ON THE PRINCIPTES OF REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT 99 t3 which brought it into being. It should not be sought in the books of political writers, who did not foresee that revolution, nor in the laws of tyrants who, satisfied with abusing their power, are not much concented ON TH E PRINCIPLES OF with its legitimacy; and to the aristocracy that word is only a subject of ten-or or slanderous text; to tyrants, a mere scandal; to many other REVOLUTIONARY people, just an enigma; it needs to be explained to all, so that good citizens at least will rally to the principles of the public interest. GOVE RN M ENT The function of government is to direct the moral and physical forces of the nation towards the goal of its appointing. The goal of constitutional govemnent is ro preserve the Republic; 25 December 179315 Nrvdse yeor ll1 that of revolutionary govemment is to found it. Revolution is the war of liberty against its enemies: the constitution is the system of liberry victorious and at peace. (Maximilien Robespierre) Revolutionary government needs extraordinary activiry, precisely because it is at war. It is subject to less uniform and less rigorous rules, because the circumstances in which it exists are stonny and shifting, and A month after the passage of Biilaud-varenne's deoee,z Robespierre defended above all because it is continually forced to deploy new resources rapidly, the necessity ,Indurgents, of tlrc Terror. It was a response to the and to camilre to confront new and pressing dangers. Desmoulins and his fiewspaper Le Vieux cordelier in partiu,lar, who rmd Constitutional govemment is concerned principally with civil liber-ty, uoiced citicisrn of the Terror. and revolutionary goverrrment, with public liberry. lJnder the constitu- tional system, it almost suffices to protect individuals against abuse of Citizen people's representarives, public power; under the revolutionary system, public power itself is Successes send weak souls to sreep; they spur strong souls on. Let us obliged to defend itself against all the factions attacking it. leave it to Europe and history to praise the rniracles of foulon,3 while we Revolutionary govemment owes good citizens full national protec- prepare new triumphs for liberry. tion; to enemies of the people it owes nothing but death. The Republic's defenders adopt caesar's maxim: they believe nothing These notions suffice to explain the ongin and nature of the laws we has been done so long as something remains to be done. we still face call revolutionary. Those who call them arbitrary or tyrannical are stupid enough dangers to occupy all our zeal. or pelverse sophists seeking to confuse opposites: they wanr to apply the vanquishing Englishmen and traitors is something easy enough for the same system to peace and war, health and sickness; or rather they only valour of our republican soldiers; there is an enterprise that is no ress want the resurrection of ryranny and the death of the homeland. If they important and more difficult: to confound through unwavering energy invoke the literal execution of constitutional adages, it is just to violate the eternal intrigues of all the enernies of our liberry, .rrrrr.""triumph them with impuniry. They are cowardly assassins who, to cut the for the principles ".rd on which public prosperity should be based. Republic's throat in its cradle without risk, try hard to muzzle it with Such are the fint duties you have imposed on your cornmittee of vague rnaxims from which they are practised at extricating themselves. Public SaGry. The constitutional vessel was not built to stay in dry dock for ever; but we are going to start by developing the principles and the necessity of should it have been launched in mid*tempest, into unfavourable winds? revolutionary government; then we will show the cause that tends to That was wanted by the fyrants and slaves who had opposed its paralyse it at birth. construction; but the French people has ordered you to wait for calmer The theory of revolutionary goverruxent ls as new as the revolution conditions. Its unanimous wishes, instantlv drownins the clamour from IOO VIRTUE AND TERROR ON THE PRINCIPLES OF REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNIYENT IOI the aristocracy and federalism, comrnanded you to deliver it first frorn all ener-rries ofliberry are looking to tum against it not only its faults, but also its enemies" its wisest neasures. Is the govemment coming down on rvhat is caiied Temples to the gods are not meant to provide sanctuary for the exaggeration? They seek to revive moderantism and adstocracy. If it sacrilegious who come to profane them; nor is the constitution supposed tums its attention to those two tlonsters, tirey prolllote exaggeratlon protect to the plots of tyrants who seek to destroy it. with all their might. It is dangerous to ieave them the rleans to mjslead If revolutionary govemment should be more active in its working and the zeal of good citizens; it is more dangerous still to discourage and fieer in its movements than ordinary government, does that ,,.