第522章
Not that he is naturally vindictive or sanguinary： on the contrary， with a butcher's temperament， he has a man's heart， and， at the risk of compromising himself， against the wills of Marat and Robespierre， he will， by-and-by， save his political adversaries， Duport， Brissot， and the Girondists， the old party of the " Right. "[51] Not that he is blinded by fear， enmities， or the theory； furious as a clubbist， he has the clear-sightedness of the politician； he is not the dupe of the sonorous phrases he utters， he knows the value of the rogues he employs；[52] he has no illusions about men or things， about other people or about himself； if he slays， it is with a full consciousness of what he is doing， of his party， of the situation， of the revolution， while the crude expressions which， in the tones of his bull's voice， he flings out as he passes along， are but a vivid statement of the precise truth "We are the rabble！ We spring from the gutters！" With the normal principles of mankind， "we should soon get back into them. We can only rule through fear！"[53] "The Parisians are so many j . . . f . . . ； a river of blood must flow between them and the émigrés."[54] The tocsin about to be rung is not a signal of alarm， but a charge on the enemies of the country. . . What is necessary to overcome them？ Boldness， boldness， always boldness！[55]
I have brought my mother here， seventy years of age； I have sent for my children， and they came last night. Before the Prussians enter Paris， I want my family to die with me. Let twenty thousand torches be applied， and Paris instantly reduced to ashes！"[56] "We must maintain ourselves in Paris at all hazards. Republicans are in an extreme minority， and， for fighting， we can rely only on them. The rest of France is devoted to royalty. The royalists must be terrified！"[57] --It is he who， on the 28th of August， obtains from the Assembly the great domiciliary visit， by which the Commune fills the prisons. It is he who， on the 2d of September， to paralyze the resistance of honest people， causes the penalty of death to be decreed against whoever， "directly or indirectly shall， in any manner whatsoever， refuse to execute， or who shall interfere with the orders issued， or with the measures of the executive power." It is he who， on that day， informs the journalist Prudhomme of the pretended prison plot， and who， the second day after， sends his secretary， Camille Desmoulins， to falsify the report of the massacres，[58] It is he who， on the 3rd of September， at the office of the Minister of Justice， before the battalion officers and the heads of the service， before Lacroix， president of the Assembly， and Pétion， mayor of Paris， before Clavières， Servan， Monge， Lebrun， and the entire Executive Council， except Roland， reduces at one stroke the head men of the government to the position of passive accomplices， replying to a man of feeling， who rises to stay the slaughter， "Sit down -- it was necessary！"[59] It is he who， the same day， dispatches the circular， countersigned by him， by which the Committee of Supervision announces the massacre， and invites "their brethren of the departments" to follow the example of Paris.[60] It is he who， on the 10th of September， "not as Minister of Justice， but as Minister of the People，" is to congratulate and thank the slaughterers of Versailles.[61] -- After the 10th of August， through Billaud-Varennes， his former secretary， through Fabre d'Eglantine， his Keeper of the Seals， through Tallien， secretary of the Commune and his most trusty henchman， he is present at all deliberations in the H？tel-de-ville， and， at the last hour， is careful to put on the Committee of Supervision one of his own men， the head clerk， Desforges.[62] -- Not only was the reaping-machine constructed under his own eye， and with his assent， but， again， when it is put in motion， he holds the handle， so as to guide the scythe.
He is right； if he did not sometimes put on the brake， it would go to pieces through its own action. Introduced into the Committee as professor of political blood-letting， Marat， stubbornly following out a fixed idea， cuts down deep， much below the designated line； warrants of arrest were already out against thirty deputies， Brissot's papers were rummaged， Roland's house was surrounded， while Duport， seized in a neighboring department， is deposed in the slaughterhouse. The latter is saved with the utmost difficulty； many a blow is necessary before he can be wrested from the maniac who had seized him. With a surgeon like Marat， and medics like the four or five hundred leaders of the Commune and of the sections， it is not essential to guide the knife； it is a foregone conclusion that the amputation will be extensive. Their names speak for themselves： in the Commune， Manuel， the syndic-attorney； and his two deputies Hébert and Billaud-Varennes， Huguenin， Lhuillier， M.-J. Chénier， Audoin， Léonard Bourdon， Boula and Truchon， presidents in succession. In the Commune and the sections， Panis， Sergent， Tallien， Rossignol， Chaumette， Fabre d'Eglantine， Pache， Hassenfratz， the cobbler Simon， and the printer Momoro. From the National Guard， the commanding-general， Santerre， and the battalion commander Henriot， and， lower down， the common herd of district demagogues， Danton's， Hébert's， or Robespierre's side kicks， guillotined later on with their file-leaders， in brief， the flower of the future terrorists.[63] - Today they are taking their first steps in blood， each with their own attitude and motives：
* Chénier denounced as a member of the Sainte-Chapelle club， in danger because he is among the suspected；[64]
* Manuel， poor， excitable， bewildered， carried away， and afterwards shuddering at the sight of his own work；* Santerre， a fine circumspect figure-head， who， on the 2nd of September， under pretense of watching the baggage， climbs on the seat of a landau standing on the street， where he remains a couple of hours， to avoid doing his duty as commanding-general；[65]