《旧制度与大革命·卷二·第三章·所谓行政监护亦是旧制度所创》第1节
In France municipal freedom outlived the feudal system. Long after the landlords were no longer the rulers of the country districts, the towns still retained the right of self-government. Some of the towns of France continued down to nearly the close of the seventeenth century to form, as it were, small democratic commonwealths, in which the magistrates were freely elected by the whole people and were responsible to the people--in which municipal life was still public and animated--in which the city was still proud of her rights and jealous of her independence. These elections were generally abolished for the first time in 1692. The municipal offices were then what was called put up to sale (mises en offices was the technical expression), that is to say, the King sold in each town to some of the inhabitants the right of perpetually governing all their townsmen. This measure cost the towns at once their freedom and their well-being; for if the practice of the sale of commissions for a public employment sometimes proved useful in its effects when applied to the courts of justice--since the first condition of the good administration of justice is the complete independence of the judge--this system never failed to be extremely mischievous whenever it was applied to posts of administrative duty, which demand, above all things, responsibility, subordination, and zeal. The Government of the old French monarchy was perfectly aware of the real effects of such a system. It took great care not to adopt for itself the same mode of proceeding which it applied to the towns, and scrupulously abstained from putting up to sale the commissions of its own Intendants and Sub-delegates.
注释摘要
托克维尔在本段开篇勾勒了一幅令人意外的历史图景：法国的市镇自由比封建制度活得还要长久。领主早已不再是乡村的统治者了，市镇却依然保有自治权。他刻意强调，直到十七世纪末期，法国还有些城镇像小型的民主共同体那样运转——行政官由全体人民自由选举并对人民负责，市镇生活公开而热烈，市民对自己的权利自豪、独立意识极强。这对于那些习惯于把旧制度法国想象成一片中央集权荒漠的…