"Religion is superstition， monarchy is usurpation， priests are impostors， aristocrats are vampires， and kings are so many tyrants and monsters."These ideas flood a mind of his stamp like a vast torrent precipitating itself into a narrow gorge； they upset it， and， no longer under self-direction， they sweep it away. The man is beside himself. A plain bourgeois， a common laborer is not transformed with impunity into an apostle or liberator of the human species. - - For， it is not his country that he would save， but the entire race. Roland， just before the 10th of August， exclaims "with tears in his eyes， should liberty die in France， she is lost the rest of the world forever！ The hopes of philosophers will perish！ The whole earth will succumb to the cruelest tyranny！"[54] -- Grégoire， on the meeting of the Convention， obtained a decree abolishing royalty， and seemed overcome with the thought of the immense benefit he had conferred on the human race.
"I must confess，" said he， "that for days I could neither eat nor sleep for excess of joy！"One day a Jacobin in the tribune declared： "We shall be a nation of gods！" -- Fancies like these bring on lunacy， or， at all events， they create disease. "Some men are in a fever all day long，" said a companion of St. Just； "I had it for twelve years . . ."[55] Later on， "when advanced in life and trying to analyze their experiences， they cannot comprehend it."[56] Another tells that， in his case， on a "crisis occurring， there was only a hair's breadth between reason and madness." -- "When St. Just and myself，" says Baudot， "discharged the batteries at Wissenbourg， we were most liberally thanked for it. Well， there was no merit in that； we knew perfectly well that the shot could not do us any harm." - - Man， in this exalted state， is unconscious of obstacles， and， according to circumstances， rise above or falls below himself， freely spilling his own blood as well as the blood of others， heroic as a soldier and atrocious as a civilian； he is not to be resisted in either direction for his strength increases a hundredfold through his fury， and， on his tearing wildly through the streets， people get out of his way as on the approach of a mad bull.
If they do not jump aside of their own accord， he will run at them， for he is unscrupulous as well as furious. -- In every political struggle certain kinds of actions are prohibited； at all events， if the majority is sensible and wishes to act fairly， it repudiates them for itself. It will not violate any particular law， for， if one law is broken， this tends to the breaking of others. It is opposed to overthrowing an established government because every interregnum is a return to barbarism. It is opposed to the element of popular insurrection because， in such a resort， public power is surrendered to the irrationality of brutal passion. It is opposed to a conversion of the government into a machine for confiscation and murder because it deems the natural function of government to be the protection of life and property. -- The majority， accordingly， in confronting the Jacobin， who allows himself all this，[57] is like a unarmed man facing one who is fully armed.[58] The Jacobin， on principle， holds the law in contempt， for the only law， which he accepts is arbitrary mob rule.
He has no hesitation in proceeding against the government because， in his eyes， the government is a clerk which the people always has the right to remove. He welcomes insurrection because， through it， the people recover their sovereignty with no limitations. -- Moreover， as with casuists， "the end justifies the means."[59] "Let the colonies perish，" exclaims a Jacobin in the Constituent Assembly， "rather than sacrifice a principle." "Should the day come，" says St. Just， "when Ibecome convinced that it is impossible to endow the French with mild， vigorous， and rational ways， inflexible against tyranny and injustice， that day I will stab myself." Meanwhile he guillotines the others.
"We will make France a graveyard，" exclaimed Carrier， "rather than not regenerating it our own way！"[60] They are ready to risk the ship in order to seize the helm. From the first， they organize street riots and jacqueries in the rural districts， they let loose on society prostitutes and ruffians， vile and savage beasts. Throughout the struggle they take advantage of the coarsest and most destructive passions， of the blindness， credulity， and rage of an infatuated crowd， of dearth， of fear of bandits， of rumors of conspiracy， and of threats of invasion. At last， having seized power through a general upheaval， they hold on to it through terror and executions. --Straining will to the utmost， with no curb to check it， steadfastly believing in its own right and with utter contempt for the rights of others， with fanatical energy and the expedients of scoundrels， a minority may， in employing such forces， easily master and subdue a majority. So true is that， with faction itself， that victory is always on the side of the group with the strongest faith and the least scruples. Four times between 1789 and 1794， political gamblers take their seats at a table where the stake is supreme power， and four times in succession the "Impartiaux，" the "Feuillants，" the "Girondins，" and the "Dantonists，" form the majority and lose the game. Four times in succession the majority has no desire to break customary rules， or， at the very least， to infringe on any rule universally accepted， to wholly disregard the teachings of experience， the letter of the law， the precepts of humanity， or the suggestions of pity. -- The minority， on the contrary， is determined beforehand to win at any price； its views and opinion are correct， and if rules are opposed to that， so much the worse for the rules. At the decisive moment， it claps a pistol to its adversary's head， overturns the table， and collects the stakes.
____________________________________________________________________NOTES：
[1] See the figures further on.
