ABSTRACT

In the second half of the 18^th century, the foundation of monarchical and aristocratic power and prestige was challenged by notions of essential equality and a transformed idea of merit. The elite continued to pursue the traditional marks of distinction, but this behaviour was often accompanied by a discourse stressing the unimportance of such vain and worldly concerns for the truly enlightened person. This article seeks firstly to demonstrate how strong, albeit increasingly ambivalent, sensitivity to such matters was, through analysis of the correspondence of a selection of elite persons. Secondly, it shows the significance of this attitude in its contemporary social and political framework, by analysing legislation concerning rank and honour. This legislation kept alive the hankering after rank, at the very same time that legal and moralizing texts were concerned with the problem of people chasing a ‘false’ honour. These systemic contradictions in the monarchy were reflected in the qualms experienced by its public servants on a personal level. The article argues that the public servants’ doubts about their self-worth probably contributed to eroding their belief in the legitimacy of the regime.

摘要

在18^世纪下半叶世纪，君主制和贵族权力和威望的基础受到了基本平等观念和价值观念转变的挑战。精英们继续追求传统的区分标志，但是这种行为常常伴随着一种话语，强调对真正开明的人来说，这种虚荣和世俗的关注并不重要。本文首先试图通过分析某些精英人士的往来来证明对这些问题的敏感程度，尽管这种矛盾程度越来越矛盾。其次，它通过分析有关等级和荣誉的立法，表明了这种态度在其当代社会和政治框架中的重要性。这项立法使追逐名次的渴望得以维持，同时，法律文本和道德文本也涉及人们追求“虚假”荣誉的问题。君主制中的这些系统性矛盾反映在其公务员在个人层面上所经历的苦恼中。文章认为，公务员对其自我价值的怀疑可能会削弱他们对政权合法性的信念。