What is more legal than such a motion， which is the only part Robespierre took on the 31st of May. He is too scrupulous to commit or prescribe an illegal act. That will do for the Dantons， the Marats， men of relaxed morals or excited brains， who if need be， tramp in the gutters and roll up their shirt-sleeves； as to himself， he can do nothing that would ostensibly derange or soil the dress proper to an honest man and irreproachable citizen. In the Committee of Public Safety， he merely executes the decrees of the Convention， and the Convention is always free. He a dictator！ He is merely one of seven hundred deputies， and his authority， if he has any， is simply the legitimate ascendancy of reason and virtue.[158] He a murderer！ If he has denounced conspirators， it is the Convention which summons these before the revolutionary Tribunal，[159] and the revolutionary Tribunal pronounces judgment on them. He a terrorist！ He merely seeks to simplify the established proceedings， so as to secure a speedier release of the innocent， the punishment of the guilty， and the final purgation that is to render liberty and morals the order of the day.[160] - Before uttering all this he almost believes it， and， when he has uttered it he believes it fully.[161] When nature and history combine， to produce a character， they succeed better than man's imagination. Neither Molière in his "Tartuffe，" nor Shakespeare in his " Richard III.，" dared bring on the stage a hypocrite believing himself sincere， and a Cain that regarded himself as an Abel.[162]
There he stands on a colossal stage， in the presence of a hundred thousand spectators， on the 8th of June， 1794， the most glorious day of his life， at that fête in honor of the Supreme Being， which is the glorious triumph of his doctrine and the official consecration of his papacy. Two characters are found in Robespierre， as in the Revolution which he represents： one， apparent， paraded， external， and the other hidden， dissembled， inward， the latter being overlaid by the former.
- The first one all for show， fashioned out of purely cerebral cogitations， is as artificial as the solemn farce going on around him.
According to David's programme， the cavalcade of supernumeraries who file in front of an allegorical mountain， gesticulate and shout at the command， and under the eyes， of Henriot and his gendarmes，[163]
manifesting at the appointed time the emotions which are prescribed for them. At five o'clock in the morning"friends， husbands， wives， relations and children will embrace . . .
. The old man， his eyes streaming with tears of joy， feels himself rejuvenated."At two o'clock， on the turf-laid terraces of the sacred mountain，"all will show a state of commotion and excitement： mothers here press to their bosoms the infants they suckle， and there offer them up in homage to the author of Nature， while youths， aglow with the ardor of battle， simultaneously draw their swords and hand them to their venerable fathers. Sharing in the enthusiasm of their sons， the deported old men embrace them and bestow on them the paternal benediction. . . . . All the men distributed around the 'Field of Reunion' sing in chorus the (first) refrain. . . . All the Women distributed around the 'Field of Reunion' sing in unison the (second)refrain . . . . All Frenchmen partake of each other's sentiments in one grand fraternal embrace."What could better than such an idyll， ruled with an iron hand， in the presence of moral symbols and colored pasteboard divinities， could better please the counterfeit moralist， unable to distinguish the false from the true， and whose skin-deep sensibility is borrowed from sentimental authors！ "For the first time" his glowing countenance beams with joy， while "the enthusiasm"[164] of the scribe overflows， as usual， in book phraseology.
"Behold！" he exclaims， "that which is most interesting in humanity！