They declared themselves the Friends of the A.B.C. ⁠—the Abaissé ⁠—the debased⁠—that is to say, the people. They wished to elevate the people. It was a pun which we should do wrong to smile at. Puns are sometimes serious factors in politics; witness the Castratus ad castra , which made a general of the army of Narses; witness: Barbari et Barberini ; witness: Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram , etc. , etc.