第694章

Those are held to be enemies of the people who shall have misled the people， or the representatives of the people， into measures opposed to the interests of liberty； those who shall have sought to create discouragement by favoring the undertakings of tyrants leagued against the Republic； those who shall have spread false reports to divide or disturb the people； those who shall have sought to misdirect opinion and impede popular instruction， produce depravity and corrupt the public conscience， diminish the energy and purity of revolutionary and republican principles， or stay their progressThose who， charged with public functions， abuse them to serve the enemies of the Revolution， vex patriots， oppress the people， etc."[138] Buchez et Roux， XXXV.， 290. (" Institutions，" by Saint-Just.)"The Revolution is chilled. Principles have lost their vigor.

Nothing remains but red-caps worn by intrigue." - Report by Courtois， "Pièces justificatives" No.20. (Letter of Pays and Rompillon， president and secretary of the committee of Surveillance of Saint-Calais， to Robespierre， Niv？se 15， year II.) "The Mountain here is composed of only a dozen or fifteen men on whom you can rely as on yourself； the rest are either deceived， seduced， corrupted or enticed away. Public opinion is debauched by the gold and intrigues of honest folks."[139] Report by Courtois， N. 43. - Cf. Hamel， III.， 43， 71. - (The following important document is on file in the Archives Nationales， F7， 4446， and consists of two notes written by Robespierre in June and July， 1793)： "Who are our enemies？ The vicious and the rich. . . .

How may the civil war be stopped？ Punish traitors and conspirators， especially guilty deputies and administrators . . . . make terrible examples . . . . proscribe perfidious writers and anti-revolutionaries . . . . Internal danger comes from the bourgeois；to overcome the bourgeois， rally the people. The present insurrection must be kept up . . . . The insurrection should gradually continue to spread out . . . The sans-culottes should be paid and remain in the towns. They ought to be armed， worked up， taught."[140] The committee of Public Safety， and Robespierre especially， knew of and commanded the drownings of Nantes， as well as the principal massacres by Carrier， Turreau， etc. (De Martel， "Etude sur Fouché，"257-265.) - Ibid.， ("Types revolutionnaires，" 41-49.) - Buchez et Roux， XXXIII.， 101 (May 26， 1794.) Report by Barère and decree of the convention ordering that "No English prisoners should be taken."Robespierre afterwards speaks in the same sense. Ibid.， 458. After the capture of Newport， where they took five thousand English prisoners， the French soldiers were unwilling to execute the convention's decree， on which Robespierre (speech of Thermidor 8)said： "I warn you that your decree against the English has constantly been violated； England， so ill-treated in our speeches， is spared by our arms."[141] On the Girondists， Cf. "The Revolution，" II.， 216.

[142] Buchez et Roux， XXX.， 157. Sketch of a speech on the Fabre d'Eglantine factim. - Ibid.， 336， Speech at the Jacobin Club against Clootz. - XXXII.， abstract of a report on the Chabot affair， 18.-Ibid.， 69， Speech on maintaining Danton's arrest.

[143] Ibid.， XXX.， 378. (Dec.10， 1793.) With respect to the women who crowd the Convention in order to secure the liberty of their husbands：

"Should the repubican women forget their virtues as citizens whenever they remembering that they are wives？"[144] Hamel， III.， 196. - Michelet， V.， 394， abstract of the judicial debates on the disposition of the Girondists： "The minutes of this decree are found in Robespierre's handwriting."[145] De Martel， "Types revolutionnaires，" 44. The instructions sent to the Revolutionary Tribunal at Orange are in Robespierre's handwriting. - (Archives Nationales， F7 4439.)[146] Merlin de Thionville.

[147] Buchez et Roux， XXXII.， 71. (On Danton.) "Before the day is over we shall see whether the convention will shatter an idol a long time rotten. . . . In what respect is Danton superior to his fellow-citizens？ . . . . I say that the man who now hesitates is guilty. . . . . The debate， just begun， is a danger to the country." - Also the speech in full， against Clootz.

[148] Ibid.， XXX.， 338. "Alas， suffering patriots， what can we do， surrounded by enemies fighting in our own ranks！ . . . Let us watch， for the fall of our country is not far off，" etc. - These cantatas， with the accompaniments of the celestial harp， are terrible if we consider the circumstances. For instance， on the 3rd of September， 1792， in the electoral assembly while the massacres are going on： "M. Robespierre climbs up on the tribune and declares that he will calmly face the steel of the enemies of public good， and carry with him to his grave the satisfaction of having served his country， the certainty of France having preserved its liberty". - (Archives Nationales， C. II.， 58-76.)[149] Buchez et Roux， XXXII.， 360， 371. (Speech of May 7， 1794.)"Danton1 the most dangerous， if he had not been the most cowardly， of the enemies of his country . . . . Danton， the coldest， the most indifferent， during his country's greatest peril."[150] Ibid.， XXXIV.， -- Cf. the description of him by Fievée， who saw him in the tribune at the Jacobin Club.

[151] Merlin de Thionville "A vague， painful anxiety， due to his temperament， was the sole source of his activity."[152] Barère， " Mémoires." "He wanted to rule France influentially rather than directly." - Buchez et Roux， XIV.， 188. (Article by Marat.) During the early sessions of the Legislative Assembly， Marat saw Robespierre on one occasion， and explained to him his plans for exciting popular outbreaks， and for his purifying massacres.