fulfillment of his programme; the batches condemned by the
revolutionary Tribunal; the massacres of Lyons and Toulon; the
drownings of Nantes。 … From the beginning to the end; he was in
keeping with the Revolution; lucid on account of his blindness; thanks
to his crazy logic; thanks to the concordance of his personal malady
with the public malady; to the early manifestation of his complete
madness in the midst of the incomplete or tardy madness of the rest;
he alone steadfast; remorseless; triumphant; perched aloft at the
first bound on the sharp pinnacle which his rivals dared not climb or
only stumbled up。
II。 Danton。
Danton。 … Richness of his faculties。 … Disparity between his
condition and instincts。 … The Barbarian。 … His work。 … His
weakness。
There is nothing of the madman about Danton; on the contrary; not only
is his intellect sound; but he possesses political aptitudes to an
eminent degree; and to such an extent that; in this particular; none
of his associates or adversaries compare with him; while; among the
men of the Revolution; only Mirabeau equals or surpasses him。 He is
an original; spontaneous genius and not; like most of his
contemporaries; a disputatious; quill…driving theorist;'43' that is to
say; a fanatical pedant; an artificial being composed of his books; a
mill…horse with blinkers; and turning around in a circle without an
issue。 His free judgment is not hampered by abstract prejudices: he
does not carry about with him a social contract; like Rousseau; nor;
like Siéyès; a social art and cabinet principles or combinations;'44'
he has kept aloof from these instinctively and; perhaps; through
contempt for them; he had no need of them; he would not have known
what to do with them。 Systems are crutches for the impotent; while he
is able…bodied; formulas serve as spectacles for the short…sighted;
while his eyes are good。 〃He had read and meditated very little;〃
says a learned and philosophical witness;'45' 〃his knowledge was
scanty and he took no pride in investigation; but he observed and saw
。 。 His native capacity; which was very great and not absorbed by
other things; was naturally closed to vague; complex and false
notions; and naturally open to every notion of experience the truth of
which was made manifest。〃 Consequently; 〃his perceptions of men and
things; sudden; clear; impartial and true; were instinct with solid;
practical discretion。〃 To form a clear idea of the divergent or
concordant dispositions; fickle or earnest; actual or possible; of
different parties and of twenty…six millions of souls; to justly
estimate probable resistances; and calculate available forces; to
recognize and take advantage of the one decisive moment; to combine
executive means; to find men of action; to measure the effect
produced; to foresee near and remote contingencies; to regret nothing
and take things coolly; to accept crimes in proportion to their
political efficacy; to dodge before insurmountable obstacles; even in
contempt of current maxims; to consider objects and men the same as an
engineer contracting for machinery and calculating horse…power'46' …
such are the faculties of which he gave proof on the 10th of August
and the 2nd of September; during his effective dictatorship between
the 10th of August and the 21st of September; afterwards in the
Convention; on the first Committee of Public Safety; on the 31st of
May and on the 2nd of June:'47' we have seen him busy at work。 Up to
the last; in spite of his partisans; he has tried to diminish or; at
least; not add to; the resistance the government had to overcome。
Nearly up to the last; in spite of his adversaries; he tried to
increase or; at least; not destroy the available forces of the
government。 In defiance of the outcries of the clubs; which clamor
for the extermination of the Prussians; the capture of the King of
Prussia; the overthrow of all thrones; and the murder of Louis XVI。;
he negotiated the almost pacific withdrawal of Brunswick;'48' he
strove to detach Prussia from the coalition;'49' he wanted to turn a
war of propaganda into one of interests;'50' he caused the Convention
to pass the decree that France would not in any way interfere with
foreign governments; he secured an alliance with Sweden; he prescribed
beforehand the basis of the treaty of Basle; and had an idea of saving
the King。'51' In spite of the distrust and attacks of the Girondists;
who strove to discredit him and put him out of the way; he persists in
offering them his hand; he declared war on them only because they
refused to make peace;'52' and he made efforts to save them when they
were down。 Amidst so many ranters and scribblers whose logic is mere
words and whose rage is blind; who grind out phrases like a hand…
organ; or are wound up for murder; his intellect; always capacious and
supple; went right to facts; not to disfigure and pervert them; but to
accept them; to adapt himself to them; and to comprehend them。 With a
