V. The Break With Royalty in 1791

Louis XVI, a pious Catholic, decided to break with the Assembly after the condemnatory bull of the pope, and established secret relations with foreign countries. He tried to flee from France on June 20, 1791. Discovered, he was brought back to Paris, and now for the first time a republican movement came to the forefront, which in time gained overwhelming power and became more and more radical, although for the time being the Assembly did not take action against the king.PFF2 737.1

The general European situation became more menacing month by month, and war was imminent. Finally, on April 20, 1792, war was declared. Under the stress of circumstances the Assembly had to enforce the sternest measures to assure the defense of France and rally the people, which led to an upsurge of political fanaticism and a purge of all so-called untrustworthy elements. Fanaticism, once loosed, is like a fury—not satisfied until it is choked with blood. All these different elements finally led to the Reign of Terror, when human life meant nothing, and the heads of royalty and nobility, of high and low, rolled into the gutter.PFF2 737.2

Robespierre, the idealist and theorist of the revolution, having reached the summit of his power, ruthlessly brushed away even his former co-workers, and the frenzy of terror reached undreamed—of heights. At the same time he, as the high priest of reason, directed a most eloquent address to that “supreme Being” whose cult he had instituted.PFF2 737.3