《旧制度与大革命·卷二·第七章·何以法国首都独擅全欧之首》第5节
Thus then Paris had become the mistress of France, and the popular army which was destined to make itself master of Paris was already assembling. It is pretty generally admitted, I believe, now, that administrative centralisation and the omnipotence of Paris have had a great share in the overthrow of all the various governments which have succeeded one another during the last forty years. It will not be difficult to show that the same state of things contributed largely to the sudden and violent ruin of the old monarchy, and must be numbered among the principal causes of that first Revolution which has produced all the succeeding ones.
注释摘要
托克维尔在这段话里做了一个看似简单实则大胆的历史归因：把四十年来法国一切政权的相继倾覆，都追溯到了行政中央集权和巴黎的绝对优势身上。他所讲的“四十年来”，指的是从1815年波旁复辟到1856年他写作此书的当下，中间经历了复辟王朝被1830年七月革命推翻、七月王朝又被1848年二月革命推翻、第二共和国最终毁于1851年路易·拿破仑的政变——整整四十年，政权形…