The opinions of Jérôme Coignard . d man who figures on the clockswith a scythe in his hand ? You do not believe thata revolution, such as that of the English or that inthe Low Countries, can have any effect on the con-dition of the people. No ? You old idiot! youdeserve to be crowned with a fools cap ! Revolutions come about in conservation of goodthings already acquired, and not to gain new. It isthe folly of nations, it is your own, Mr. Rockstrong,to found great hopes on the downfall of assure unto themselves, by revolting fromtime to time, the preservation of their threaten
The opinions of Jérôme Coignard . d man who figures on the clockswith a scythe in his hand ? You do not believe thata revolution, such as that of the English or that inthe Low Countries, can have any effect on the con-dition of the people. No ? You old idiot! youdeserve to be crowned with a fools cap ! Revolutions come about in conservation of goodthings already acquired, and not to gain new. It isthe folly of nations, it is your own, Mr. Rockstrong,to found great hopes on the downfall of assure unto themselves, by revolting fromtime to time, the preservation of their threatenedliberties. They have never gained new libertiesthereby. But they are fooled with words. It Isremarkable, Mr. Rockstrong, that men will easily letthemselves be killed for words of no meaning. Ajaxmade the remark long ago : * I thought in myyouth the poet makes him say, that deeds weremore powerful than words, but I see to-day that theword is the stronger of the two. Thus said Ajax,son of Oileus. Mr. Rockstrong, I am very thirsty !. XVI HISTORY pNSIEUR ROMAN placed half adozen volumes on the counter. I beg of you, Monsieur Blaizot,said he, to send me these books. There are Mother and Son, the Memoirs of the Court of France, and the Testa-ment of Richelieu. I should be grateful if you willadd to them anything new you have received lately inthe way of history, and more particularly, anythingtreating of France since the death of Henry IV. . ,All these are works in which I am extremelyinterested. You are right, Monsieur, said my master. Books on history are full of light stuff very suit-able to amuse an honest fellow, and one is sure offinding a great number of pleasant stories. Monsieur lAbb6, answered Monsieur Roman, what I look for from the historians is not frivolous 166 JEr6mE COIGNARD 167 amusement. It is a serious study, and I am filled withdespair if I find fiction mingled with fact. I studyhuman actions in relation to the conduct of nations,and I seek for maxims of gover
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