The Ancient Regime | Page 4

by the University of Sorbonne for this purpose.
Aulard pretended that Taine was a poor historian by finding a number
of errors in Taine's work. This was done, says Revel, because the 'Left'
came to see Taine's work as "a vile counter-revolutionary weapon." The
French historian Augustin Cochin proved, however, that Aulard and
not Taine had made the errors but by that time Taine had been defamed
and his works removed from the shelves of the French universities.
Now Taine was not a professional historian. Perhaps this was as well
since most professional historians, even when conscientious and
accurate, rarely are in a position to be independent. They generally
work for a university, for a national public or for the ministry of
education and their books, once approved, may gain a considerable
income once millions of pupils are compelled to acquire these.
Taine initially became famous, not as a professional historian but as a
literary critic and journalist. His fame allowed him to sell his books and
articles and make a comfortable living without cow-towing to any
government or university. He wrote as he saw fit, truthfully, even
though it might displease a number of powerful persons.
Taine did not pretend to be a regular historian, but rather someone

enquiring into the history of Public Authorities and their supporters.
Through his comments he appears not only as a decent person but also
as a psychologist and seer. He describes mankind, as I know it from my
life in institutions, at sea and abroad in a large international
organization. He describes mankind as it was, as it was seen by Darwin
in 'THE EXPRESSIONS OF EMOTIONS IN MAN AND ANIMALS.
Taine described the human being as he was and is and had the courage
to tell the French about themselves, their ancient rulers, and the men of
the Revolution, even if it went against the favorable opinion so many of
his countrymen had of this terrible period. His understanding of our
evolution, of mankind and of the evolution of society did not find favor
with men who believed that they in the socialist ideology had found the
solution to all social ills. Only recently has science begun to return to
Darwin in order to rediscover the human being as Taine knew him. You
can find Taine's views of humanity confirmed in Robert Wright's book
'THE MORAL ANIMAL.' (Why we are the way we are.)
Taine had full access to the files of the French National archives and
these and other original documents. Taine had received a French
classical education and, being foremost among many brilliant men, had
a capacity for study and work which we no longer demand from our
young. He accepted Man and society, as they appeared to him, he
described his findings without compassion for the hang-ups of his
prejudiced countrymen. He described Man as a gregarious animal
living for a brief spell in a remote corner of space, whose different
cultures and nations had evolved haphazardly in time, carried along by
forces and events exceeding our comprehension, blindly following their
innate drives. These drives were followed with cunning but rarely with
far-sighted wisdom. Taine, the prophet, has more than ever something
to tell us. He warned his countrymen against themselves, their
humanity, and hence against their fears, anxieties, greed, ambitions,
conceit and excessive imagination. His remarks and judgments exhort
us to be responsible, modest and kind and to select wise and modest
leaders. He warns us against young hungry men's natural desire to mass
behind a tribune and follow him onwards, they hope, along the high
road to excitement, fame, power and riches. He warns us against our
readiness to believe in myth and metaphysics, demonstrating how Man
will believe anything, even the most mystical or incomprehensible

religion or ideology, provided it is preached by his leaders. History, as
seen by Taine, is one long series of such adventures and horrors and
nowhere was this more evident than in France before, during and after
the Revolution in 1789.
Taine became, upon reading 'On the Origins of the Species' a convinced
Darwinian and was, the year after Darwin, honored by the University of
Oxford with the title of doctor honoris causa in jure civili for his
'History of English Literature'. Taine was not a methodical ideologist
creating a system. He did not defend any particular creed or current. He
was considered some kind of positivist but he did not consider himself
as belonging to any particular school.
The 6 volumes of "Les Origines de la France Contemporaine" appeared
one after the other in Paris between 1875 and 1893. They were
translated into English and published in New York soon afterwards.
They were also translated into German. Taine's direct views displeased
many in France, as the Royalists, the bonapartist and the