to be what he wills that they should be.  According to Robespierre, who copies Rousseau literally, the legislator is to begin by assigning the aim of the institutions of the nation.  After this, the Government has only to direct all its physical and moral forces towards this end.  All this time the nation itself is to remain perfectly passive; and Billaud Varennes would teach us that it ought to have no prejudices, affections, nor wants, but such as are authorised by the legislator.  He even goes so far as to say that the inflexible austerity of a man is the basis of a republic.

We have seen that, in cases where the evil is so great that the ordinary magistrates are unable to remedy it, Mably recommends a dictatorship, to promote virtue. “Have recourse,” says he, “to an extraordinary magistracy, whose time shall be short, and his power considerable.  The imagination of the people requires to be impressed.”  This doctrine has not been neglected.  Listen to Robespierre:—­

“The principle of the Republican Government is virtue, and the means to be adopted, during its establishment, is terror.  We want to substitute, in our country, morality for egotism, probity for honour, principles for customs, duties for decorum, the empire of reason for the tyranny of fashion, contempt of vice for contempt of misfortune, pride for insolence, greatness of soul for vanity, love of glory for love of money, good people for good company, merit for intrigue, genius for wit, truth for glitter, the charm of happiness for the weariness of pleasure, the greatness of man for the littleness of the great, a magnanimous, powerful, happy people, for one that is easy, frivolous, degraded; that is to say, we would substitute all the virtues and miracles of a republic for all the vices and absurdities of monarchy.”

At what a vast height above the rest of mankind does Robespierre place himself here!  And observe the arrogance with which he speaks.  He is not content with expressing a desire for a great renovation of the human heart, he does not even expect such a result from a regular Government.  No; he intends to effect it himself, and by means of terror.  The object of the discourse from which this puerile and laborious mass of antithesis is extracted, was to exhibit the principles of morality which ought to direct a revolutionary Government.  Moreover, when Robespierre asks for a dictatorship, it is not merely for the purpose of repelling a foreign enemy, or of putting down factions; it is that he may establish, by means of terror, and as a preliminary to the game of the Constitution, his own principles of morality.  He pretends to nothing short of extirpating from the country, by means of terror, egotism, honour, customs, decorum, fashion, vanity, the love of money, good company, intrigue, wit, luxury, and misery.  It is not until after he, Robespierre, shall have accomplished these miracles, as he rightly