马克西米连·罗伯斯庇尔

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“我们罪恶的敌人想要从共和国赶走的，首先是智慧。只有智慧才能巩固帝国的繁荣。为了她，我们要保护我们勇气的成果。”

―1794年，罗伯斯庇尔在至高主宰节上的演讲

马克西米连·弗朗索瓦·马里·伊西多·德·罗伯斯庇尔（Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre） (1758年 – 1794年) 是一位法国律师、演说家、政治家及法国大革命的风云人物，他的统治可以说是现代独裁制度的滥觞。

罗伯斯庇尔最初只是家乡阿拉斯县的一位律师，后来在1789年三级会议中当选为第三级代表。法国大革命爆发后，他加入了政见日益激进的雅各布俱乐部，并被圣殿骑士大团长弗朗索瓦-托马斯·日耳曼招募进了教团。1793年末，罗伯斯庇尔和新近成立的公共安全委员会开始了恐怖统治，迫害并经常一次处决上千名被认定为反革命的人。

由于罗伯斯庇尔的暴政愈演愈烈，在1794年的热月政变中，他和他的支持者们被推翻。等待他们的将是断头台的处置。

生平

早年

“自由的秘密在于教化人民，而暴政的秘密在于让人民保持无知。”

―罗伯斯庇尔^[来源]

1758年，罗伯斯庇尔出生在法国阿拉斯县，是家里四个孩子中最年长的一个。他的母亲在他六岁时去世，父亲不久后也抛弃了这个家。因此，年幼的罗伯斯庇尔不得不承担起了照顾弟弟妹妹们的重任。^[1] 在此期间，他基本上是被他所就读的阿拉斯演讲学院的老师们抚养长大的。他学习十分勤奋，尤其对罗马史充满了热情。在后来的众多演讲中，他总会如痴如醉地引述那些先贤的事迹。^[2] 11岁时，他获得了法国顶级学府路易大帝中学的奖学金。^[1] 在那，他将受到德尼·狄德罗等启蒙思想家的影响。^[3]

革命爆发

“任何侵犯人之不可剥夺权利的法律，本质上都是不公正且专制的，它根本就不是法律。[......]任何制度，如果拒绝承认人民之善，拒绝承认官员可以被腐化，那么它就是邪恶的。”

―1793年，罗伯斯庇尔^[来源]

1781年，罗伯斯庇尔获得法学学士学位，同年回到故乡阿拉斯担任地方律师。看起来，他似乎要在这个位置上衣食无忧地过完一生，然而一场突如其来的财政危机席卷了法国。时任国王路易十六不得不重新召开三级会议。1789年4月20日，罗伯斯庇尔当选为阿尔图瓦郡八位第三级代表中的第五位。^[2] 会上，他大加批判君主专制，提倡社会改革，^[1] 并与其他与会人员，比如米拉波伯爵、埃马纽尔·约瑟夫·西哀士和拉法耶特侯爵一起成立了国民议会。在此期间，他还被招募进了以弗朗索瓦-托马斯·日耳曼为首的圣殿骑士激进派。^[4]

ACU Robespierre in Versailles — 罗伯斯庇尔走进凡尔赛宫

1789年5月5日，罗伯斯庇尔和他的圣殿骑士同僚出席了凡尔赛宫的一场私人宴会。这场宴会是圣殿骑士大团长弗朗索瓦·德·拉赛尔为庆祝其女儿加入教团而举办的。然而那天晚上，德·拉赛尔却在日耳曼谋划的事变中被害身亡。由此，以日尔曼为首的激进派掌握了教团的至高权力。他们阴谋在法国各地煽动一场广泛的革命，将政权从贵族手里剥夺，赋予中产阶级。通过建立资本主义社会，教团将更容易对人类加以控制。^[4]

