I know that such principles will not be to the taste of even some of
those members of the Third Estate who have been among the most resourceful
in defending its interest. So be it—provided that it is agreed
that I have begun with correct principles and have followed a proper
logic as I have proceeded. It should be added that, by separating itself
from the first two orders, the Third Estate cannot be accused of carrying
out a secession. This imprudent expression and the sense it contains should
be left to those who used it first. A majority cannot, as a matter of fact,
separate itself off from the whole. This would be a contradiction in
terms. To do so it would have to separate itself from itself. Only a minority
has the property of being unwilling to subject itself to the will of the
largest number and, as a result, of carrying out a secession.