the spirit of laws-第167章

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urpation。　I　omit　the　other　consequences。

To　apply　the　ideas　of　the　present　time　to　distant　ages　is　the　most　fruitful　source　of　error。　To　those　people　who　want　to　modernize　all　the　ancient　ages；　I　shall　say　what　the　Egyptian　priests　said　to　Solon；　〃O　Athenians；　you　are　mere　children！〃＇66＇

15。　That　what　they　called　Census　was　raised　only　on　the　Bondmen　and　not　on　the　Freemen。　The　king；　the　clergy；　and　the　lords　raised　regular　taxes；　each　on　the　bondmen　of　their　respective　demesnes。　I　prove　it　with　respect　to　the　king；　by　the　capitulary　de　Villis；　with　regard　to　the　clergy；　by　the　codes　of　the　laws　of　the　Barbarians＇67＇　and　in　relation　to　the　lords；　by　the　regulations　which　Charlemagne　made　concerning　this　subject。＇68＇

These　taxes　were　called　census；　they　were　economical　and　not　fiscal　claims；　entirely　private　dues　and　not　public　taxes。

I　affirm　that　what　they　called　census　at　that　time　was　a　tax　raised　upon　the　bondmen。　This　I　prove　by　a　formulary　of　Marculfus　containing　a　permission　from　the　king　to　enter　into　holy　orders；　provided　the　persons　be　freeborn；＇69＇　and　not　enrolled　in　the　register　of　the　census。　I　prove　it　also　by　a　commission　from　Charlemagne　to　a　count＇70＇　whom　he　had　sent　into　Saxony；　which　contains　the　enfranchisement　of　the　Saxons　for　having　embraced　Christianity；　and　is　properly　a　charter　of　freedom。＇71＇　This　prince　restores　them　to　their　former　civil　liberty；＇72＇　and　exempts　them　from　paying　the　census；　It　was；　therefore；　the　same　thing　to　be　a　bondman　as　to　pay　the　census；　to　be　free　as　not　to　pay　it。

By　a　kind　of　letters　patent　of　the　same　prince　in　favour　of　the　Spaniards；＇73＇　who　had　been　received　into　the　monarchy；　the　counts　are　forbidden　to　demand　any　census　of　them；　or　to　deprive　them　of　their　lands。　That　strangers　upon　their　coming　to　France　were　treated　as　bondmen　is　a　thing　well　known；　and　Charlemagne　being　desirous　they　should　be　considered　as　freemen；　since　he　would　have　them　be　proprietors　of　their　lands；　forbad　the　demanding　any　census　of　them。

A　capitulary　of　Charles　the　Bald；＇74＇　given　in　favour　of　those　very　Spaniards；　orders　them　to　be　treated　like　the　other　Franks；　and　forbids　the　requiring　any　census　of　them；　consequently　this　census　was　not　paid　by　freemen。

The　thirtieth　article　of　the　edict　of　Pistes　reforms　the　abuse　by　which　several　of　the　husbandmen　belonging　to　the　king　or　to　the　church　sold　the　lands　dependent　on　their　manors　to　ecclesiastics　or　to　people　of　their　condition；　reserving　only　a　small　cottage　to　themselves；　by　which　means　they　avoided　paying　the　census；　and　it　ordains　that　things　should　be　restored　to　their　primitive　situation：　the　census　was；　therefore；　a　tax　peculiar　to　bondmen。

Thence　also　it　follows　that　there　was　no　general　census　in　the　monarchy；　and　this　is　clear　from　a　great　number　of　passages。　For　what　could　be　the　meaning　of　this　capitulary？＇75＇　〃We　ordain　that　the　royal　census　should　be　levied　in　all　places　where　formerly　it　was　lawfully　levied。〃＇76＇　What　could　be　the　meaning　of　that　in　which　Charlemagne＇77＇　orders　his　commissaries　in　the　provinces　to　make　an　exact　inquiry　into　all　the　census　that　belonged　in　former　times　to　the　king's　demesne？＇78＇　And　of　that＇79＇　in　which　he　disposes　of　the　census　paid　by　those＇80＇　of　whom　they　are　demanded？　What　can　that　other　capitulary　mean＇81＇　in　which　we　read；　〃If　any　person　has　acquired　a　tributary　land＇82＇　on　which　we　were　accustomed　to　levy　the　census？〃　And　that　other；　in　fine；＇83＇　in　which　Charles　the　Bald＇84＇　makes　mention　of　feudal　lands　whose　census　had　from　time　immemorial　belonged　to　the　king。

Observe　。that　there　are　some　passages　which　seem　at　first　sight　to　be　contrary　to　what　I　have　said；　and　yet　confirm　it。　We　have　already　seen　that　the　freemen　in　the　monarchy　were　obliged　only　to　furnish　particular　carriages；　the　capitulary　just　now　cited　gives　to　this　the　name　of　census；　and　opposes　it　to　the　census　paid　by　the　bondmen。

