《旧制度与大革命·卷三·第一章·大革命爆发之际人心的激荡与无所归依》第4节
The years which preceded the French Revolution were, in almost every part of Europe, years of great national prosperity. The useful arts were everywhere more cultivated. The taste for enjoyments, which follow in the train of affluence, was more diffused. Industry and commerce, which supply these wants, were improving and spreading. It seemed as if the life of man becoming thus more busy and more sensual, the human mind would lose sight of those abstract studies which embrace society, and would centre more and more on the petty cares of daily life. But the contrary took place. Throughout Europe, almost as much as in France, all the educated classes were plunged in philosophical discussions and dogmatical theories. Even in places ordinarily the most remote from speculations of this nature, the same train of argument was eagerly pursued. In the most trading cities of Germany, in Hamburg, Lubeck, and Dantzig, the merchants, traders, and manufacturers would meet after the labours of the day to discuss amongst themselves the great questions which affect the existence, the condition, the happiness of man. Even the women, amidst their petty household cares, were sometimes distracted by these enigmas of life. ‘We thought,’ says Perthes, ‘that by becoming highly enlightened, one might become perfect.’ ‘Der König sey der beste Mann, sonst sey der bessere König,’ said the poet Claudius. This period too gave birth to a new passion, embodied in a new word--cosmopolitism--which was to swallow up patriotism. It seemed as if all classes were bent on escaping whenever they could from the care of their private affairs, to give themselves up to the grand interests of humanity. As in France the love of letters filled a large space even in the busiest times, the publication of a new book was an event of interest in the smallest towns as well as in the chief cities. Everything was a subject of inquiry; everything was a source of emotion. Treasures of passion seemed accumulated in every breast, which sought but an occasion to break forth. Thus, a traveller who had been round the globe was an object of general attention. When Forster went to Germany in 1774, he was received with enthusiasm. Not a town but gave him an ovation. Crowds flocked about him to hear his adventures from his own lips, but still more to hear him describe the unknown countries he had visited, and the strange customs of the men among whom he had been living. Was not their savage simplicity worthy more than all our riches and our arts: were not their instincts above our virtues?
注释摘要
托克维尔在这一段里提出了一个明显反直觉的历史判断，他实际上在处理一个后来会成为他全书核心悖论的问题：为什么物质生活的改善不但没有让人安于现状，反而催生出对既有秩序最激烈的否定。按照通常的常识推理，当实用技艺普及、享乐品味扩散、工商业兴旺，人的心智应该越来越沉入日常琐务，越来越远离那些关于社会整体的抽象思辨。然而他告诉我们，事实恰恰相反。 他举出的证据不是宫…