He and
his are lost the moment they cease to obey this rule. Every Jacobin,
like every African monarch or pasha, must it that he may be and remain
at the head of his band. - That is the reason why the chiefs of the
party, its natural and pre-determined leaders, are theoreticians able
to grasp its principle and logicians capable of drawing its
consequences. They are, however, so inept as to be unable to
understand that their enterprise exceeds both their own and all other
human resources, but shrewd enough to see that brutal force is their
only tool, inhuman enough to apply it unscrupulously and without
reserve, and perverted enough to murder at random in order to
disseminate terror.
Notes:
[1] Buchez et Roux, XXXII, 354. (Speech by Robespierre in the
Convention, Flor?al 18, year II.) " Sparta gleams like a flash of
lightening amidst profoundest darkness".
[2] Milos taken by the Athenians; Thebes, after Alexander's victory;
Corinth, after its capture by the Romans. - In the Peloponnesian war,
the Plateans, who surrender at discretion, are put to death. Nicias
is murdered in cold blood after his defeat in Sicily. The prisoners
at ?gos-Potamos have their thumbs cut off.
Pages:
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273