"The return to order will not be painful, because it will be natural and because it will be favoured by a secret force whose action is wholly creative. We will see precisely the opposite of what we have seen. Instead of these violent commotions, painful divisions, and perpetual and desperate oscillations, a certain stability, and indefinable peace, a universal well-being will announce the presence of sovereignty. There will be no shocks, no violence, no punishment even, except those which the true nation will approve. Even crime and usurpation will be treated with a measured severity, with a calm justice that belongs to legitimate power only. The king will bind up the wounds of the state with a gentle and paternal hand. In conclusion, this is the great truth with which the French cannot be too greatly impressed: the restoration of the monarchy, what they call the counter-revolution, will be not a contrary revolution, but the contrary of revolution."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
p. 105
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Considerations_on_France
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Considerations on France
Considerations on France (French: Considérations sur la France) is a 1796 political pamphlet by the Savoyard philosopher Joseph de Maistre concerning the dramatic events that took place in Europe at the time of the French Revolution. It exerted a powerful influence over the French opinion and was widely read all over Europe, contributing in laying the foundations for political conservatism. In terms of literary brilliance and political influence, the pamphlet is often compared to Reflections on
52 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Considerations on France →
Related Quotes
"Evil has nothing in common with life; it cannot create, since its power is purely negative. Evil is the schism of bei…"
"We are all attached to the throne of the Supreme Being by a supple chain that restrains us without enslaving us. Noth…"
"In divine works, everything, even obstacles, are means."
"Men do not lead the revolution; it is the Revolution that uses men. They are right when they say it goes all alone. T…"
"Every nation, like every individual, has received a mission that it must fulfil. France exercises over Europe a verit…"
"Too many French scholars were the principal authors of the Revolution, too many approved and gave their support so lo…"
"Our descendants, who will worry very little about our sufferings and will dance on our graves, will laugh at our pres…"
"If Providence erases, it is no doubt in order to write."
"Providence has given the French nation precisely two instruments, two arms, so to speak, with which it stirs up the w…"
"There is no chastisement that does not purify; there is no disorder that ETERNAL LOVE does not turn against the princ…"