human
But she is mistaken; for the family that made war under the pretext of replacing Louis XVI. on the throne, continues to make war under pretext of crowning Louis XVII., but in reality that France may be invaded and dismembered. Spain wishes to regain Roussillon; Austria wants Alsace and the Franche-Comté; Prussia the Margraviates of Anspach and Beyreuth. The nobles form three divisions; one attacks us on the Rhine, another on the Loire, and a third conspires. War within, war without! Foreign war and civil war! On the frontier thousands of men lying on the battlefields; in France itself thousands of men massacred in prison, thousands of men dragged to the guillotine. Why? Because the king, after taking the oath, did not keep it, and instead of trusting to his people, to France, threw himself into the arms of his family, the enemy.
gpt
But then you approve of the massacres of September?
human
I deplore them. But what can you do against a people?
gpt
You approve of the king's death?
human
I regard it as a terrible thing; but the king should have kept his oath.
gpt
Do you approve of political executions?
human
I think them abominable; but the king should not have called in the enemy.
gpt
Oh! you may say what you like, general; the year '93 is a fatal one.
human
For royalty, yes; for France, no.
gpt
But aside from civil and foreign wars, aside from all these massacres and executions, it is nothing short of bankruptcy to issue all those thousands of francs in paper money.
human
I should be glad to see the country bankrupt.
gpt
So should I, if royalty could have the credit of restoring her credit.
human
Credit will be re-established by the division of property.
gpt
How so?
human
Have you not seen that all the lands belonging to the emigrated nobles, and to the Church, have been confiscated by the Convention; and that it has been decreed that they shall belong to the nation?
gpt
Yes; but what of that?
human
Have you not perceived that they have issued another decree to the effect that these lands can be bought with paper money at par value?
gpt
Yes.
human
Well, my dear sir, there you have it! With a thousand francs in paper money--which is not enough to buy ten pounds of bread from the baker--the poor man can purchase an acre of land, which he can cultivate himself, and with which he can furnish bread for himself and his family.
gpt
Who will dare to buy stolen property?
human
Confiscated; which is by no means the same thing.
gpt
What difference? No one would take upon himself to become the accomplice of the Revolution.
human
Do you know how much has been sold this year?
gpt
No.
human
More than a thousand million francs' worth. Next year double that amount will be sold.
gpt
Next year! But do you think that the Republic will last till next year?
human
The Revolution--
gpt
Well, the Revolution--why, Vergniaud says that the Revolution is like Saturn, and that it eats all its children.
human
It has a great many children, and some of them are hard to digest.
gpt
But you see that the Girondins are already devoured.
human
The Cordeliers are left.
gpt
Some day the Jacobins will devour them at a gulp.
human
Then the Jacobins will be left.
gpt
Good! but they have no men like Danton, and Camille Desmoulins, to make a formidable party.
human
They have men like Robespierre and Saint-Just, and they are the only party that are in the right.
gpt
And after them?
human
After them I see no one else, and I fear much that with them the Revolution must end.
gpt
And in the meantime, think of the rivers of blood that will flow.
human
Revolutions are ever thirsty.
gpt
But these men are tigers.
human
In a revolution I do not fear tigers as much as I do foxes.
gpt
And you will consent to serve them?
human
Yes, because they will still be the ruling power of France. A Sylla or a Marius does not exhaust a nation; a Caligula or a Nero enervates it.
gpt
Then in your opinion each of the parties that you have named will rise and fall in turn.
human
If the genius of France is logical, it will be so.
gpt
Explain yourself.
human
Every party that comes into power will accomplish great things, for which it will be rewarded by the gratitude of our children; it will also commit great crimes, for which its contemporaries will punish its members; and that which has happened to the Girondins will happen to all the others. The Girondins brought about the death of the king--mind I do not say royalty--and they were in turn destroyed by the Cordeliers; the Cordeliers destroyed the Girondins, and they will in all probability be destroyed in turn by the Jacobins; and the Jacobins, the last outgrowth of the Revolution, will in turn be destroyed. By whom? I have already told you that I do not know. When they have disappeared, come and see me, M. Fauche-Borel, for then bloodshed will have ceased.
gpt
And then, where shall we be?
human
We will probably be ashamed of ourselves! Now, I can serve a government that I hate, but I never could serve one that I despised; my motto is that of Thraseas: _Non sibi deesse_ (Never be wanting to one's self).
gpt
And your reply?
human
It is this: The present moment would be ill-chosen to attempt to stay the Revolution. Just now it is proving its strength by beheading five hundred persons a day at Nantes, Toulon, Lyons and Paris. We must wait until lassitude ensues.
gpt
And then?
human
And then, continued Pichegru, gravely,
gpt
Monk made his own conditions, general,
human
I should be content to make conditions for France.
gpt
Well, general, his Highness has forestalled you, and here is a paper which will, I am sure, far exceed anything that you could impose for the welfare of France.