| 302 | 303 | 304 | 305 | 306 |
| 1 | 171 | 343 | 514 | 685 |
|
combination of two opposites. It is a mind in which the negative bars
the way to the affirmative. It is a neuter.
Now in time revolution, whoever is neuter of is impotent. Nevertheless,
during the first hours of resistance against the coup d'état the
democratic Catholic workman, whose noble effort we are here relating,
threw himself so resolutely into the cause of Justice and of Truth, that
in a few moments he transformed distrust into confidence, and was hailed
by the people. He showed such gallantry at the rising of the barricade
of the Rue Aumaire that with an unanimous voice they appointed him their
leader. At the moment of the attack he defended it as he had built it,
with ardor. That was a sad but glorious battle-field; most of his
companions were killed, and he escaped only by a miracle.
However, he succeeded in returning home, saying to himself bitterly,
"All is lost."
It seemed evident to him that the great masses of the people would not
rise. Thenceforward it appeared impossible to conquer the coup d'état
by a revolution; it could be only combated by legality. What had been
the risk at the beginning became the hope at the end, for he believed
the end to be fatal, and at hand. In his opinion it was necessary, as
the people were defaulters, to try now to arouse the middle classes. Let
one legion of National Guards go out in arms, and the Elysée was lost.
For this a decisive blow must be struck--the heart of the middle classes
must be reached--the "bourgeois" must be inspired by a grand spectacle
which should not be a terrifying spectacle.
304
Page
Quick Jump
|