Thus his account has all the qualities that persuade—­accuracy and candor.  And when, ten years later, a vast military enterprise transported forty thousand travellers to the classic ground, which he had trod unattended, unarmed and unprotected, they all recognized a sure guide and an enlightened observer in the writer who had, as it seemed, only preceded them to remove or point out a part of the difficulties of the way.

The unanimous testimony of all parties proved the accuracy of his account and the justness of his observations; and his Travels in Egypt and Syria were, by universal suffrage, recommended to the gratitude and the confidence of the public.

Before the work had undergone this trial it had obtained in the learned world such a rapid and general success, that it found its way into Russia.  The empress, then (in 1787) upon the throne, sent the author a medal, which he received with respect, as a mark of esteem for his talents, and with gratitude, as a proof of the approbation given to his principles.  But when the empress declared against France, Volney sent back the honorable present, saying:  “If I obtained it from her esteem, I can only preserve her esteem by returning it.”

The revolution of 1789, which had drawn upon France the menaces of Catharine, had opened to Volney a political career.  As deputy in the assembly of the states-general, the first words he uttered there were in favor of the publicity of their deliberations.  He also supported the organization of the national guards, and that of the communes and departments.

At the period when the question of the sale of the domain lands was agitated (in 1790), he published an essay in which he lays down the following principles:  “The force of a State is in proportion to its population; population is in proportion to plenty; plenty is in proportion to tillage; and tillage, to personal and immediate interest, that is to the spirit of property.  Whence it follows, that the nearer the cultivator approaches the passive condition of a mercenary, the less industry and activity are to be expected from him; and, on the other hand, the nearer he is to the condition of a free and entire proprietor, the more extension he gives to his own forces, to the produce of his lands, and the general prosperity of the State.”

The author draws this conclusion, that a State is so much the more powerful as it includes a greater number of proprietors,—­that is, a greater division of property.

Conducted into Corsica by that spirit of observation which belongs only to men whose information is varied and extensive, he perceived at the first glance all that could be done for the improvement of agriculture in that country:  but he knew that, for a people firmly attached to ancient customs, there can exist no other demonstration or means of persuasion than example.  He purchased a considerable estate, and made experiments on those kinds of tillage that he hoped to naturalize in that climate.  The sugar-cane, cotton, indigo and coffee soon demonstrated the success of his efforts.  This success drew upon him the notice of the government.  He was appointed director of agriculture and commerce in that island, where, through ignorance, all new methods are introduced with such difficulty.