Freddie Mercury’s Words and Robespierre’s Fate
“If I were to die tomorrow I wouldn’t worry, I’ve had everything in life.” —
said the great Freddie Mercury.
Two centuries earlier, another great person, Maximilien Robespierre, expressed almost the same idea:
My life? I abandon it without regret… What friend of his country would wish to survive the moment when he could no longer serve it? (1)
When the Revolution Lost Its Soul
The 9th of Thermidor (July 27, 1794) marked the end of the Jacobin government.
So too may have fallen the promise of a new France — the one born the day its people said “no” to tyranny and to the system.
To me, French history ends in 1794. After that, it ceased to be interesting. Only a few prominent figures still hold my attention. Like marshal Michel Ney or my adorable Jean Lannes, for instance.
Was Robespierre Too Good Even for the Revolution?
Robespierre could probably have prevented what happened. However, he chose not to fight to the very end. Why?
Maybe he considered his mission complete. Or maybe society was not ready for his vision.
“The time has not yet come when decent people can serve their country without fear; as long as a gang of swindlers reigns, defenders of liberty will remain outcasts,” —
he declared in his final speech (1).
Could France And the World Have Taken Another Path?
But what if he had turned the tide?
The Jacobins still had many loyal supporters. It wasn’t over — not yet.
The course of world history might have changed. For the better. With less blood, less war, and more justice.
I was made to fight crime, not to govern it. Maximilien Robespierre (1).
The Jacobin Terror Reconsidered
Revolutionary radicalism would have faded like a storm. Once peace took hold in the country, the harshest measures would no longer have been necessary.
The so-called “Jacobin Terror” was never about senseless bloodshed. It was a radical firewall designed to keep France from ever returning to the ’ancien régime’.
It was about burning bridges, once and forever. That’s it.
No Robespierre’s Fall — No World War
The Incorruptible was a staunch opponent of war, expansionism and of “armed missionaries”.
He saw war as a threat to both liberty and progress.
I believe he would have never allowed a prolonged conflict to engulf the continent — a war that eventually morphed into something global.
Most likely, the figure of Napoleon would never have emerged on the political stage.
Robespierre who saw straight through people would have kept the ambitious Corsican on a tight leash, under strict control and nowhere near power. Talented, no doubt, but far better suited to a military career. For everyone’s sake.
Robespierre vs. Napoleon: Two Frances
Austrian author Stefan Zweig called Robespierre “the only true political genius among the loud popular demagogues” (2). And it’s hard to disagree.
With The Incorruptible in charge and with his followers and successors France could have led the world.
Without the Napoleonic backsliding.
Without the inevitable collapse it resulted in.
The very idea of Bonapartism invariably leads to world war with no happy ending.
Just as Napoleon’s adventures were an utter rout — the restoration of the Bourbons being one of the consequences. They escaped one regime only to return to another, with minor changes.
The unrivalled “genius” of Napoleon in action.
Under Robespierre, once again, France might have become a strong global leader, not a shaky military empire.
The cycle of conquest, autocracy and crash could have been broken.
But the Revolution lost its voice. And history changed direction.
Dangerous Illusions of Today
Yet, surprisingly enough, Napoleon still enjoys a certain “demand”, while Robespierre remains unfairly erased from history.
Sadly, some of our contemporaries are prone to dangerous illusions.
This can only be explained and excused by the distance of that era, its distorted perception, thoughtlessness and the influence of propaganda that knows how to press on painful spots (often artificially created).
And those who believe they’re entitled to global domination through force or finance continue to fuel conflicts.
Sometimes I want to say:
“Just leave people alone. Take your obsessions and games elsewhere — on Mars, if you must. Because true “occupiers” aren’t who they claim to fight — they are the ones who assume the right to rule.”
Did Robespierre foresee this? What was on his mind in his last moments? Who knows…
Robespierre’s Legacy: Has Everything Already Been Said?
Could the Jacobin ideas return? Not as terror, of course, but as the embodiment of dreams — dreams of equality, justice and control over power?
It’s a pity many never grasped the true meaning of the French Revolution in general and of the Jacobins in particular. All they see is the guillotine.
Or rather, they see what they are carefully shown by those who benefit from this narrative.
Anyway, the leadership that could have belonged to the French was hijacked by others — not exactly for the universal progress, happiness and prosperity.
That’s why history may call the Jacobins again. And the spirit of Robespierre — not only a man of his time, but a man of the future — may yet inspire.
His ideas could be reborn in other lands, other people, other forms — but with the same core: love, justice, equality.
References:
- Wikisource — Robespierre’s Last Speech (English);
French National Assembly — Robespierre’s Last Speech (26 July 1794). - Stefan Zweig — Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman.