THE ORIGINS OF CONTEMPORARY FRANCE SIX VOLUMES: COMPLETE TABLE OF CONTENTS by Hippolyte A. Taine Volume One: Ancient Regime Volume Two: French Revolution I. Volume Three: French Revolution II. Volume Four: French Revolution III. Volume Five: Napoleon I. Volume Six: Modern Regime THE ANCIENT REGIME INTRODUCTION PREFACE: PREFACE BY THE AUTHOR: ON POLITICAL IGNORANCE AND WISDOM. BOOK FIRST. THE STRUCTURE OF THE ANCIENT SOCIETY. CHAPTER I. THE ORIGIN OF PRIVILEGES. I. Services and Recompenses of the Clergy. II. Services and Recompenses of the Nobles. III. Services and Recompenses of the King. CHAPTER II. THE PRIVILEGED CLASSES. I. Number of the Privileged Classes. II. Their Possessions, Capital, and Revenue. III. Their Immunities. IV. Their Feudal Rights. V. They may be justified by local and general services. CHAPTER III. LOCAL SERVICES DUE BY THE PRIVILEGED CLASSES. I. Examples in Germany and England.—These services are not rendered by II. Resident Seigniors. III. Absentee Seigniors. CHAPTER IV. PUBLIC SERVICES DUE BY THE PRIVILEGED CLASSES. I. England compared to France. II. The Clergy III. Influence of the Nobles.. IV. Isolation of the Chiefs V. The King's Incompetence and Generosity. VI. Latent Disorganization in France. BOOK SECOND. MORALS AND CHARACTERS. CHAPTER I. MORAL PRINCIPLES UNDER THE ANCIENT REGIME. The Court and a life of pomp and parade. I. Versailles. The Physical aspect and the moral character of Versailles. II. The King's Household. III. The King's Associates. IV. Everyday Life In Court. V. Royal Distractions. VI. Upper Class Distractions. VII. Provincial Nobility. CHAPTER II. DRAWING ROOM LIFE. I. Perfect only in France II. Social Life Has Priority. III. Universal Pleasure Seeking. IV. Enjoyment. V. Happiness. VI. Gaiety. VII. Theater, Parade And Extravagance. CHAPTER III. DISADVANTAGES OF THIS DRAWING ROOM LIFE. I. Its Barrenness and Artificiality II. Return To Nature And Sentiment. III. Personality Defects. BOOK THIRD. THE SPIRIT AND THE DOCTRINE. CHAPTER I. SCIENTIFIC ACQUISITION. I. Scientific Progress. II. Science Detached From Theology. III. The Transformation Of History. IV. The New Psychology. V. The Analytical Method. CHAPTER II. THE CLASSIC SPIRIT, THE SECOND ELEMENT. I. Through Colored Glasses. II. Its Original Deficiency. III. The Mathematical Method. CHAPTER III. COMBINATION OF THE TWO ELEMENTS. I. Birth Of A Doctrine, A Revelation. II. Ancestral Tradition And Culture. III. Reason At War With Illusion. IV. Casting Out The Residue Of Truth And Justice. V. The Dream Of A Return To Nature. VI. The Abolition Of Society. Rousseau. VII: The Lost Children. CHAPTER IV. ORGANIZING THE FUTURE SOCIETY. I. Liberty, Equality And Sovereignty Of The People. II. Naive Convictions III. Our True Human Nature. IV. Birth Of Socialist Theory, Its Two Sides. V. Social Contract, Summary. BOOK FOURTH. THE PROPAGATION OF THE DOCTRINE.