booklady’s Reviews > Fatal Purity: Robespierre and the French Revolution > Status Update

Robespierre was no cynic. He was, as Danton told the Revolutionary Tribunal, “above all, a tenacious man,” and what he held on to most tightly of all was his dream of virtue. He went on with the Terror, kept moving through that gory river, because he believed it necessary for saving the Revolution. He can be accused of insanity and inhumanity but certainly not of insincerity.

(Robespierre) comments that it is not so surprising that a miracle should have occurred in that particular chapel, since others had occurred there in the past. There is perhaps a note of sarcasm in his next remark. “I do not propose to stay long in this holy land; I am not worthy of it.” This is not someone who simply sneers at religion. (It) served to remind Robespierre of religion’s immense social power.

In one of Robespierre's cases, he used a friend's 'expert' paper which drew from, "experts in the field, among them ... the future revolutionary journalist Dr. Jean-Paul Marat, a candidate for the directorship of the new Academy of Science in Madrid, known at the time for his experiments with optics and electricity.

“There are two ways of totally misunderstanding Robespierre as a historical figure: one is to detest the man; the other is to make too much of him.” ... Instead, I have set out to show that Robespierre’s involvement in, and advocacy of, the Terror was psychologically motivated in vital respects. The political decisions he made were influenced by the kind of person he was.