I cannot conceal the fact that so new a turn of affairs has frightened a
part of the public. It might, perhaps, be said that is encouraging to see so
much good-hearted willingness towards an equitable distribution of the
tax burden in advance of the moment when it will be settled by the law.
But what is the cause of this new zeal and of so much haste and willingness
to cooperate now shown by the nobility? By offering to make a voluntary
donation, could they not be hoping to forestall the need for the
law to perform an act of justice? Might this excessive concern with anticipating
what the Estates-General might do not be designed simply to
make it easier to do without the Estates-General altogether? I would not
wish to accuse the nobility of wanting to tell the King: “Sire, you need
the Estates-General only to restore your finances. So, we propose to pay,
just like the Third Estate. Consider this small surplus and see whether it
might not rid you of an assembly that is a cause of more alarm to us than
it is to you?” Surely no one could ever possibly think that.