^ ake it less persecute the good citizens they have deceived. Through one of these just and less legitimate? No. It is supported by the holiest of all laws: the abuses, the republic would be in danger of expiring in a convulsive salvation of the people; by the rnost indisputable of all endtiements: movement; through the other, it would infallibly pine away. necessity. So what should be done? Hunt down the culpable inventors of has It its rules too, all drawn from justice and public order. It has perfidious schemes, protecr patriotism, even in its errors; enhghten nothing in common with anarchy or disorder; its pu{pose on the patriots; and constantly raise the people to the level of its rights and contrary is to suppress then, to introduce and consolidate the rule of destiny. law- has It nothing in common with arbitrary rule; it should not be If you do not adopt this rule, you iose everything. guided by individual passions, but by the public interest. If we had to choose between an excess of patriotic fervour and the It should come close to ordinary and general principles in ali cases total absence of civic spirit, or the stagnation of moderantislr, there where they can be applied rigorously without cornprornising pubric would be no hesitation. A vigorous body, tonlented by an excess of sap, liberry. The measure of its strength should be the boldness o. p.rfidy of leaves more resources than a co{pse. the conspiraton. The more terrible it is towards the wicked, th. Above all we n.rust be careful not to kill patriotism by trying to cure it. favourably -or" it should treat the good. The more circumstances impose Patriotism is ardent by its nature. Who can love the homeland coldly? necessary rigour on it, the more it should abstain from measures that It is the gift particularly of simple men, not much given to calculating the pointlessly 'Where interGre with liberry, and that jostle private interests without political consequences of a civic step from its motive. is the any public advantage. patriot, even enlightened, who has never been deceived? Yes! If it is has sail It to befween r'uvo dangerous rocks, weakness and temeriry, accepted that there are moderates and cowards of good faith, why should moderantism and excess;4 moderantism, which is to moderation as there not be patriots of good faith, who are sorletines carried away by a irnpotence is to chastiry, and excess, which resembles energy as dropsy praiseworthy sentiment to €io too far? So ifwe were to regard as criminals resembles health. those in the revolutionaly movement rvho nright have strayed beyond The ryrants have sought constantly to make us retreat into servitude by the exact line drawn by prudence, we would be including in a common the paths of moderantism; and sometimes they have also tried to drive us proscription, along with the bad citizens, all the natural friends of liberty, to the opposite extreme. Both extremes end at the same point.'whether your own friends and the best supporters of the Republic. The adroit ovenhot or undershot, the target is missed in both cases. Nothing ernissaries of fyranny, after having deceived them, would themselves resembles the apostle of federalism more closely than the untimely then become their accusers and perhaps their judges too. preacher of the single universal Republic. The friend of kinss and What then will disentangle all these uuances?'What wil1 trace the line the p.ublic prosecutor of the human race undentand one anothel qurte of demarcation between all the contradictory excesses? Love of the well.' The scapular-wearing fanatic and the fanatic preaching atheism homeland and tmth. Kings and knaves wili sti1l be seeking to erase it; have marry similarities. Democratic barons are the brothers of the they want nothing to do with reason or with truth. Koblenz" marquises; and sometimes red bonnets are closer to red hieh By sketching the duties of revolutionary govemment, we have heels than one might think. marked the pitfalls that threaten it. The greater its power, the more But here government needs to be extrenely circumspect, for the free and rapid its action, tire more it should be directed by good faith. On IO2 VIRTUE AND TERROR ON THE PRINCIPLES OF REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT I03 the day it falls into impure or per{idious hands, liberry wi'be rost; rts very the functions of revolutionary administration are no longer laborious name will becorne a pretext and excuse for counter-revolutro'; its duties but objects of ambition, then the Republic is a.lready lost.