There is no doubt on this point. In Rousseau's own words， the "Contrat Social" prescribes "the complete alienation to the community of each associate and all his rights，" every individual surrendering himself wholly， "just as he may actually be， he himself and all his powers of which his possessions form a part，" so that the state not only the recognized owner of property， but of minds and bodies as well， may forcibly and legitimately impose on every member of it such education， form of worship， religious faith， opinions and sympathies as it deems best.[22] Now each man， solely because he is a man， is by right a member of this despotic sovereignty. Whatever， accordingly， my condition may be， my incompetence， my ignorance， my insignificance in the career in which I have plodded along， I have full control over the fortunes， lives， and consciences of twenty-six million French people， being accordingly Czar and Pope， according to my share of authority. -- But if I adhere strictly to this doctrine， I am yet more so than my quota warrants. This royal prerogative with which I am endowed is only conferred on those who， like myself， sign the Social Contract in full；others， merely because they reject some clause of it， incur a forfeiture； no one must enjoy the advantages of a pact of which some of the conditions are repudiated. - Even better， as this pact is based on natural right and is obligatory， he who rejects it or withdraws from it， becomes by that act a miscreant， a public wrong-doer and an enemy of the people. There were once crimes of royal lèse-majesty； now there are crimes of popular lèse-majesty. Such crimes are committed when by deed， word， or thought， any portion whatever of the more than royal authority belonging to the people is denied or contested. The dogma through which popular sovereignty is proclaimed thus actually ends in a dictatorship of the few， and a proscription of the many.
Outside of the sect you are outside of the laws. We， the five or six thousand Jacobins of Paris， are the legitimate monarch， the infallible Pontiff， and woe betide the refractory and the lukewarm， all government agents， all private persons， the clergy， the nobles， the rich， merchants， traders， the indifferent among all classes， who， steadily opposing or yielding uncertain adhesion， dare to throw doubt on our unquestionable right.
One by one these consequences are to come into light， and it is evident that， let the logical machinery by which they unfold themselves be what it may， no ordinary person， unless of consummate vanity， will fully adopt them. He must have an exalted opinion of himself to consider himself sovereign otherwise than by his vote， to conduct public business with no more misgivings than his private business， to directly and forcibly interfere with this， to set himself up， he and his clique， as guides， censors and rulers of his government， to persuade himself that， with his mediocre education and average intellect， with his few scraps of Latin and such information as is obtained in reading-rooms， coffee-houses， and newspapers， with no other experience than that of a club， or a municipal council， he could discourse wisely and well on the vast， complex questions which superior men， specially devoted to them， hesitate to take up. At first this presumption existed in him only in germ， and， in ordinary times， it would have remained， for lack of nourishment， as dry-rot or creeping mold， But the heart knows not what strange seeds it contains！
Any of these， feeble and seemingly inoffensive， needs only air and sunshine to become a noxious excrescence and a colossal plant. Whether third or fourth rate attorney， counselor， surgeon， journalist， curé， artist， or author， the Jacobin is like the shepherd that has just found， in one corner of his hut， a lot of old parchments which entitle him to the throne. What a contrasts between the meanness of his calling and the importance with which the theory invests him！ With what rapture he accepts a dogma that raises him so high in his own estimation！ Diligently conning the Declaration of Rights， the Constitution， all the official documents that confer on him such glorious prerogatives， charging his imagination with them， he immediately assumes a tone befitting his new position.[23] -- Nothing surpasses the haughtiness and arrogance of this tone. It declares itself at the outset in the harangues of the clubs and in the petitions to the Constituent Assembly. Loustalot， Fréron， Danton， Marat， Robespierre， St. Just， always employ dictatorial language， that of the sect， and which finally becomes the jargon of their meanest valets. Courtesy or toleration， anything that denotes regard or respect for others， find no place in their utterances nor in their acts； a swaggering， tyrannical conceit creates for itself a language in its own image， and we see not only the foremost actors， but their minor associates， enthroned on their grandiloquent platform. Each in his own eyes is Roman， savior， hero， and great man.