mind of this quality one goes far no matter in what direction; nothing
remains but to choose one's path。 Mandrin; under the ancient régime;
was also; in a similar way; a superior man;'53' only he chose the
highway。
Between the demagogue and the highwayman the resemblance is close:
both are leaders of bands and each requires an opportunity to organize
his band。 Danton; to organize his band; needed the Revolution。 … 〃Of
low birth; without patronage;〃 penniless; every office being filled;
and 〃the Paris bar exorbitantly priced;〃 admitted a lawyer after 〃a
struggle;〃 he for a long time wandered jobless frequenting the coffee…
houses; the same as similar men nowadays frequent the bars。 At the
Café de l'école; the proprietor; a good natured old fellow 〃in a small
round wig; gray coat and a napkin on his arm;〃 circulated among his
tables smiling blandly; while his daughter sat in the rear as
cashier。'54' Danton chatted with her and demanded her hand in
marriage。 To obtain her; he had to mend his ways; purchase an
attorneyship in the Court of the Royal Council and find guarantors and
sponsors in his small native town。'55' Once married and lodged in the
gloomy Passage du Commerce; he finds himself 〃more burdened with debts
than with causes;〃 tied down to a sedentary profession which demands
vigorous application; accuracy; a moderate tone; a respectable style
and blameless deportment; obliged to keep house on so small a scale
that; without the help of a louis regularly advanced to him each week
by his coffee…house father…in…law; he could not make both ends
meet。'56' His free…and…easy tastes; his alternately impetuous and
indolent disposition; his love of enjoyment and of having his own way;
his rude; violent instincts; his expansiveness; creativeness and
activity; all rebel against this life: he is ill…suited for the quiet
routine of our civil careers。 It is not the steady discipline of an
old society; but the tumultuous brutality of a society going to pieces
or in a state of formation; that suits him。 In temperament and
character he is a barbarian; and a barbarian born to command his
fellow…creatures; like this or that vassal of the sixth century or
baron of the tenth century。 A giant with the face of a 〃 Tartar;〃
pitted with the small…pox; tragically and terribly ugly; with a mask
convulsed like that of a growling 〃bull…dog;〃'57' with small;
cavernous; restless eyes buried under the huge wrinkles of a
threatening brow; with a thundering voice and moving and acting like a
combatant; full…blooded; boiling over with passion and energy。 His
strength in its outbursts appears boundless like a force of nature;
when speaking he is roaring like a bull and be heard through closed
windows fifty yards off in the street; employing immoderate imagery;
intensely in earnest; trembling with indignation; revenge and
patriotic sentiments; able to arouse savage instincts in the most
tranquil breast and generous instincts in the most brutal
personalities。'58' He may be profane; using emphatic terms;'59'
cynical; but not monotonous and affected like Hébert; but spontaneous
and to the point; full of crude jests worthy of Rabelais; possessing a
stock of jovial sensuality and good…humor; cordial and familiar in his
ways; frank; friendly in tone。 He is; both outwardly and inwardly;
the best fitted for winning the confidence and sympathy of a Gallic;
Parisian populace。 His talents all contribute to 〃his inborn;
practical popularity;〃 and to make of him 〃a grand…seignior of sans…
cullotterie。〃'60' … With such talents for acting; there is a strong
temptation to act it out the moment the theatre is ready; whatever the
theatre; even unlawful and murky; whatever the actors rogues;
scoundrels and loose women; whatever the part; ignoble; murderous; and
finally fatal to him who undertakes it。 … To hold out against such
temptation; would require a sentiment of repugnance which a refined or
thorough culture develops in both sense and mind; but which was
completely wanting in Danton。 Nothing disgusts him physically or
morally: he embraces Marat;'61' fraternizes with drunkards;
congratulates the Septembriseurs; retorts in blackguard terms to the
insults of prostitutes; treats reprobates; thieves and jail…birds as
equals; … Carra; Westermann; Huguenin; Rossignol and the confirmed
scoundrels whom he sends into the departments after the 2nd of
September。
〃Eh! What the hell! Do you think we ought to send young misses。〃 '62'…
Garbage men are needed for the collection of garbage; one cannot hold
one's nose when they come for their wages; one must pay them well;
talk to them encouragingly; and leave them plenty of elbow room。
Danton is willing to play the part of the fire; and he humors vices;
he has no scruples; and lets people scratch and take。 … He has stolen
as much to give as to keep; to maintain his role as much as to benef
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