Abbé Sieyès was a prominent clergyman in France who supported the rights of the common people. The Marquis de Lafayette was a member of the nobility who had fought in America's war for independence against Britain. Their document was written in consultation with Thomas Jefferson of the United States, who had drafted the Declaration of Independence.
The Declaration of Independence (1776) asserted the American colonies' decision to break away from British government. It included the same Enlightenment ideals of natural rights and liberties that would characterize the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen produced later (1789) in France.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was approved by the National Assembly of France on August 26, 1789, in the early months of the French Revolution.
Pitiful is the meaning of pathetic in this sentence because the cat is fully soaked in the rain which is a pitiful scenery. It make Natalee very emotional and sad. There are some people who can't see animals in difficulty and when they see it, they become emotional and sad. There are also some more meanings of the word pathetic such as moving and touching etc.