Page:Mirabeau and the French constitution in the years 1789 adn 1790 (IA mirabeaufrenchco00flin).pdf/18

 hatred of despotism and a passionate love of constitutional liberty. These sentiments were the more extraordinary as the former was directed against institutions, not against persons, while the latter, largely under the control of reason, did not degenerate into philosophical theories and dreams impossible of realization; the natural fairness of his mind and his practical training preserved him from such errors.

Led, at an early age, to think deeply upon constitutional questions, the experiences of an eventful life furnished him with an abundance of material on which to exercise his mind and pen. The governments of Holland, England and Prussia were examined in turn, and his great work, "De la Monarchie Prussienne sous Frederic le Grand" (1788), [sic] was the fruit of his constitutional studies. About to undertake a similar work upon the English government, he was called to employ his great talents and extensive knowledge in framing a constitution for his own country. This opportunity he had long desired, and was firmly resolved that no fault of his own should deprive him of it.

But on the very threshold of public life, he encountered the spectre that was to confront him at every turn during his brief career — the immorality of his youth. Rejected by the nobility of Provence, he was elected as a representative of the