MICHAUD (Joseph-François) - Lot 182

Lot 182
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MICHAUD (Joseph-François) - Lot 182
MICHAUD (Joseph-François) (1767-1839) French historian, member of the Académie française, author of the famous Histoire des Croisades. Unsigned autograph manuscript Paris, September 30 [no year]. 1 page in-4. Political text on public opinion and support for the government. Interesting manuscript, in a handwriting very similar to Michaud's, developing a reflection on the state of public opinion and its progressive support for the government. The text opens with a marked anaphoric formula: "Every day opinions become more attached to the government; every day the public spirit improves..." The author emphasizes the growing support for the government, both in the capital and in the provinces, and the consolidation of public opinion in favor of the regime. As a counterpoint, he stigmatizes a minority of opponents, vigorously described as restless and dangerous: "maneuvers", "declamations", "criminal pamphlets", which he deems incapable of hindering public opinion in the long term. The most striking passage compares these opponents to fallen figures: "The factious [...] resemble these fallen angels [...] pursued by shame and remorse." The text thus bears witness to a vision very characteristic of the early 19th century, when public opinion became a structuring moral and political force, called upon to judge and condemn opponents.
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