t used to them there would be no mass of men ready
to fight for them at a moment's notice. That which was irritating about
the French Revolution was this--that it was not the introduction of a
new ideal, but the practical fulfilment of an old one. From the time of
the first fairy tales men had always believed ideally in equality; they
had always thought that something ought to be done, if anything could be
done, to redress the balance between Cinderella and the ugly sisters.
The irritating thing about the French was not that they said this ought
to be done; everybody said that. The irritating thing about the French
was that they did it. They proposed to carry out into a positive scheme
what had been the vision of humanity; and humanity was naturally
annoyed. The kings of Europe did not make war upon the Revolution
because it was a blasphemy, but because it was a copy-book maxim which
had been just too accurately copied. It was a platitude which they had
always held in theory unexpectedly put into practice. The tyrants did
not hate democracy because it was a paradox; they hated it because it
was a truism which seemed in some danger of coming true.

Now it happens to be hugely important to have this right view of the
Revolution in considering its political effects upon England. For the
English, being a deeply and indeed excessively romantic people, could
never be quite content with this quality of cold and bald obviousness
about the republican formula. The republican formula was merely
this--that the State must consist of its citizens ruling equally,
however unequally they may do anything else. In their capacity of
members of the State they are all equally interested in its
preservation. But the English soon began to be romantically restless
about this eternal truism; they were perpetually trying to turn it into
something else, into something more picturesque--progress perhaps, or
anarchy. At last they turned it into the highly exciting and highly
unsound system of politics, which was known as the Manchester School,
and which was expressed with a sort of logical flightiness, more
excusable in literature, by Mr. Herbert Spencer. Of course Danton or
Washington or any of the original republicans would have thought these
people were mad. They would never have admitted for a moment that the
State must not interfere with commerce or competition; they would merely
have insisted that if the State did interfere, it must really be t