罗伯斯庇尔定居在了巴黎，此后仅回过阿拉斯一次。他成了普罗科普咖啡馆^[4] 和摄政咖啡馆等知识分子集会地的常客。^[5] 他还加入了新成立的雅各宾俱乐部，并以坚定不移的原则和信念而闻名，赢得了“廉洁者”的称号。人们都知道这位才华横溢的演说家，尽管嗓音刺耳，还带着阿尔图瓦口音，但在各大议会厅里总能见到他的身影。^[4] 他在国民议会上发言逾五千次，旗帜鲜明地反对国王的立法否决权和宗教歧视，同时也维护着平民的权利。曾短暂担任过雅各宾俱乐部主席的米拉波评价他说：“他的前途不可估量，他对自己所说的一切都深信不疑。”^[1] 关于罗伯斯庇尔的私生活，人们知之甚少，只知道他的生活方式优雅而不奢华。他时刻不忘学习，并保持着良好的伴侣关系。他的刚正不阿也常常得罪请他办事的人，但他对人情世故的冷淡却使身为政治人物的他更受人们敬重。^[2]

1791年4月，圣殿骑士们在博韦酒店集会。罗伯斯庇尔向雅各宾派的同僚们发表讲话，呼吁废除死刑。会议结束后，他单独会见了日耳曼和阿洛伊斯·拉图什。日耳曼将拉图什安排在罗伯斯庇尔麾下，一旦革命演进到足够激进的程度，拉图什就会在凡尔赛散播白色恐怖，帮助罗伯斯庇尔夺权。^[4]

青云直上

“我们在被所有国家注视；我们在寰宇面前辩论。”

―罗伯斯庇尔在革命的漩涡中说道^[来源]

1792年4月，由雅各宾派的主要对手吉伦特派主导的法国革命政府向奥地利和普鲁士王国宣战。罗伯斯庇尔是最早批评这场战争的政治家之一，而法国也确实在战败的路上越走越远。^[5] 战争也导致人们对路易国王和王室越来越不信任，罗伯斯庇尔便趁此机会大加宣扬废除君主制。^[1] 1792年8月10日，革命者和巴黎公社起义部队冲进杜伊勒里宫王室官邸，结束了君主的统治。这标志着法兰西共和国的诞生。罗伯斯庇尔在费维耶咖啡馆庆祝了这一胜利。^[4]

新成立的共和国由国民公会管辖，罗伯斯庇尔任巴黎地区代表。他继续鼓动革命者起来反对贵族，并改变了对死刑的看法，要求立即处决被废黜的国王路易。^[1] 当国民公会对路易的一些罪行进行审判时，罗伯斯庇尔和他的圣殿骑士同僚路易-米歇尔·勒·培列提尔投出了死刑判决的赞成票。1793年1月21日，路易十六被推上了断头台。^[4]

然而国民公会并非铁板一块，随着政治局势日益紧张，各党派之间的关系已势同水火。罗伯斯庇尔开始沉湎于肃清反革命者的活动，尤其是针对反对派如吉伦特派等。此时，后者的力量已随多次政治失败而减弱。雅各宾俱乐部在公会中的席位主要由乔治·丹东、让-保尔·马拉和路易·安东万·德·圣茹斯特等激进分子组成。因为他们坐在会议大厅的上层位置，所以他们代表的党派也被称为“山岳党”。吉伦特派的让-巴蒂斯特·卢维·德·库夫赖曾指责罗伯斯庇尔和丹东阴谋建立独裁政权，但雅各宾派强烈否认了这一指控。^[4]

1793年3月，公会成立了公共安全委员会，以保护共和国免受内部和外部的威胁。随着委员会开始以越来越多的嫌疑罪名处决他人，吉伦特派开始公开反对罗伯斯庇尔和委员会。作为回应，罗伯斯庇尔下令逮捕所有吉伦特派成员，并疏远了他的同僚及朋友丹东。在弗朗索瓦·埃利奥的指挥下，国民警卫队和巴黎公社逮捕了吉伦特派的大部分成员，吉伦特派的主要领导人在几个月后即遭处决。这件事称为了雅各宾恐怖专政的先兆之一。1793年7月委员会改组，罗伯斯庇尔与圣茹斯特、乔治·库松、让-马里·科洛特·德·赫博瓦等成为主要成员。大约在这一时期，罗伯斯庇尔在会议上宣读了勒·培列提尔关于教育问题的草案，并谴责了被他赶出科德利埃俱乐部的激进派牧师雅克·鲁克斯。当鼓手男孩约瑟夫·巴拉被保皇党人杀害时，罗伯斯庇尔说道，“只有法兰西才有十三岁的英雄”。^[4]

恐怖专政

Heading the Committee

“Terror is nothing more than speedy, severe and inflexible justice.”

