The Revolution - II

The third volume of Taine’s Origins of Contemporary France focuses on the Jacobins, tracing their origins, their rise, their conquest of power, and their conduct right up until the eve of the Reign of Terror. Taine first looks at them a distinct political species—the specific conditions that gave rise to them, the common characteristics of the Jacobins, their psychology, their language, their illusions, their manner and style. Taine then describes the formation of the Jacobin party, describing their primary sources of recruitment, the multiplication of their societies, their rallying points, their sources of power, their political manoeuverings, and their unscrupulous fanaticism. From their coming to power, the narrative deals with their behaviour, including the tactics with which they defeated the Girondists and the manner in which they encouraged an intensification of the violence, leading, finally, to the eclipse and imprisonment of Louis XVI. It seems the moderates, the reformers, and the enemies of the Jacobins are impotent, unable to silence the latter’s high-flown stridency, placate the passions they instigate, or oppose their limitless aggression and violence.