Immoderate conceit of this kind among men of experience would seem ridiculous; in this assembly of novices it is a strength.

A flock which has lost its way follows those who appears to forge ahead; they are the most irrational but they are the most confident, and in the Chamber as in the nation it is the daredevils who become leaders.
III .-- The Power Of Simple, General Ideas.
Ascendancy of the revolutionary party--Theory in its favor-- The constraint thus imposed on men's minds--Appeal to the passions--Brute force on the side of the party--It profits by this--Oppression of the minority.
Two advantages give this party the ascendancy, and these advantages are of such importance that henceforth whoever possesses them is sure of being master .-- In the first place the prevailing theory is on the side of the revolutionaries, and they alone are, in the second place, determined thoroughly to apply it.

This party, therefore, is the only one which is consistent and popular in the face of adversaries who are unpopular and inconsequent.

Nearly all of the latter, indeed, defenders of the ancient regime, or partisans of a limited monarchy, are likewise imbued with abstract principles and philosophical speculation.

The most refractory nobles have advocated the rights of man in their memorials.
Mounier, the principal opponent of the demagogues, was the leader of the commons when they proclaimed themselves to be the National--Assembly.[2133] This is enough: they have entered the narrow defile which leads to the abyss.