―Robespierre during a speech, 1794.^[来源]

Having reached the peak of his power, Robespierre shed his previously moderate public image as well as his opposition to the death penalty, and used terror and revolutionary extremism to maintain his influence. Already having praised the educational aspect of theatrical arts,^[4] he collaborated with the painter Jacques-Louis David, who was also his friend and fellow Jacobin, to use culture and art as a political tool.^[5] When David was mocked by André Chénier in the satirical poems known as Le Jeu de Paume, the infuriated painter called in favors with Robespierre, who had several thugs take over Chénier's house and guard the poems, only for them to be stolen by the Assassin Arno Dorian. Dorian had previously killed a group of Robespierre's allies at the Café Procope, where they met to plan an overthrow of the Legislative Assembly.^[4]

Although the artillery officer Napoleon Bonaparte had been supported by Robespierre's brother, Augustin, Robespierre himself had a falling out with the commander, and plotted with Saint-Just to end Bonaparte's career. Saint-Just had tricked workshops into using defective materials in the manufacture of armamants, which would then be delivered to the commander. However, Dorian also managed to foil this plot.^[4]

In September 1793, Robespierre and the Committee introduced the Law of Suspects, sparking a new level of paranoia and broadening the grounds for prosecution of suspected counter-revolutionaries. During this period, Robespierre personally received information on suspected counter-revolutionaries from the spy Didier Paton, who eventually discovered the existence of the Templar Order and its influence in the revolutionary government, listing Templars in his notebook. Unaware of Robespierre's membership within the Order, Paton presented this information to him, only for Robespierre to have him arrested and sentenced to death. However, Dorian and a group of Assassins were able to recover the notebook and rescue Paton.^[4]

Eliminating Danton

“You follow us shortly, Robespierre! Your house shall be beaten down and sowed with salt!”

―Danton to Robespierre on the way to the guillotine, 1794.^[来源]

Although Robespierre had grown highly powerful and even abolished slavery in France and its colonies in February 1794,^[6] he faced growing opposition. Danton and his allies, whom Robespierre and Saint-Just accused of excessive moderatism, had begun opposing the Terror by early 1794, and prints were published depicting Robespierre as a Roman dictator. The Committee decided to take action against Danton, Camille Desmoulins, Fabre d'Églantine and several other "indulgents" opposed to the Terror, and had them arrested and tried before the Revolutionary Tribunal. Robespierre used the previous corruption of Danton and d'Églantine to his advantage. He had already accused d'Églantine of fiddling with army supplies and said of him, "Talented, but with no soul. Skilled in the art of depicting men, even more skillful in deceiving them". Danton was accused of implication in d'Églantine's previous fraudulent affairs with the French East India Company, and he and his allies were sentenced to death.^[4]

Robespierre also wished to eliminate Danton's friends, however. After Hanriot recovered personal correspondence from the latter's possessions, Robespierre tauntingly showed the letters to him while he was in his cell. As Danton and his allies were driven to the guillotine on 5 April, they passed by Robespierre outside the latter's residence, where Danton said that "his house [would] be beaten down and sowed with salt". Although Danton and his supporters were guillotined, Dorian and a group of Assassins were able to rescue Danton's friends and also recovered the letters from Robespierre's house. At the same time, Robespierre had retired to his rooms, and his guards noted that he seemed tired and ill, possibly showing regret at having executed his old friend. He had also scattered the letters across the house. Even though Robespierre had eliminated one of his key opponents with the execution of Danton, his own popularity suffered greatly as a result.^[4]

Law of 22 Prairial and other activities

When the Templars discovered incriminating evidence of Mirabeau's correspondences with the deceased King, Robespierre took the opportunity to expose this evidence to the public in May 1794, coupled with other forms of slander. This publicly disgraced Mirabeau, and the Templars infiltrated the Panthéon to claim Mirabeau's relics, hoping to find any information on the Assassins, only to have the operation foiled by Dorian and a group of Assassins who moved the relics.^[4]

On 23 May, Cécile Renault attempted to kill Robespierre, only to fail and be executed a month later. In response, Robespierre and the Committee introduced the Law of 22 Prairial, which effectively doubled the permitted number of executions and initiated the period known as the "Great Terror".^[7] Although the treat of foreign invasion had largely disappeared,^[1] common necessities such as a public trial and proof of guilt were removed in many cases, and Robespierre's popularity suffered even further. Members of the Committee turned against him, some believing that his policies were not radical enough, others regarding him as a deranged tyrant who had killed more of his own people than actual foreign counter-revolutionary enemies.^[7]

