Quotes About Robespierre

L'homme, c'etait Thuriot, un dogue terrible, de la race de Danton; nous le retrouverons deux fois, au comencement et à la fin; sa parole est deux fois mortelle: el tue la Bastille, il tue Robespierre.

Terror is only justice: prompt, severe and inflexible; it is then an emanation of virtue; it is less a distinct principle than a natural consequence of the general principle of democracy, applied to the most pressing wants of the country.

And Robespierre, the Incorruptible, who loved us so much he cut off our heads so we would not be troubled by too many thoughts.

We must put our trust in Robespierre; he is incorruptible.

Thermidorian reaction', led by Barras and Fréron, overthrew Maximilien Robespierre on July 27 (9 Thermidor in the revolutionary calendar). Both brothers and sixty other 'Terrorists' were guillotined the next day. Had Napoleon been in Paris at the time he might well have been scooped up and sent to the guillotine along with them.

Had Napoleon been thoroughly unselfish, Grant suggested, he would have been the greatest man in history, such was his military genius. When a young woman on board asked Grant to name the two figures he detested most in history, he shot back, "Napoleon and Robespierre."114

It is the Reign of Terror, with Robespierre the king. The struggles between the boa and the lion are past: the boa has consumed the lion, and is heavy with the gorge

Robespierre fu un capo popolare, nel senso che i suoi discorsi e la sua fama erano noti, ma personalmente non si trovò mai alla testa della folla rivoluzionaria in nessuna situazione decisiva, come accadde del resto ad altri celebri capi rivoluzionari.

Robespierre è l'esempio perfetto del carattere del capo di un gregge democratico».

Again, it may be said, that to love justice and equality the people need no great effort of virtue; it is sufficient that they love themselves.

It is frightening to see distinguished intellectuals fall under Robespierre's ax. From a humane standpoint they can never be too much mourned, but divine justice is no respecter of mathematicians or scientists.

Neither Rousseau nor Robespierre was capable of dreaming of a goodness beyond virtue, just as they were unable to imagine that radical evil would 'partake nothing of the sordid or sensual' (Melville), that there could be wickedness beyond vice.

Modern free-traders... embrace their ideal with a passion that makes Robespierre seem prudent. They embrace unbridled free trade, even as it helps China become a superpower.

Monroe also saved Tom Paine, whose revolutionary fervor had inspired him to become a French citizen and win a seat in the Convention. When Paine voted against executing King Louis XVI, however, Robespierre sent him to prison, where he languished in ever-deteriorating health until Monroe rescued him in November 1794, and brought him to La Folie to recuperate.

DANTON: Could you indeed? It's you idealists who make the best tyrants. ROBESPIERRE: It seems a bit late to be having this conversation. I've had to take up violence now, and so much else. We should have discussed it last year.

The prose," Robespierre said. "It's so clean, no conceits, no show, no wit. He means every word. Formerly, you see, he meant every other word. That was his style.

There is no need for unanimity," Saint- Just said. "It would have been desirable, but let's get on. There are only two signatures wanting, I think, besides those who have refused. Citizen Lacoste, you next— then be so good as to put the paper in front of Citizen Robespierre, and move the ink a little nearer.

People said— though this felt like a heresy— that they had seen Camille make Robespierre laugh.

The Robespierre women (as one tended to think of them now) were all on display. Madame looked actively, rather intimidatingly benevolent; it was her aim in life to find a Jacobin who was hungry, then to go into the kitchen and make extravagant efforts, and say, "I have fed a patriot!".

So where are you living now?' Danton inquired. 'On the rue Saintonge in the Marais.' 'Comfortable?' Robespierre didn't reply. He couldn't think what Danton's standard of comfort might be, so anything he said wouldn't mean much. Scruples like this were always tripping him up, in the simplest conversations

Only the previous year, the Assembly had debated the question of capital punishment, and the popular deputy Robespierre had actually pleaded for it to be abolished. They said he still felt stongly about the question, was hopeful of success. But that deep-thinking man, M. Sanson, feels that M. Robespierre is out of step with public opinion, on this point.

Robespierristes, antirobespierristes, nous vous crions grâce: par pitié, dites-nous, simplement, quel fut Robespierre.

The idea of a specifically Robespierrist terror was a myth, invented by the Termidoreans, the men who overthrew Robespierre, who themselves were very much implicated in the recourse to terror.