第612章

It is a sort of opera played in the streets by the public authorities， with triumphant chariots， altars， censers， an Ark of the Covenant， funeral urns， classic banners and other trappings！ Its divinities consist of plaster statues representing Nature， Liberty， the People， and Hercules， all of which are personified abstractions， like those painted on the ceiling of a theater. In all this there is no spontaneity nor sincerity； the actors， whose consciences tell them that they are only actors， render homage to symbols which they know to be nothing but symbols， while the mechanical procession，[38] the invocations， the apostrophes， the postures， the gestures are regulated beforehand， the same as by a ballet-manager. To any truth-loving person all this must seem like a charade performed by puppets. -- But the festival is colossal， well calculated to stimulate the imagination and excite pride through physical excitement.[39] On this grandiose stage the delegates become quite intoxicated with their part； for， evidently， theirs is the leading part； they represent twenty-six millions of Frenchmen， and the sole object of this ceremony is to glorify the national will of which they are the bearers. -- On the Place de la Bastille[40] where the gigantic effigy of nature pours forth from its two breasts "the regenerating water，" Hérault， the president， after offering libations and saluting the new goddess， passes the cup to the eighty-seven elders (les doyens) of the eighty-seven departments， each "summoned by sound of drum and trumpet" to step forward and drink in his turn， while cannon belch forth their thunders as if for a monarch. After the eighty-seven have passed the cup around， the artillery roars. The procession them moves on， and the delegates again are assigned the place of honor. The elders， holding an olive-branch in one hand， and a pike in the other， with a streamer on the end of it bearing the name of their department， "bound to each other by a small three-color ribbon，" surround the Convention as if to convey the idea that the nation maintains and conducts its legal representative. Behind them march the rest of the eight thousand delegates， likewise holding olive-branches and forming a second distinct body， the largest of all， and on which all eyes are centered. For， in their wake， "their is no longer any distinction between persons and functionaries，" all being confounded together， marching pell-mell， executive council， city officials， judges scattered about haphazard and， by virtue of equality， lost in the crowd. At each station， thanks to their insignia， the delegates form the most conspicuous element. On reaching the last one， that of the Champ de Mars， they alone with the Convention， ascend the steps leading to the alter of the country； on the highest platform stands the eldest of all alongside the president of the Convention， also standing； thus graded above each other， the seven thousand， who envelope the seven hundred and fifty， form "the veritable Sacred Mountain." Now， the president， on the highest platform， turns toward the eighty-seven elders； he confides to the Ark containing the Constitutional Act and the list of those who voted for it； they， on their part， then advance and hand him their pikes， which he gathers together into one bundle as an emblem of national unity and indivisibility. At this， shouts arise from every point of the immense enclosure； salvoes of artillery follow again and again； "one would say that heaven and earth answered each other" in honor "of the greatest epoch of humanity." -- Certainly， the delegates are beside themselves；their nerves， strained to the utmost， vibrates too powerfully； the millennium discloses itself before their eyes. Already， many among them on the Place de la Bastille， had addressed the universe； others， "seized with a prophetic spirit，" promise eternity to the Constitution. They feel themselves "reborn again， along with the human species；" they regard themselves as beings of a new world.

History is consummated in them； the future is in their hands； they believe themselves gods on earth. -- In this critical state， their reason， like a pair of ill-balanced scales， yields to the slightest touch； under the pressure of the manufacturers of enthusiasm， a sudden reaction will carry them away. They consider the Constitution as a panacea， and they are going to consign it， like some dangerous drug， to this coffer which they call an ark. They have just proclaimed the liberty of the people， and are going to perpetuate the dictatorship of the Convention.

VI. The Mountain.

Maneuvers of the "Mountain." -- The Jacobin Club on the eve of August 11th. -- Session of the Convention on the 11th of August. -- The Delegates initiate Terror. -- Popular consecration of the Jacobin dictatorship.

This volteface has， of course， to appear spontaneous and the hand of the titular rulers remain invisible： the Convention， as usual with usurpers， is to simulate reserve and disinterestedness. -Consequently， the following morning， August 11， on the opening of the session， it simply declares that "its mission is fulfilled："[41]

on the motion of Lacroix， a confederate of Danton's， it passes a law that a new census of the population and of electors shall be made with as little delay as possible， in order to convoke the primary assemblies at once； it welcomes with joy the delegates who bring to it the Constitutional Ark； the entire Assembly rises in the presence of this sacred receptacle， and allows the delegates to exhort it and instruct it concerning its duties.[42] But in the evening， at the Jacobin Club， Robespierre， after a long and vague discourse on public dangers， conspiracies， and traitors， suddenly utters the decisive words：

"The most important of my reflections was about to escape me[43]. .