Cult of the Supreme Being

“The eternally happy day which the French people consecrates to the Supreme Being has finally arrived. Never has the world he created offered him a sight so worthy of his eyes. He has seen tyranny, crime, and deception reign on earth. At this moment, he sees an entire nation, at war with all the oppressors of the human race, suspend its heroic efforts in order to raise its thoughts and vows to the Great Being who gave it the mission to undertake these efforts and the strength to execute them. Did not his immortal hand, by engraving in the hearts of men the code of justice and equality, write there the death sentence of tyrants? Did not his voice, at the very beginning of time, decree the republic, making liberty, good faith, and justice the order of the day for all centuries and for all peoples?”

―Robespierre speaking at the festival, 1794.^[来源]

ACU The Supreme Being 9 — Robespierre giving a speech at the Festival of the Supreme Being

In May 1794, Robespierre founded the Cult of the Supreme Being, a deist religion in which the Supreme Being was meant to represent the patriotic spirit of nature, and was described as being capable of uniting people with "pure and feeling hearts".^[5] The themes of civic duty were supposedly a loose interpretation of Templar doctrine,^[4] and the Cult was meant to counter the influence of the atheistic Cult of Reason, its ultimate purpose being to eliminate political dissenters.^[1] Due to the dechristianization that had taken place during the revolution, Robespierre was able to use the new religion to promote himself and the Jacobins.^[5] The Cult was made the official religion of France and festivals were set to be held across the country on 8 June. Robespierre nominated himself the president of the Festival of the Supreme Being in Paris.^[5]

The event was held at the Champ de Mars and was staged by David. The artist constructed a plaster and cardboard mountain, topped with a 50-foot column bearing a statue of Hercules. A procession of girls carried fruit baskets along an avenue lined with roses below the mountain, while Robespierre lead the singing of a hymn dedicated to the Supreme Being from the mountain,^[8] accompanied by 2400 singers. The hymn was written by the opera composer François-Joseph Gossec and the dramatist Marie-Joseph Chénier, brother of André Chénier.^[5] Marie-Joseph had written the "Hymne à la Liberté", which Robespierre had praised as "magnificent poetry" and renamed "Le Chant du Départ".^[4] This time however, Robespierre was dissatisfied with Chénier's lyrics and replaced him with Théodore Désorgues,^[5] and the resulting song was named "Hymne à l'Être Suprème".^[8] At this time, Marie-Joseph wrote a letter to Robespierre, begging that André be spared from execution, although this was to no avail. Germain also wrote to Robespierre, reminding him not to let personal ambitions overshadow his service to the Templars and their plans for the revolution.^[4]

Élise de la Serre, the daughter of the deceased Grand Master, was present at the festival along with her lover, Arno Dorian. Having learned of Robespierre's Templar affiliations, they sought to bring about his downfall, knowing that he would be weak and more likely to give up information about Germain's whereabouts. To tarnish Robespierre's already damaged image, Dorian stole lists of political enemies that the former planned to execute, including Jean-Lambert Tallien, François Louis Bourdon and Philippe-Antoine Merlin de Douai, and distributed them among prominent people opposed to the revolutionary leader.^[4] As he gave a speech to the audience dressed in a "republican costume" consisting of a blue coat, tricolor sash and plumed hat,^[8] Élise spiked Robespierre's drink with powdered ergot, causing him to experience random hallucinations and give the audience the belief that he was insane and unstable.^[4] After the speech, an effigy representing atheism was burned to reveal a statue representing wisdom.^[8]

The duo's plan worked, and the festival was regarded as an extreme and hyperbolic display staged by an insane tyrant.^[1] An anonymous engraving opposing the Terror showed Robespierre in his republican costume and was named "Robespierre guillotining the executioner after having guillotined everyone else in France". In the background of the engraving was an obelisk with the words "Here Lies All France".^[8]

Downfall and execution

“Be it known that the Paris Commune, by dint of its actions protecting the criminal Robespierre, is now in open rebellion against the nation. Soldiers under the command of the National Convention have been dispatched to apprehend the traitor Robespierre and his followers. Citizens are advised to stay in their homes while justice is carried out. Be it further known that Citizen Robespierre, Citizen Hanriot, and all their allies are declared outlaw! Any citizen found to be aiding these criminals will share their fate upon the guillotine. Revolutionary justice shall prevail!”

