To these spontaneous eliminations through which the club deteriorates， add the constant pressure through which the Committee of Public Safety frightens and degrades it. The lower the revolutionary government sinks， and the more it concentrates its power， the more servile and sanguinary do its agents and employees become. It strikes right and left as a warning； it imprisons or decapitates the turbulent among its own clients， the secondary demagogues who are impatient at not being principal demagogues， the bold who think of striking a fresh blow in the streets， Jacques Roux， Vincent， Momoro， Hébert， leaders of the Cordeliers club and of the Commune. After these， the indulgent who are disposed to exercise some discernment or moderation in terrorism， Camille Desmoulins， Danton and their adherents； and lastly， many others who are more or less doubtful， compromised or compromising， wearied or eccentric， from Maillard to Chaumette， from Antonelle to Chabot， from Westermann to Clootz. Each of the proscribed has a gang of followers， and suddenly the whole gang are obliged to do a volte-face； those who were able to show initiative， grovel， while those who could show mercy， become hardened. Henceforth， amongst the subaltern Jacobins， the roots of independence， humanity， and loyalty， hard to extirpate even in an ignoble and cruel nature， are eradicated even to the last fiber， the revolutionary staff， already so debased， becoming more and more degraded， until it is worthy of the office assigned to it. The confidants of Hébert， those who listen to Chaumette， the comrades of Westermann， the officers of Ronsin， the faithful readers of Camille， the admirers and devotees of Danton， all are bound to publicly repudiate their incarcerated friend or leader and approve of the decree which sends him to the scaffold， to applaud his calumniators， to overwhelm him on trial： this or that judge or juryman， who is one of Danton's partisans， is obliged to stifle a defense of him， and， knowing him to be innocent， pronounce him guilty；one who had often dined with Desmoulins is not only to guillotine him， but， in addition to this， to guillotine his young widow. Moreover， in the revolutionary committees， at the Commune， in the offices of the Committee of General Safety， in the bureau of the Central Police， at the headquarters of the armed force， at the revolutionary Tribunal， the service to which they are compelled to do becomes daily more onerous and more repulsive. To denounce neighbors， to arrest colleagues， to go and seize innocent persons， known to be such， in their beds， to select in the prisons the thirty or forty unfortunates who form the daily food of the guillotine， to "amalgamate" them haphazard， to try them and condemn them in a lot， to escort octogenarian women and girls of sixteen to the scaffold， even under the knife-blade， to see heads dropping and bodies swinging， to contrive means for getting rid of a multitude of corpses， and for removing the too-visible stains of blood. Of what species do the beings consist， who can accept such a task， and perform it day after day， with the prospect of doing it indefinitely？ Fouquier-Tinville himself succumbs. One evening， on his way to the Committee of Public Safety， "he feels unwell" on the Pont-Neuf and exclaims： "I think Isee the ghosts of the dead following us， especially those of the patriots I have had guillotined！"[17] And at another time： "I would rather plow the ground than be public prosecutor. If I could， I would resign." -- The government， as the system becomes aggravated， is forced to descend lower still that it may find suitable instruments；it finds them now only in the lowest depths： in Germinal， to renew the Commune， in Floréal， to renew the ministries， in Prairial， to re-compose the revolutionary Tribunal， month after month， purging and re-constituting the committees of each quarter[18] of the city. In vain does Robespierre， writing and re-writing his secret lists， try to find men able to maintain the system； he always falls back on the same names， those of unknown persons， illiterate， about a hundred knaves or fools with four or five second-class despots or fanatics among them， as malevolent and as narrow as himself. - The purifying crucible has been used too often and for too long a time； it has overheated； what was sound， or nearly so， in the elements of the primitive fluid has been forcibly evaporated； the rest has fermented and become acid；nothing remains in the bottom of the vessel but the lees of stupidity and wickedness， their concentrated and corrosive dregs.
II. Subaltern Jacobins.
Quality of subaltern leaders. - How they rule in the section assemblies. - How they seize and hold office.
