Chapter Chronology

Quiz for Primary Source 19.2: Abbé Sieyès, What Is the Third Estate?

Question

1. According to Sieyès, what must one do in order to be part of the nation?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is a. In Sieyès’s view, the nobility were not part of the nation precisely because they enjoyed special privileges that set them apart from the rest of France’s people.
Incorrect. The answer is a. In Sieyès’s view, the nobility were not part of the nation precisely because they enjoyed special privileges that set them apart from the rest of France’s people.

Question

2. Which of these best describes the nobility as Sieyès saw them?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is b. In answering the rhetorical question of what place the nobility should occupy in French society, Sieyès described the nobility as a “malignant tumor.”
Incorrect. The answer is b. In answering the rhetorical question of what place the nobility should occupy in French society, Sieyès described the nobility as a “malignant tumor.”

Question

3. In Sieyès’s view, in what sense were all French citizens equal?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is a. For Sieyès, equality before the law was at the heart of the rights of citizenship.
Incorrect. The answer is a. For Sieyès, equality before the law was at the heart of the rights of citizenship.

Question

4. Which of these might Sieyès condemn as inconsistent with the idea of the nation as he understood it?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is a. Sieyès opposed any law that singled out specific individuals for special treatment.
Incorrect. The answer is a. Sieyès opposed any law that singled out specific individuals for special treatment.