ELISÉE RECLUS

At the closing of the Salon, one of my friends, an amateur connoisseur of beautiful things, came to me quite desolate. He had been ill and had taken a journey away from Paris. Now he returned too late for the Exhibition and so he lamented not having been able to see these multitudes of marbles and paintings which special reviews kept him conversant with. The dear comrade may reassure himself.

Everything that can be said about the suffrage may be summed up in a sentence. To vote is to give up your own power. To elect a master or many, for a long or short time, is to resign one’s liberty. Call it an absolute monarch, a constitutional king, or a simple M.P., the candidate that you raise to the throne, to the seat, or to the easy chair, he will always be your master.

Dedication For all who are able to envision a free, just, and compassionate world, and who, like Reclus, dedicate their lives to creating such a world Preface to the PM Press Edition One of the best-known images from Reclus’ works originally appeared above the preface of his magnum opus, L’Homme et la Terre, and is reproduced here.