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the origins of contemporary france-3-第66章

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narrow brain; perverted and turned topsy…turvy by the disproportionate

notions put into it; only one idea suited to his gross instincts and

aptitudes finds a place there; and that is the desire to kill his

enemies; and these are also the State's enemies; however open or

concealed; present or future; probable or even possible。 He carries

this savagery and bewilderment into politics; and hence the evil

arising from his government。 Simply a brigand; he would have murdered

only to rob; and his murders would have been restricted。 As

representing the State; he undertakes wholesale massacres; of which he

has the means ready at hand。   For he has not yet had time enough to

take apart the old administrative implements; at all events the minor

wheels; gendarmes; jailers; employees; book…keepers; and accountants;

are always in their places and under control。 There can be no

resistance on the part of those arrested; accustomed to the protection

of the laws and to peaceable ways and times; they have never relied on

defending themselves nor ever could imagine that any one could be so

summarily slain。 As to the mass; rendered incapable of any effort of

its own by ancient centralization; it remains inert and passive and

lets things go their own way。  Hence; during many long; successive

days; without being hurried or impeded; with official papers quite

correct and accounts in perfect order; a massacre can be carried out

with the same impunity and as methodically as cleaning the streets or

clubbing stray dogs。'4'







II。



The development of the ideas of killings in the mass of the party。 

The morning after August 10。  The tribunal of August 17。   The

funereal fête of August 27。   The prison plot。



Let us trace the progress of the homicidal idea in the mass of the

party。 It lies at the very bottom of the revolutionary creed。 Collot

d'Herbois; two months after this; aptly says in the Jacobin tribune:

〃The second of September is the great article in the credo  of our

freedom。〃'5' It is peculiar to the Jacobin to consider himself as a

legitimate sovereign; and to treat his adversaries not as

belligerents; but as criminals。 They are guilty of lèse… nation; they

are outlaws; fit to be killed at all times and places; and deserve

extinction; even when no longer able or in a condition do any harm。 

Consequently; on the 10th of August the Swiss Guards; who do not fire

a gun and who surrender; the wounded lying on the ground; their

surgeons; the palace domestics; are killed; and worse still; persons

like M。 de Clermont…Tonnerre who pass quietly along the street。  All

this is now called in official phraseology the justice of the people。

 On the 11th the Swiss Guards; collected in the Feuillants building;

come near being massacred; the mob on the outside of it demand their

heads;'6' 〃it conceives the project of visiting all the prisons in

Paris to take out the prisoners and administer prompt justice on

them。〃 … On the 12th in the markets 〃diverse groups of the low class

call Pétion a scoundrel;〃 because 〃he saved the Swiss in the Palais

Bourbon〃; accordingly; 〃he and the Swiss must be hung to…day。〃…In

these minds turned topsy…turvy the actual; palpable truth gives way to

its opposite; 〃the attack was not begun by them; the order to sound

the tocsin came from the palace; it is the palace which was besieging

the nation; and not the nation which was besieging  the palace。〃'7'

The vanquished 〃are the assassins of the people;〃 caught in the act;

and on the 14th of August the Federates demand a court…martial 〃to

avenge the death of their comrades。〃'8'  And even a court…martial will

not answer。  〃It is not sufficient to mete out punishment for crimes

committed on the 10th of August; but the vengeance of the people must

be extended to all conspirators;〃 to that 〃Lafayette; who probably was

not in Paris; but who may have been there;〃 to all the ministers;

generals; judges; and other officials guilty of maintaining legal

order wherever it had been maintained; and of not having recognized

the Jacobin government before it came into being。 Let them be brought

before; not the ordinary courts; which are not to be trusted because

they belong to the defunct régime; but before a specially organized

tribunal; a sort of 〃chambre ardente;〃'9' elected by the sections;

