Maximilien Robespierre
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"In the French Revolution, you had your choice between the cruel Robespierre and the great Danton. You chose cruelty and sent greatness and goodness to the guillotine." --Listen, Little Man! (1945) by Wilhelm Reich "The massacre of Saint Bartholomew or the religious wars were no more the work of kings than the Reign of Terror was the work of Robespierre, Danton, or Saint Just."--The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind (1895) by Gustave Le Bon "On a dit que la terreur était le ressort du gouvernement despotique. Le vôtre ressemble-t-il donc au despotisme ? Oui, comme le glaive qui brille dans les mains des héros de la liberté, ressemble à celui dont les satellites de la tyrannie sont armés. Que le despote gouverne par la terreur ses sujets abrutis ; il a raison, comme despote : domptez par la terreur les ennemis de la liberté ; et vous aurez raison comme fondateurs de la République. Le gouvernement de la Révolution est le despotisme de la liberté contre la tyrannie. La force n’est-elle faite que pour protéger le crime ? et n’est-ce pas pour frapper les têtes orgueilleuses que la foudre est destinée ?"--Maximilien Robespierre
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Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who was one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Constituent Assembly and the Jacobin Club, he campaigned for [[universal manhood suffrage and the abolition both of celibacy for the clergy, and slavery. In 1791, Robespierre became an outspoken advocate for male citizens without a political voice, for their unrestricted admission to the National Guard, to public offices, and for the right to carry arms in self defence. Robespierre played an important part in the agitation which brought about the fall of the French monarchy on 10 August 1792 and the summoning of a National Convention. His goal was to create a one and indivisible France, equality before the law, to abolish prerogatives and to defend the principles of direct democracy.
