The French Revolution - Volume 2

Produced by Svend Rom





THE ORIGINS OF CONTEMPORARY FRANCE, VOLUME 3

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, VOLUME 2


by Hippolyte A. Taine



     Transcriber's Note: The numbering of Volumes, Books,
     Chapters and Sections are as in the French not the
     American edition. Annotations by the transcriber
     are initialled SR.

     Svend Rom, April 2000.



THE REVOLUTION. Volume II. THE JACOBIN CONQUEST.

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION VOLUME II.

     BOOK FIRST. THE JACOBINS.
     CHAPTER I. The Establishment of the new political organ. 6
     I. The Revolutionary Party.
     II. The Jacobins.
     III. Jacobin Mentality.
     IV. What the Theory Promises.

     CHAPTER II. The Party.
     I. Formation of the Party
     II. Jacobin and other Associations
     III. The Press.
     IV. The Clubs.
     V. Jacobin Power.

     BOOK SECOND. THE FIRST STAGE OF THE CONQUEST.
     CHAPTER I. The Jacobins in Power.
     I. Manipulating the Vote.
     II. Danger of holding Public Office.
     III. Pursuit of the Opponents.
     IV. Turmoil.
     V. Tactics of Intimidation.

     CHAPTER II. The Legislative Assembly.
     I. New Incompetent Assembly.
     II. Jacobin Intelligence and Culture.
     III. Their Sessions.
     IV. The political Parties.
     V. Means and Ways.
     VI. Political Tactics.
     CHAPTER III. Policy of the Assembly.
     I. Lawlessness.
     II. Revolutionary Laws.
     III. War.
     IV. Dictatorship of the Proletariat.
     V. Citoyens! Aux Armes!!
     CHAPTER IV. The Departments.
     I. Provence in 1792.
     II. The expedition to Aix.
     III. Marseilles against Arles.
     IV. The Jacobins of Avignon.
     V. The Class Struggle.
     CHAPTER V. PARIS.
     I. Weakening of the King.
     II. The Armed Revolutionaries.
     III. Jacobin Rabble-rousers.
     IV. The King in front of the people.
     CHAPTER VI. The Birth of the Terrible Paris Commune.
     I. The Plan of the Girondists.
     II. Girondists Foiled.
     III. Preparations for the Coup.
     IV. The Commune in Action.
     V. Purging the Assembly.
     VI. Take-over.
     VII. The King's Submission.
     VIII. Paris and its Jacobin leaders.

     BOOK THIRD. THE SECOND STAGE OF THE CONQUEST.
     CHAPTER I. Mob rule in times of anarchy.
     I. Brigands.
     II. Homicidal Part of Revolutionary Creed.
     III. Terror is their Salvation.
     IV. Carnage.
     V. Abasement and Stupor.
     VI. Jacobin Massacre.
     CHAPTER II. THE DEPARTMENTS.
     I. The Sovereignty of the People..
     II. Robbers and Victims.
     III. Local Dictature.
     IV. Jacobin Violence, Rape and Pillage.
     V. The Roving Gangs.
     VI. The Programme of the Party.
     CHAPTER III. The New Sovereigns..
     I. Sharing the Spoils.
     II. Doctoring the Elections
     III Electoral Control..
     IV: The New Republican Assembly.
     V. The Jacobins forming alone the Sovereign People.
     VI. Composition of the Jacobin Party.
     VII. The Jacobin Chieftains.
     CHAPTER IV. TAKEN HOSTAGE.
     I. Jacobin tactics and power.
     II. Jacobin characters and minds.
     III. Physical fear and moral cowardice.
     IV. Jacobin victory over Girondist majority.
     V. Jacobin violence against the people.
     VI. Jacobin tactics.
     VII. The central Jacobin committee in power.
     VIII. Right or Wrong, my Country.




PREFACE:

In this volume, as in those preceding it and in those to come, there
will be found only the history of Public Authorities. Others will write
that of diplomacy, of war, of the finances, of the Church; my subject
is a limited one. To my great regret, however, this new part fills an
entire volume; and the last part, on the revolutionary government, will
be as long.

I have again to regret the dissatisfaction I foresee this work will
cause to many of my countrymen. My excuse is, that almost all of them,
more fortunate than myself, have political principles which serve them
in forming their judgments of the past. I had none; if indeed, I had
any motive in undertaking this work, it was to seek for political
principles. Thus far I have attained to scarcely more than one; and this
is so simple that will seem puerile, and that I hardly dare express it.
Nevertheless I have adhered to it, and in what the reader is about to
peruse my judgments are all derived from that; its truth is the measure
of theirs. It consists wholly in this observation: that

HUMAN SOCIETY, ESPECIALLY A MODERN SOCIETY, IS A VAST AND COMPLICATED
THING.

Hence the difficulty in knowing and comprehending it. For the same
reason it is not easy to handle the subject well. It follows that a
cultivated mind is much better able to do this than an uncultivated
mind, and a man specially qualified than one who is not. From these two
last truths flow many other consequences, which, if the reader deigns to
reflect on them, he will have no trouble in defining.

H.