that is to say; by a Jacobin minority。 These improvised judges must

give judgment on conviction; without appeal; there must be no

preliminary examinations; no interval of time between arrest and

execution; no dilatory and protective formalities。 And above all; the

Assembly must be expeditious in passing the decree; 〃otherwise;〃 it is

informed by a delegate from the Commune;'10' 〃the tocsin will be rung

at midnight and the general alarm sounded; for the people are tired of

waiting to be avenged。 Look out lest they do themselves justice!  A

moment later; new threats and with an advanced deadline。 〃If the

juries are not ready to act in two or three hours great misfortunes

will overtake Paris。〃







Even if the new tribunal;  set up on the spot; is quick; guillotining

three innocent persons in five days; it does not move fast enough。  On

the 23rd of August one of the sections declares to the Commune in

furious language that the people themselves; 〃wearied and indignant〃

with so many delays; mean to force open the prisons and massacre the

inmates。'11'  Not only do the sections harass the judges; but they

force the accused into their presence: a deputation from the Commune

and the Federates summons the Assembly 〃 to transfer the criminals at

Orleans to Paris to undergo the penalty of their heinous crimes〃。

〃Otherwise;〃 says the speaker; 〃we will not answer for the vengeance

of the people。〃'12' And in a still more imperative manner:



〃You have heard and you know that insurrection is a sacred duty;〃 a

sacred duty towards and against all: towards the Assembly if it

refuses; and towards the tribunal if it acquits。 They dash at their

prey contrary to all legislative and judicial formalities; like a kite

across the web of a spider; while nothing detach them from their fixed

ideas。  On the acquittal of M。 Luce de Montmorin'13' the gross

audience; mistaking him for his cousin the former minister of Louis

XVI。; break out in murmurs。  The president tries to enforce silence;

which increases the uproar; and M。 de Montmorin is in danger。  On this

the president; discovering a side issue; announces that one of the

jurors is related to the accused; and that in such a case a new jury

must be impaneled and a new trial take place; that the matter will be

inquired into; and meanwhile the prisoner will be returned to the

Conciergerie prison。 Thereupon he takes M。 de Montmorin by the arm and

leads him out of the court…room; amidst the yells of the audience and

not without risks to himself; in the outside court a soldier of the

National Guard strikes at him with a saber; and the following day the

court is obliged to authorize eight delegates from the audience to go

and see with their own eyes that M。 de Montmorin is really in prison。



At the moment of his acquittal a tragic remark is heard:



〃You discharge him to…day and in two weeks he will cut our throats!〃



Fear is evidently an adjunct of hatred。 The Jacobin rabble is vaguely

conscious of their inferior numbers; of their usurpation; of their

danger; which increases in proportion as Brunswick draws near。  They

feel that they live above a mine; and if the mine should explode! 

Since they think that their adversaries are scoundrels they feel they

are capable of a dirty trick; of a plot; of a massacre。 As they

themselves have never behaved in any other way; they cannot conceive

anything else。 Through an inevitable inversion of thought; they impute

to others the murderous intentions obscurely wrought out in the dark

recesses of their own disturbed brains。  On the 27th of August;

after the funeral procession gotten up by Sergent expressly to excite

popular resentment; their suspicions; at once specific and guided;

begin to take the form of certainty。 Ten 〃commemorative〃 banners;'14'

each borne by a volunteer on horseback; have paraded before all eyes

the long list of massacres 〃by the court and its agents〃:



1。 the massacre at Nancy;



2。 the massacre at N?mes;



3。 the massacre at Montauban;



4。 the massacre at Avignon;



5。 the massacre at La Chapelle;



6。 the massacre at Carpentras;



7。 the massacre of the Champ de Mars; etc。



Faced with such displays; doubts and misgivings are out of the

question。 To the women in the galleries; to the frequenters of the

clubs; and to pikemen in the suburbs it is from now beyond any doubt

proved that the aristocrats are habitual killers。



And on the other side there is another sign equally alarming 〃This

lugubrious ceremony; which ought to inspire by turns both reflection

and indignation; 。 。 。 did not general
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