. Robespierre and the French revolution. her had him educated for a lit-erary career. He studied his politics in the clas-sic states of Greece and Rome and lived in theatmosphere of the ancients. His eloquence wasas fervent as his southern blood; his impassionedwords were born in the heat of inspiration. Hecould incite the fury of his hearers or lead thempersuasively to conviction. The first night he ap^7peared and spoke at the Jacobins, he scored a\triumph; he swept the audience off its feet andjclosed amidst a whirlwind of applause. ^ When the allies were threatening the invasionof France, h
. Robespierre and the French revolution. her had him educated for a lit-erary career. He studied his politics in the clas-sic states of Greece and Rome and lived in theatmosphere of the ancients. His eloquence wasas fervent as his southern blood; his impassionedwords were born in the heat of inspiration. Hecould incite the fury of his hearers or lead thempersuasively to conviction. The first night he ap^7peared and spoke at the Jacobins, he scored a\triumph; he swept the audience off its feet andjclosed amidst a whirlwind of applause. ^ When the allies were threatening the invasionof France, he cried out defiantly in the Assembly: Tell Europe that you will respect the constituVtions of all other countries, but that if a war ofkings be raised against France you will raise awar of people against kings. He was a bitter partisan and not always tem-perate in his speech. At the time the Girondinswere in a death-struggle with the Mountain hedeclared: If by fatal chance, in any of thetumults which since the loth of March are ever218. GENSONNE From an engraving in the collection of William J. Latta, Esq. After a painting by Raffet THE FRENCH REVOLUTION returning, Paris were to raise a sacrilegious handagainst the national representatives, France wouldrise as one man in never-imagined vengeance andcause such ruin that soon the traveler coming tolocate the site of the city of the universe wouldhave to ask on which side of the Seine Paris hadstood. This was eloquence to a high degree,but it was most ill-timed, for it aroused the angerof the Parisians and resulted in sweeping theGirondins from power. These men — Brissot, Vergniaud, Gensonne,Guadet, and Isnard — were the leaders of a greatparty, a party of lofty purposes that hoped to leadFrance to freedom and to glory; but alas! had notwisdom enough to reach its ideals or even to saveitself from destruction. None of the factions hadso many eloquent and distinguished speakers, butunfortunately for the welfare of the Republic
Size: 1277px × 1956px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookc, bookdecade1900, bookidrobespierrefrenc00warw, bookyear1909
