Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre
by Scott McLetchie
Robespierre was six when his mother died and eight when his father
began disappearing; this disruption of a heretofore very happy family
life left deep impressions on young Robespierre, forcing him to mature
quickly. Perhaps Eagan's earlier remark of Robespierre's imperfectly
sublimated egotism finds some justification here. At a very early age he
was thrust into, or perhaps importantly, he perceived that he was
thrust into a role of responsibility and leadership for his family. It is
possible that later, during the Revolution, with the cries of "Liberty,
Equality, Fraternity," ringing in the air, he transferred consciously or
unconsciously, the notion of his family onto his notion of the state.
Naturally, the role he had assumed for his personal family he should
also assume for his "national" family, thus providing motivation for his
ambitions.
Divine man! It was you who taught me to know myself. When I was
young you brought me to appreciate the true dignity of my nature and
to reflect on the great principles which govern the social order . . . . I
saw you in your last days and for me the recollection of the time will
always be a source of proud joy. I contemplated your august features
and saw there the imprint of those dark griefs which the injustice of
man inflicted on you. <15>
Of course, these ideas did not take hold of Robespierre's intellect all at
once; many came about as responses to prevailing political or
intellectual trends. Some of his ideas crystallized during his period of
law practice in Arras. Robespierre received his bachelor of law degree
on July 31, 1780 and his license on May 15, 1781; he was admitted to
the Paris bar three months later. <26> Like his father and grandfather
before him, he set up a moderately successful law practice in Arras, and
it seems he was well respected in the community. His practice of law
increased his growing concern for humanity. As he told Charlotte,
The duty of pleading the case of the weak against the strong is that of
every heart not so poisoned by egoism and corruption. My life's task
will be to aid those who suffer and to pursue with vengeful words those
who, without pity for humanity, enjoy the suffering of others. <27>
It was during his practice that he first began to seriously consider ways
in which he might better the lot of his fellow human beings. There is
evidence from this period that the sense of absolute conviction that so
colored his later years was not yet fixed with rigidity. Charlotte reports
one incident that occurred while Robespierre was serving a term as
Episcopal Judge in 1782. "My elder brother," she writes, "came home
with despair in his heart and ate nothing for two days. He kept
repeating, 'I know he is to blame. He is a rascal . . . but to kill a man . . .'
" If we are to believe Charlotte, Robespierre's dismay at having to
condemn a man to death caused him to tender his resignation as judge.
<28> It seems he was not yet far along enough in his political thought
and career to where he identified himself as the protector of the State,
which must be defended at all costs.
After his resignation as Episcopal judge, Robespierre enjoyed
immediate success in his practice and earned a reputation as a
protector of the poor and downtrodden, a reputation which he
carefully cultivated. <29> Both Belloc and Eagan point out that he most
often went behind the letter of the law to the spirit, often making
sweeping statements which, at first glance, seemed to have little or no
bearing on the case at hand. Nonetheless, he usually won his cases, and
his success (and the example of Rousseau) inspired him to publish many
of them. These pamphlets served to further increase his notoriety and
reputation. <30>
By autumn the Assembly had split into four definite camps. On the
extreme right were the monarchist, totally opposed to any reform.
They soon realized their impotence, however, and eventually ceased
attending. The second group was made up of those monarchists who
had begun the Revolution but who now felt it had gone too far and
should be stopped. The third group, and the majority, were
constitutional monarchists, who advocated more reforms and a system
of government balanced between the king and the assembly (the
feudal class structure had been abolished in early August). These
included Mirabeau, Lafayette, Thouret, Target and Camus. The fourth
group consisted of the extreme leftists, unknown radicals who had
gained the ear of the public: Abbe Gregoire, Petion, Euzot, Dubois-
Crance, Prieur of the Marne and Robespierre.
A settlement might have been forthcoming, which would have resulted
in a victory for the moderates, had not Louis XVI been so obstinately
opposed to compromise. At last, with high prices and rumors of famine
circulating throughout Paris, a mob of angry Parisian women five or six
thousand strong marched on Versailles, at the instigation of Marat, and
"escorted" the royal family to Paris where they could be watched.
Needless to say, Louis was now more open to suggestion. A few days
later, the Assembly also transferred to Paris in order to be closer to the
king for debate and negotiation.
Fear was one of the key elements in Robespierre's Terror, but as Matrat
points out, it was this very fear that drove his enemies, giving them
courage; after all, they had nothing to lose. The opposition to
Robespierre was "disparate and disunited;" it basically included
"everyone who felt threatened by him," including some of his
compatriots on the Committee, old friends of Danton, and members of
the Assembly whom Robespierre had hinted might soon be up before
the Tribunal. In addition, it included those members of the Assembly
who had originally understood that the Terror was necessary so long as
France was at war, but no longer necessary now that she was winning.
<48>
Appendix
It is time to mark clearly the aim of the Revolution and the end toward
which we wish to move; it is time to take stock of ourselves, of the
obstacles which we still face, and of the means which we ought to
adopt to attain our objective . . . .
What is the goal for which we strive? A peaceful enjoyment of liberty
and equality, the rule of that eternal justice whose laws are engraved,
not upon marble or stone, but in the hearts of all men.
We wish an order of things where all low and cruel passions are
enchained by the laws, all beneficent and generous feelings aroused;
where ambition is the desire to merit glory and to serve one's
fatherland; where distinctions are born only of equality itself; where'
the citizen is subject to the magistrate, the magistrate to the people,
the people to justice; where the nation safeguards the welfare of each
individual, and each individual proudly enjoys the prosperity and glory
of the fatherland; where all spirits are enlarged by constant exchange
of republican sentiments and by the need of earning the respect of a
great people; where the arts are the adornment of liberty, which
ennobles them; and where commerce is the source of public wealth,
not simply of monstrous opulence for a few families.
Notes
6 Eagan, p. 12.
7 Eagan, p. 13.
16 Will and Ariel Durant, The Age of Napoleon (New York: Simon &
Schuster, 1975), p. 7.
17 Eagan, p. 17.
18 Belloc, p. 26.
24 Eagan, p. 31.
25 Will and Ariel Durant, Rousseau and Revolution (New York: Simon &
Schuster, 1967), p. 890.
26 Matrat, p. 19.
29 Belloc, p. 63.
34 Loomis, p. 277.
36 Belloc, p. 96.
37 Belloc, p. 107.
38 These events are covered more fully in almost every book on the
French Revolution. This summary was gathered from Walbank,
Civilization Past and Present, 8th ed. (Glenview: Scott, Forseman, 1981),
pp. 80-84.
41 Palmer, p. 109.
42 Matrat, p. 181.
43 Loomis, p. 328.
44 Kropotkin, p. 543.
45 Belloc, p. 227-78.
47 Kropotkin, p. 537 n.
51 Burns, p. 203.