Into the thick of the agitation going on in silent thought or open speech, the austere Breton came to teach the world a word they had not expected; in fact at that time M. de la Mennais was looked upon as a supporter of both _Throne_ and _Church._ The throne had just fallen, and the Church was shaking violently from the changes which the events of 1830 had wrought in social institutions. But the world was mistaken with regard to the views of the great writer, because it only saw in him the author of _L'Essai sur l'indifférence en matière de religion_, a strange book, in which that virile imagination strove against his century, struggling with the spirit of the times, as Jacob strove with the angel. People forgot that in 1828, during the Martignac Ministry, the same de Lamennais had hurled a book into the controversy which had predicted a certain degree of intellectual revival: I refer to _Du progrès de la Revolution et de la guerre contre l'Église._ In this book, the Revolution of 1830 was foretold as an inevitable event. Listen carefully to his words-- "And even to-day when there no longer really exists any government, since it has become the tool and the plaything of the boldest or of the most powerful; to-day, when democracy triumphs openly, is there any more calm in its own breast? Could one find, moreover, no matter what the nature of his opinions may be, one man, one single man, who desires what is, and who _desires only that and nothing more?_ Never, on the other hand, has he more eagerly longed for a new order of things; _everybody cries out for, the whole world is calling for, a revolution, whether they admit it or are conscious of it themselves._ Yes, it will come, because it is imperative that nations shall be unitedly educated and chastised; _because, according to the common laws of Providence, a revolution is indispensable for the preparation of a true social regeneration. France will not be the only scene of action: it will extend everywhere where Liberalism rules either in doctrine or in sentiment; and under this latter form it is universal._" In the preface to the same book, M. de Lamennais had already said-- "That France and Europe are marching towards fresh revolutions is now apparent to everybody. The most undaunted hopes which have fed themselves for long on interest or stupidity give way before the evidence of facts, in the face of which it is no longer possible for anyone to delude himself. Nothing can remain as it is, everything is unsettled, totters towards a change. _Conturbatœ sunt gentes et inclinata sunt regna._" We underline nothing in this second paragraph because we should have to underline the whole. Let us pass on to the last words of the book--