Quiz: Reflections on the Revolution in France

12 questions drawn at random. Score 80% for a silver medal.

1. According to the Note to the Reader, when did Burke write his first answer to the young gentleman in Paris? January 1790 October 1789 November 1790 July 1789
2. What institution does Burke say the Assembly forgot, which no projector of a republic had omitted before? A national bank A standing army A supreme court A senate
3. What does Burke name as the fundamental excellence of the abolished parliaments? They were independent They were elected They were cheap They were free of all faction
4. Where does Burke say the principles of the Revolution of 1688 are to be found? In the sermons preached at the Old Jewry In the statute called the Declaration of Right In the writings of the French philosophers In the resolutions of the Revolution Society of London
5. According to Burke, what did Necker’s budget of May 1789 show? A deficit so large that only a declared bankruptcy could meet it A surplus of revenue over expenses A deficit of some 56 million livres that savings could cover That the debt could be paid only by selling the crown lands and forests
6. Whose report on the state of the army does Burke quote at length? The war minister, La Tour du Pin The Marquis de La Fayette, of the National Guard M. Necker M. de Calonne, from exile
7. Which two groups does Burke blame for the attack on Church property? The peasants and the army The Protestants and the Jansenists The parlements of the provinces and the princes of the blood The moneyed interest and the political men of letters
8. Which English agitator does Burke offer to exchange for the Archbishop of Paris? Lord George Gordon Joseph Priestley John Wilkes Thomas Paine
9. Why does Burke say the English cherish their prejudices? Reason is useless in politics, and only blind custom can keep the multitude obedient to the law The Church of England commands them, and a good Christian may not question what the Church teaches Private reason is small; prejudice stores the wisdom of ages and makes virtue a habit They were written into Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights, and so have the force of fundamental law
10. Why, according to Burke, is English bank paper of value? It is legal tender, enforced by Act of Parliament and the courts It bears a high rate of interest It is secured on the lands of the Church of England It is taken by choice and convertible into cash at pleasure
11. What does Burke say the French might have done with their old constitution? Replaced it with a copy of the American constitution Repaired its walls and built on its old foundations Restored the absolute monarchy of Louis XIV Turned it into an elective monarchy
12. What, according to Burke, should the true lawgiver be like? He should consult only the strict principles of geometry and arithmetic He should be a philosopher free of all prejudice He should have an undoubting confidence and act swiftly He should love and respect his kind, fear himself, and move slowly

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