第521章
it collects together its brigands by giving them the ownership of all that they stole on the 10th of August.[43] The session， prolonged into the night， does not terminate until one o'clock in the morning. Sunday has come and there is no time to lose， for， in a few hours， the sections， by virtue of the decree of the National Assembly， and following the example of the Temple section the evening before， may revoke the pretended representatives at the H？tel-de-ville. To remain at the H？tel-de-ville， and to be elected to the convention， demands on the part of the leaders some striking action， and this they require that very day. -- That day is the second of September.
IV.
Date of the determination of this. -- The actors and their parts. -Marat. -- Danton. - The Commune. -- Its co-operators. -- Harmony of dispositions and readiness of operation.
Since the 23rd of August their resolution is taken.[44] They have arranged in their minds a plan of the massacre， and each one， little by little， spontaneously， according to his aptitudes， takes the part that suits him or is assigned to him.
Marat， foremost among them all， is the proposer and preacher of the operation， which， for him， is a perfectly natural one. It is the epitome of his political system： a dictator or tribune， with full power to slay， and with no other power but that； a good master executioner， responsible， and "tied hand and foot"； this is his program for a government since July the 14th， 1789， and he does not blush at it： "so much the worse for those who are not on a level with it！"[45] He appreciated the character of the Revolution from the first， not through genius， but sympathetically， he himself being equally as one-sided and monstrous； crazy with suspicion and beset with a homicidal mania for the past three years， reduced to one idea through mental impoverishment， that of murder， having lost the faculty for even the lowest order of reasoning， the poorest of journalists， save for pikemen and Billingsgate market-women， so monotonous in his constant paroxysms that the regular reading of his journal is like listening to hoarse cries from the cells of a madhouse.[46] From the 19th of August he excites people to attack the prisons. "The wisest and best course to pursue，" he says， "is to go armed to the Abbaye， drag out the traitors， especially the Swiss officers and their accomplices， and put them to the sword. What folly it is to give them a trial！ That is already done. You have massacred the soldiers， why should you spare the officers， ten times guiltier？" -- Also， two days later， his brain teeming with an executioner's fancies， insisting that "the soldiers deserved a thousand deaths. As to the officers， they should be drawn and quartered， like Louis Capet and his tools of the Manège."[47] -- On the strength of this the Commune adopts him as its official editor， assigns him a tribune in its assembly room， entrusts him to report its acts， and soon puts him on its supervisory or executive committee.
A fanatic of this stamp， however， is good for nothing but as a mouthpiece or instigator； he may， at best， figure in the end among the subordinate managers. -- The chief of the enterprise，[48] Danton， is of another species， and of another stature， a veritable leader of men：
Through his past career and actual position， through his popular cynicism， ways and language， through his capacity for taking the initiative and for command， through his excessive corporeal and intellectual vigor， through his physical ascendancy due to his ardent， absorbing will， he is well calculated for his terrible office. -- He alone of the Commune has become Minister， and there is no one but him to shelter the violations of the Commune under the protection or under the passivity of the central authority. -- He alone of the Commune and of the ministry is able to push things through and harmonize action in the pell-mell of the revolutionary chaos； both in the councils of the ministry which he governs， as he formerly governed at the H？tel-de ville. In the constant uproar of incoherent discussions，[49] athwart "propositions ex abrupto， among shouts， swearing， and the going and coming of questioning petitioners，" he is seen mastering his new colleagues with his "stentorian voice， his gestures of an athlete， his fearful threats，" taking upon himself their duties， dictating to them what and whom he chooses， "fetching in commissions already drawn up，"taking charge of everything， "making propositions， arrests， and proclamations， issuing brevets，" and drawing millions out of the public treasury， casting a sop to his dogs in the Cordeliers and the Commune， "to one 20，000 francs， and to another 10，000，" "for the Revolution， and on account of their patriotism，" -- such is a summary report of his doings. Thus gorged， the pack of hungry "brawlers" and grasping intriguers， the whole serviceable force of the sections and of the clubs， is in his hands. One is strong in times of anarchy at the head of such a herd. Indeed， during the months of August and September， Danton was king， and， later on， he may well say of the 2d of September， as he did of the 10th of August， "I did it！"[50]