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Maximilien de Robespierre 1758-1794
One of the top dogs in the
French Revolution, Maximilien
de Robespierre was head of the radical
Jacobins.
His was the Reign of Terror, which ruled
September 5, 1793 until July 27, 1794.
The whole thing backfired and
Robespierre himself was executed.
Robespierre and Public Speaking - The Virtue of
Terror
On February 5, 1794, Maximilien de
Robespierre delivered his speech
The Virtue of Terror before the
National Convention, which
means that his audience was a crowd of around 750 men. This address
is also called the Report on the Principles of Political Morality, or in more
private circles How I Solved My Childhood Issues.
Robespierre spoke as the representative
of the
Committee of Public Safety, or Comité De Salut
Public, a group of 9 to 12 men with the assigned task of
eliminating foreign and domestic threats to national security. This
Committee had been set up on April 6, 1793, and its members were
elected by the National Convention.
However, the initial members were deemed
to soft for the job and, in July 1793, were replaced by men who
weren't afraid of alley cats. Robespierre was one of these
replacements.
Now, in early 1794, the National
Convention felt that their Committee of Public Safety ran a
dictatorship. To this effect, Robespierre gave the above mentioned
oration in which he shared his thoughts on the practice of terror.
Here is the speech in French:
Les Principes de
Morale Politique
Here is the speech in English:
The Virtue of Terror
Robespierre and Public Speaking - Festival of
the Supreme Being
On June 8, 1794, Robespierre delivered
two speeches on occasion of the Festival of the Supreme Being,
the Fête de l'Etre Suprême.
This festival took place in Paris. It
started in the Tuileries Gardens with a ceremony and
two speeches from
Robespierre, after which the entire posse shuffled to the
Field of Mars, Champ de Mars, which is the West Potomac Park
of Paris, if you will.
Here is the speech in French:
La Fête de
l'Être Suprême
Here is the speech in English:
Festival of the Supreme Being
And here is a photo of the Champ de Mars
today.
The picture was taken from the Eiffel Tower.
CHAMP DE MARS, PARIS, FRANCE
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