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| | with him. He had not hesitated on this point, not being anxious to leave a | | with him. He had not hesitated on this point, not being anxious to leave a |
| | property behind him. Besides, he had noticed that patrimonies are subject | | property behind him. Besides, he had noticed that patrimonies are subject |
| − | to adventures, and, for instance, become national property; he had witnessed the incarnation of the consolidated third, and he had no | + | to adventures, and, for instance, become national property; he had witnessed the metamorphoses of the consolidated third, and he had no |
| | great faith in the Great Book of the Public Debt. "All that's the Rue | | great faith in the Great Book of the Public Debt. "All that's the Rue |
| | Quincampois!" he said. His house in the Rue Filles-du-Clavaire belonged to | | Quincampois!" he said. His house in the Rue Filles-du-Clavaire belonged to |
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| | ==Translation notes== | | ==Translation notes== |
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| − | ==="il avait assisté aux avatars du tiers consolidé"===
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| − | In the 19th centurey and earlier, the French 'assister' expressed passive observance of an event.<ref>"Assister" Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales, 2012. http://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/assist%C3%A9</ref>
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| − | From Sanskrit, 'avatar' denoted incarnation of Hindu deities. In excerpts of 19th century French literature, 'avatar' maintained the meaning of metamorphosis, transformation, or incarnation.<ref>"Avatar" Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales, 2012. http://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/avatar and http://www.cnrtl.fr/etymologie/avatar</ref> "Incarnation" seems the most fitting denotation of the transformation of the government's intention for the consolidated third into the disastrous reality of the bankruptcy after the plan for the consolidated third was enacted.
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| | ===Grand-livre de la dette publique=== | | ===Grand-livre de la dette publique=== |
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| | ''National Estates'' was another term for property obtained by the state. These Estates, procured to be auctioned by the state, included those of the church, all the king's things, those of émigrés who fled revolution, and the property of people consumed by the Terror.<ref name="macro" /> Perhaps M. Gillenormand had attended some of these auctions. | | ''National Estates'' was another term for property obtained by the state. These Estates, procured to be auctioned by the state, included those of the church, all the king's things, those of émigrés who fled revolution, and the property of people consumed by the Terror.<ref name="macro" /> Perhaps M. Gillenormand had attended some of these auctions. |
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| − | ==="il avait assisté aux avatars du tiers consolidé" / "he had witnessed the incarnation of the consolidated third"===
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| − | The consolidated third became known as the two-thirds bankruptcy. M. A. Thiers succinctly describes the consolidated third in his mid 19th century tome, ''The History of the French Revolution'':
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| − | "Thus the debt was overwhelming, and the state was in the situation of an individual who was unable to meet his engagements. It was resolved, therefore, to continue to pay a portion of the debt in money, and... pay off the capital itself with [the national] estates. It was proposed to retain one-third only; the third retained was to be called the ''consolidated third'', and to remain on the Great Book as a perpetual annuity. The other two-thirds were to be paid off... in bonds receivable in payment of national estates. It is true that these bonds fell in traffic to less than one-sixth of their value, and that for those who did not wish to purchase lands it was an absolute bankruptcy."<ref name="Thiers">Thiers, Marie Joseph L. Adolphe. The History of the French Revolution. Trans. Unknown. London: Whittaker & Co., Ave Marie Lane, 1845. P. 755-56 Original from Oxford University. https://books.google.com/books?id=yDIEAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false</ref>
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| − | What Theirs meant by "in traffic" seems to be the exchange of one type of currency for another, which is suggested as Thiers continues:
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| − | "The bankruptcy occurred partly because "creditors who would not purchase the national estates would lose nine-tenths by negotiating their bonds, inasmuch as the issue of so large a quantity of paper [money] would considerably lower its value; that... most of the creditors of the state were too poor to buy lands;... that consequently an actual loss of nine-tenths of their capital in most cases took place; that the third, assumed to be consolidated and secured from reduction in future, was only promised." The government, on the other hand, considered national property (national estates) legitimate means of paying off debts. <ref name="Thiers" />
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| | ===Grand-livre de la dette publique / Great Book of the Public Debt=== | | ===Grand-livre de la dette publique / Great Book of the Public Debt=== |
