"Avenge yourselves wisely！ Death！ Death！ is the sole penalty for traitors raging to destroy you It is the only one that strikes terror into them. Follow the example of your implacable enemies！ Keep always armed， so that they may not escape through the delays of the law！ Stab them on the spot or blow their brains out！ " - " Twenty-four millions of men shout in unison： If the black， gangrened， archi-gangrened officials dare pass a bill reducing and reorganizing the army， citizens， then you build eight hundred scaffolds in the Tuileries garden and hang on them every traitor to his country - that infamous Riquetti， Comte de Mirabeau， at the head of them - and， at the same time， erect in the middle of the fountain basin a big pile of logs to roast the ministers and their tools！"[36] - Could "the Friend of the People" rally around him two thousand men determined "to save the country， he would go and tear the heart out of that infernal Mottié in the very midst of his battalions of slaves； he would go and burn the monarch and his imps in his palace， impale the deputies on their benches， and bury them beneath the flaming ruins of their den."[37]-On the first cannon shot being fired on the frontier，"it is indispensable that the people should close the gates of the towns and unhesitatingly make way with every priest， public functionary and anti-revolutionary， known instigators and their accomplices." - " It would be wise for the people's magistrates to keep constantly manufacturing large quantities of strong， sharp， short-bladed， double-edged knives， so as to arm each citizen known as a friend of his country. Now， the art of fighting with these terrible weapons consists in this： Use the left arm as buckler， and cover it up to the arm-pit with a sleeve quilted with some woollen stuff， filled with rags and hair， and then rush on the enemy， the right hand wielding the knife."[38] - Let us use these knives as soon as possible， for "what means are now remaining for us to put an end to the problems which overwhelm us？ I repeat it， no other but executions by the people."[39] - The Throne is at last down； but "be careful not to give way to false pity！ . . . . No quarter！ I advise you to decimate the anti-revolutionary members of the municipality， of the justices of the peace， of the members of the departments and of the National Assembly."[40] - At the outset， a few lives would have sufficed： "five hundred heads ought to have fallen when the Bastille was taken， and all would then have gone on well." But， through lack of foresight and timidity， the evil was allowed to spread， and the more it spread the larger the amputation should have been. - With the sure， keen eye of the surgeon， Marat gives its dimensions； he has made his calculation beforehand. In September， 1792， in the Council at the Commune， he estimates forty thousand as the number of heads that should be laid low.[41] Six weeks later， the social abscess having enormously increased， the figures swell in proportion； he now demands two hundred and seventy thousand heads，[42] always on the score of humanity， "to ensure public tranquility，" on condition that the operation be entrusted to him， as the temporary enforcer of the justice. - Except for this last point， the rest is granted to him； it is unfortunate that he could not see with his own eyes the complete fulfillment of his programme， the batches condemned by the revolutionary Tribunal， the massacres of Lyons and Toulon， the drownings of Nantes. - From the beginning to the end， he was in keeping with the Revolution， lucid on account of his blindness， thanks to his crazy logic， thanks to the concordance of his personal malady with the public malady， to the early manifestation of his complete madness in the midst of the incomplete or tardy madness of the rest， he alone steadfast， remorseless， triumphant， perched aloft at the first bound on the sharp pinnacle which his rivals dared not climb or only stumbled up.
II. Danton.
Danton. - Richness of his faculties. - Disparity between his condition and instincts. - The Barbarian. - His work. - His weakness.
There is nothing of the madman about Danton； on the contrary， not only is his intellect sound， but he possesses political aptitudes to an eminent degree， and to such an extent that， in this particular， none of his associates or adversaries compare with him， while， among the men of the Revolution， only Mirabeau equals or surpasses him. He is an original， spontaneous genius and not， like most of his contemporaries， a disputatious， quill-driving theorist，[43] that is to say， a fanatical pedant， an artificial being composed of his books， a mill-horse with blinkers， and turning around in a circle without an issue. His free judgment is not hampered by abstract prejudices： he does not carry about with him a social contract， like Rousseau， nor， like Siéyès， a social art and cabinet principles or combinations；[44]