Only true grandeur of character can defy the withering influences of an age of disillusionment; and France had for a time to rely upon Sieyes.

Perhaps no man has built up a reputation for political capacity on performances so slight as the Abbe Sieyes.
In the States General of 1789 he speedily acquired renown for oracular wisdom, owing to the brevity and wit of his remarks in an assembly where such virtues were rare.

But the course of the Revolution soon showed the barrenness of his mind and the timidity of his character.
He therefore failed to exert any lasting influence upon events.

In the time of the Terror his insignificance was his refuge.

His witty reply to an inquiry how he had then fared--"J'ai vecu "-- sufficiently characterizes the man.