutionary period, written by one of the best-informed of its witnesses, and in the ebbs36 and flows of the short-lived ministry which was conducted with so much talent and integrity. But what will be especially welcome is the broad views taken by this great mind of our collective history; his profound reflections upon the future of the country and of society; the firm[ix] and conscientious37 opinions which he expresses upon his contemporaries; and the portraits drawn38 by a master hand, always striking and always alive. When reading this private record, which has been neither revised nor corrected by its author, we seem to approach more closely to the sentiments, the desires, the aspirations39, I was almost saying the dreams of this rare mind, this great heart so ardently40 pursuing the chimera41 of absolute good that nothing in men or institutions could succeed in satisfying it.
Years passed, and the Empire foundered42 amid terrible disaster. Alexis de Tocqueville was no more; and we may say that this proved at that time an irreparable loss to his country. Who knows what part he might have been called upon to play, what influence he could have brought to bear to unmask the guilty intrigues43 and baffle the mean ambitions under whose load, after the lapse44 of more than twenty years, we are still staggering? Enlightened by his harsh experience of 1848, would he have once again tried the experiment, which can never be more than an eternal stop-gap, of governing the Republic with the support of the Monarchists? Or rather, persuaded as he was that "the republican form of government is not the best suited to the needs of France," that this "government without stability always promises more, but gives less, liberty than a Constitutional Monarchy," would he not have appealed to the latter to protect the liberty so dear to him? One thing is certain, that he would never[x] have "subordinated to the necessity of maintaining his position that of remaining true to himself."
We have thought that the present generation, which so rarely has the opportunity of beholding45 a man of character, would take pleasure in becoming acquainted with this great and stately figure; in spending some short moments in those lofty regions, in which it may learn a powerful lesson and find an example of public life in its noblest form, ever faithful to its early aspirations, ever filled with two great ideas: the cult5 of honour and the passion of liberty.
Comte de Tocqueville.
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1
par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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maturity
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| n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期 | |
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steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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cult
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| n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜 | |
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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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docile
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| adj.驯服的，易控制的，容易教的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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irresistibly
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| adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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jotted
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| v.匆忙记下( jot的过去式和过去分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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persuasions
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| n.劝说，说服（力）( persuasion的名词复数 )；信仰 | |
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retracing
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| v.折回( retrace的现在分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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precipitating
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| adj.急落的，猛冲的v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的现在分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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appeased
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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impartiality
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| n. 公平, 无私, 不偏 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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forestall
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| vt.抢在…之前采取行动；预先阻止 | |
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posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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ebbs
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| 退潮( ebb的名词复数 )； 落潮； 衰退 | |
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conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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ardently
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| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
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chimera
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| n.神话怪物；梦幻 | |
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foundered
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| v.创始人( founder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
intrigues
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| n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心 | |
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44
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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45
beholding
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| v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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