"Alone， or nearly alone， I do not allow myself to be corrupted； alone or nearly alone， I do not compromise justice； which two merits Ipossess in the highest degree. A few others may live correctly， but they oppose or betray principles； a few others profess to have principles， but they do not live correctly. No one else leads so pure a life or is so loyal to principles； no one else joins to so fervent a worship of truth so strict a practice of virtue： I am the unique." -What can be more agreeable than this mute soliloquy？ From the very first day it can be heard toned down in Robespierre's address to the Third-Estate of Arras；[107] the last day it is spoken aloud in his great speech in the Convention；[108] during the interval， it crops out and shines through all his compositions， harangues， or reports， in exordiums， parentheses and perorations， permeating every sentence like the drone of a bag-pipe.[109] - Through the delight he takes in this he can listen to nothing else， and it is just here that the outward echoes supervene and sustain with their accompaniment the inward cantata which he sings to his own glory. Towards the end of the Constituent Assembly， through the withdrawal or the elimination of every man at all able or competent， he becomes one of the conspicuous tenors on the political stage， while in the Jacobin Club he is decidedly the tenor most in vogue. - "Unique competitor of the Roman Fabricius，" writes the branch club at Marseilles to him； "immortal defender of popular rights，" says the Jacobin crew of Bourges.[110]
One of two portraits of him in the exhibition of 1791 bears the inscription： "The Incorruptible." At the Moliere Theatre a drama of the day represents him as launching the thunderbolts of his logic and virtue at Rohan and Condé. On his way， at Bapaume， the patriots of the place， the National Guard on the road and the authorities， come in a body to honor the great man. The town of Arras is illuminated on his arrival. On the adjournment of the Constituent Assembly the people in the street greet him with shouts， crown him with oak wreaths， take the horses from his cab and drag him in triumph to the rue St. Honoré， where he lodges with the carpenter Duplay. - Here， in one of those families in which the semi-bourgeois class borders on the people， whose minds are unsophisticated， and on whom glittering generalities and oratorical tirades take full hold， he finds his worshippers； they drink in his words； they have the same opinion of him that he has of himself； to every person in the house， husband， wife and daughter， he is the great patriot， the infallible sage； he bestows benedictions night and morning； he inhales clouds of incense；he is a god at home. The faithful， to obtain access to him form a line in the court.[111] One by one they are admitted into the reception room， where they gather around portraits of him drawn with pencil， in stump， in sepia and in water color， and before miniature busts in red or gray plaster. Then， on the signal being given by him， they penetrate through a glass door into the sanctuary where he presides， into the private closet in which the best bust of him， with verses and mottoes， replaces him during his absence. - His worshippers adore him on their knees， and the women more than the men.
On the day he delivers his apology before the Convention "the passages are lined with women[112] . . . . seven or eight hundred of them in the galleries， and but two hundred men at most；" and how frantically they cheer him！ He is a priest surrounded by devotees."[113] In the Jacobin club， when he delivers his "amphigory，"there are sobs of emotion， "outcries and stamping of feet almost making the house tumble."[114] An onlooker who shows no emotion is greeted with murmurs and obliged to slip out， like a heretic that has strayed into a church on the elevation of the Host. - The faster the revolutionary thunderbolts fall on other heads， so does Robespierre mount higher and higher in glory and deification. Letters are addressed to him as "the founder of the Republic， the incorruptible genius who foresees all and saves all， who can neither be deceived nor seduced；"[115] who has "the energy of a Spartan and the eloquence of an Athenian；"[116] "who shields the Republic with the aegis of his eloquence；"[117] who "illuminates the universe with his writings， fills the world with his renown and regenerates the human species here below；"[118] whose" name is now， and will be， held in veneration for all ages， present and to come；"[119] who is "the Messiah promised by the Eternal for universal reform."[120] An extraordinary popularity，"says Billaud-Varennes，[121] a popularity which， founded under the Constituent Assembly， "only increased during the Legislative Assembly，" and， later on， so much more， that， "in the National Convention he soon found himself the only one able to fix attention on his person. . . . and control public opinion. . . . With this ascendancy over public opinion， with this irresistible preponderance， when he reached the Committee of Public Safety， he was already the most important being in France." After three years， a chorus of a thousand voices，[122] which he formed and directs， repeats again and again in unison his litany， his personal creed， a hymn of three stanzas composed by him in his own honor， and which he daily recites to himself in a low tone of voice， and often in a loud one：
"Robespierre alone has discovered the best type of citizen！
Robespierre alone， modestly and without shortcomings， fits the description！ Robespierre alone is worthy of and able to lead the Revolution！"[123]
Cool infatuation carried thus far is equivalent to a raging fever， and Robespierre almost attains to the ideas and the ravings of Marat.