One has only to open one's eyes to detect "in all its extent" the plot they have hatched， "the frightful system of destruction of public morality."[135] Guadet， Vergniaud， Gensonné， Danton， Hébert， "all of them artificial characters，" had no other end in view ： "they felt[136] that， to destroy liberty， it was necessary to favor by every means whatever tended to justify egoism， wither the heart and efface that idea of moral beauty， which affords the only rule for public reason in its judgment of the defenders and enemies of humanity." -Their heirs remain； but let those be careful. Immorality is a political offense； one conspires against the State merely by making a parade of materialism or by preaching indulgence， by acting scandalously， or by following evil courses， by stock-jobbing， by dining too sumptuously； by being vicious， scheming， given to exaggeration， or "on the fence；" by exciting or perverting the people， by deceiving the people， by finding fault with the people， by distrusting the people，[137] short， when one does not march straight along on the prescribed path marked out by Robespierre according to principles： whoever stumbles or turns aside is a scoundrel， a traitor.
Now， not counting the Royalists， Feuillantists， Girondists， Hébertists， Dantonists， and others already decapitated or imprisoned according to their merit， how many traitors still remain in the Convention， on the Committees， amongst the representatives on mission， in the administrative bodies not properly weeded out， amongst petty tyrannical underlings and the entire ruling， influential class at Paris and in the provinces？ Outside of "about twenty political Trappists in the Convention，" outside of a small devoted group of pure Jacobins in Paris， outside of a faithful few scattered among the popular clubs of the departments， how many Fouchés， Vadiers， Talliens， Bourdons， Collots， remain amongst the so-called revolutionaries？ How many dissidents are there， disguised as orthodox， charlatans disguised as patriots， and pashas disguised as sans-culottes？[138] Add all this vermin to that which Marat seeks to crush out； it is no longer by hundreds of thousands， but by millions. exclaim Baudot， Jeanbon-Saint-André and Guffroy， that the guilty must be counted and cut off their heads！ - And all these heads， Robespierre， according to his maxims， must strike off. He is well aware of this； hostile as his intellect may be to precise ideas， he， when alone in his closet， face to face with himself， sees clearly， as clearly as Marat. Marat's chimera， on first spreading out its wings， bore its frenzied rider swiftly onward to the charnel house； that of Robespierre， fluttering and hobbling along， reaches the goal in its turn； in its turn， it demands something to feed on， and the rhetorician， the professor of principles， begins to assess the voracity of the monstrous brute on which he is mounted. Slower than the other， this one is still more ravenous， for， with similar claws and teeth， it has a vaster appetite.
At the end of three years Robespierre has overtaken Marat， at that distant end of the line， at the station where Marat had established himself from the very beginning， and the theoretician now adopts the policy， the aim， the means， the work， and almost the vocabulary of a maniac：[139]
armed dictatorship of the urban mob， systematic perturbation of the bribed rabble， war against the bourgeoisie， extermination of the rich，placing opposition writers， administrators and deputies outside the law.
Both monsters get the same food； only， to the ration of his monster， Robespierre adds "vicious men" as its special and favorite prey.
Henceforth， he may in vain abstain from action， take refuge in his rhetoric， stop his chaste ears， and raise his hypocritical eyes to heaven， he cannot avoid seeing or hearing under his immaculate feet the streaming gore， and the bones crashing in the open jaws of the insatiable monster which he has fashioned and on which he rides.[140]