Besides；　the　edict　of　Pistes＇85＇　notices　those　freemen　who　are　obliged　to　pay　the　royal　census　for　their　head　and　for　their　cottages；＇86＇　and　who　had　sold　themselves　during　the　famine。　The　king　orders　them　to　be　ransomed。　This　is　because　those　who　were　manumitted　by　the　king's　letters＇87＇　did　not；　generally　speaking；　acquire　a　full　and　perfect　liberty。＇88＇　but　they　paid　censum　in　capite；　and　these　are　the　people　here　meant。

We　must；　therefore；　waive　the　idea　of　a　general　and　universal　census；　derived　from　that　of　the　Romans；　from　which　the　rights　of　the　lords　are　also　supposed　to　have　been　derived　by　usurpation。　What　was　called　census　in　the　French　monarchy；　independently　of　the　abuse　made　of　that　word；　was　a　particular　tax　imposed　on　the　bondmen　by　their　masters。

I　beg　the　reader　to　excuse　the　trouble　I　must　give　him　with　such　a　number　of　citations。　I　should　be　more　concise　did　I　not　meet　with　the　Abbé　du　Bos'　book　on　the　establishment　of　the　French　monarchy　in　Gaul；　continually　in　my　way。　Nothing　is　a　greater　obstacle　to　our　progress　in　knowledge　than　a　bad　performance　of　a　celebrated　author；　because；　before　we　instruct；　we　must　begin　with　undeceiving。

16。　Of　the　feudal　Lords　or　Vassals。　I　have　noticed　those　volunteers　among　the　Germans；　who　have　followed　their　princes　in　their　several　expeditions。　The　same　usage　continued　after　the　conquest。　Tacitus　mentions　them　by　the　name　of　companions；＇89＇　the　Salic　law　by　that　of　men　who　have　vowed　fealty　to　the　king；＇90＇　the　formularies　of　Marculfus＇91＇　by　that　of　the　king's　Antrustios；＇92＇　the　earliest　French　historians　by　that　of　Leudes；＇93＇　faithful　and　loyal；　and　those　of　later　date　by　that　of　vassals　and　lords。＇94＇

In　the　Salic　and　Ripuarian　laws　we　meet　with　an　infinite　number　of　regulations　in　regard　to　the　Franks；　and　only　with　a　few　for　the　Antrustios。　The　regulations　concerning　the　Antrustios　are　different　from　those　which　were　made　for　the　other　Franks；　they　are　full　of　what　relates　to　the　settling　of　the　property　of　the　Franks；　but　mention　not　a　word　concerning　that　of　the　Antrustios。　This　is　because　the　property　of　the　latter　was　regulated　rather　by　the　political　than　by　the　civil　law；　and　was　the　share　that　fell　to　an　army；　and　not　the　patrimony　of　a　family。

The　goods　reserved　for　the　feudal　lords　were　called　fiscal　goods；　benefices；　honours；　and　fiefs；　by　different　authors；　and　in　different　times。＇95＇

There　is　no　doubt　but　the　fiefs　at　first　were　at　will。＇96＇　We　find　in　Gregory　of　Tours＇97＇　that　Sunegisilus　and　Gallomanus　were　deprived　of　all　they　held　of　the　exchequer；　and　no　more　was　left　them　than　their　real　property。　When　Gontram　raised　his　nephew　Childebert　to　the　throne；　he　had　a　private　conference　with　him；　in　which　he　named　the　persons　who　ought　to　be　honoured　with；　and　those　who　ought　to　be　deprived　of；　the　fiefs。＇98＇　In　a　formulary　of　Marculfus；＇99＇　the　king　gives　in　exchange；　not　only　the　benefices　held　by　his　exchequer；　but　likewise　those　which　had　been　held　by　another。　The　law　of　the　Lombards　opposes　the　benefices　to　property。＇100＇　In　this；　our　historians；　the　formularies；　the　codes　of　the　different　barbarous　nations　and　all　the　monuments　of　those　days　are　unanimous。　In　fine；　the　writers　of　the　book　of　fiefs　inform　us＇101＇　that　at　first　the　lords　could　take　them　back　when　they　pleased；　that　afterwards　they　granted　them　for　the　space　of　a　year；＇102＇　and　that　at　length　they　gave　them　for　life。

17。　Of　the　military　Service　of　Freemen。　Two　sorts　of　people　were　bound　to　military　service；　the　great　and　lesser　vassals；　who　were　obliged　in　consequence　of　their　fief；　and　the　freemen；　whether　Franks；　Romans；　or　Gauls；　who　served　under　the　count　and　were　commanded　by　him　and　his　officers。

The　name　of　freemen　was　given　to　those；　who　on　the　one　hand　had　no　benefits　or　fiefs；　and　on　the　other　were　not　subject　to　the　base　services　of　villainage；　the　lands　they　possessed　were　what　they　called　allodial　estates。

The　counts　assembled　the　freemen；＇103＇　and　led　them　against　the　enemy；　they　had　officers　under　them　who　were　called　vicars；＇104＇　and　as　all　the　freemen　were　divided　into　hundreds；　which　constituted　what　they　called　a　borough；　the　counts　had　also　officers　under　them；　who　were　denominated　centenarii；　and　led　the　freemen　of　the　borough；　or　their　hundreds；　to　the　field。＇105＇

This　d