Passage from The Kreuznach Notebooks of 1843

(written by Marx in July-August 1843 in connection with his reading and summarising of the journal Historisch-politische Zeitschrift, edited by Leopold Ranke. Marx was particularly interested in Ranke's article Über die restauration in Frankreich. This note was found in the fourth Kreuznach Notebook which contains Marx's historical excerpts relating to July-August 1843, and are directly connected to his Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right.)

Written: July-August 1843
Source: Marx Engels Collected Works Volume 3.

Note. Under Louis XVIII, the constitution [by] grace of the king (Charter imposed by the king); under Louis Philippe, the king [by] grace of the constitution (imposed kingship). In general we can note that the conversion of the subject into the predicate, and of the predicate into the subject, the exchange of that which determines for that which is determined, is always the most immediate revolution. Not only on the revolutionary side. The king makes the law (old monarchy), the law makes the king (new monarchy). Likewise in regard to the constitution. The reactionaries as well. Primogeniture is the law of the state. The state demands the law of primogeniture. Owing to the fact, therefore, that Hegel makes the elements of the state idea the subject, and the old forms of existence of the state the predicate, whereas in historical reality the reverse is the case, the state idea being instead the predicate of those forms of existence, he expresses only the general character of the period, its political teleology. It is the same thing as with his philosophical-religious pantheism. By means of it all forms of unreason become forms of reason. But essentially here in religion reason is made the determining factor, while in the state the idea of the state is made the determining factor. This metaphysics is the metaphysical expression of reaction, of the old world as the truth of the new world outlook.