―An official declaring Robespierre and his allies outlaws, 1794.^[来源]

As Robespierre's popularity faded, several people began to plot his overthrow, including Paul Barras. On 26 July, Robespierre held a speech before the Convention, warning of a conspiracy against the republic and made vague threats of purging "enemies of the state". In response, and having finally had enough of him, both the Convention and the Committee turned against Robespierre and had him arrested and sentenced to death the following day.^[4] As he was taken away, he shouted out that he had "powerful friends".^[1]

While Robespierre was driven to the Luxembourg Palace to be held, he was freed by troops of the Paris Commune and fled to the Hôtel de Ville, where he holed himself up with his close allies, including Saint-Just, Hanriot^[4] and his own brother, Augustin.^[7] There, he wrote a new list of his personal enemies, and received word that he and his collaborators had been declared outlaws.^[1] Unbeknownst to him, he was pursued by both Arno and Élise, who aimed to procure Germain's location from him. Robespierre desperately tried to contact Germain for safety, but the Grand Master had already predicted his downfall and believed that Robespierre and the Terror had served their purpose, instead abandoning his last follower.^[4]

ACU The Fall of Robespierre 4 — Robespierre being interrogated after being shot in his jaw

As the Convention's troops under command of Barras closed in on the Hôtel de Ville, most of Robespierre's guards had either deserted or been killed. As he paced in his office, fretting over his fate and Germain's lack of help, Arno and Élise entered and demanded Germain's location, though Robespierre refused to talk. Élise, in no mood to trifle, pulled out her pistol and shot him in the jaw. Staggered and fearful of his life, Robespierre weakly wrote down Germain's location, the Temple. As the two left, Convention troops apprehended Robespierre.^[4]

In the meantime, Augustin attempted to escape by jumping through a window, only to break both legs. It was believed that Robespierre had attempted to shoot himself to escape the guillotine, and his wound was hastily bandaged with cloth on a table inside the Committee's building, where he bled profusely. He was then imprisoned in the Conciergerie in the cell that had held Marie Antoinette.^[7]

Jacobin Raid 3 — Robespierre guillotined

Robespierre and his followers were guillotined without trial on 28 July. The executioner, Charles-Henri Sanson, tore off the bandage that held Robespierre's jaw together, causing the latter to scream in the moments before his death.^[7] The sculptor Marie Tussaud later made a death mask of him.^[5]

Legacy

During the Reign of Terror, which lasted less than a year, Robespierre was directly or indirectly responsible for the arrest of around 300,000 people, 40,000 of whom were executed. He became associated with extremism,^[1] the Terror having been planned by the Templars as a way to demonstrate the chaos of a revolution and as such deter the populace from starting another one.^[4]

Personality and characteristics

“Take care that you do not allow your personal ambitions to come before the Great Work. That which we do, we do not for our own glory, but to remake the world in de Molay's image.”

―Germain in a letter to Robespierre, 1794.^[来源]

Charismatic, yet reclusive, and disinterested in popularity, Robespierre commanded a great deal of respect from other revolutionaries. However, he could also be arrogant, snobbish and cruel, taunting and threatening Georges Danton when the latter was imprisoned and sentenced to death. Robespierre could also be extremely petty, ordering the executions of Danton's friends merely because of their association with him and labelling the Girondists as enemies of the state because they didn't agree with him. At one point, Germain even wrote to Robespierre and reminded him to place the interests and visions of the Templars above personal ambitions. Robespierre often acted solely on Germain's orders and was something of a puppet to him. During the Thermidorian Reaction, he relied on Germain to rescue him, and was left weakened when the Grand Master abandoned him.^[4]

Behind the Scenes

Historically, Maximilien de Robespierre's wound to his jaw on the night of his arrest was caused either by an attempted suicide or from being shot by French soldier Charles-André Merda.

After the game's release, many left-wing French politicians opposed Robespierre's portrayal as a barbaric villain. Seeing Robespierre as a "man of the people" and a "father of democracy", they labeled the portrayal as capitalist propaganda. Ubisoft's response was affirming that Assassin's Creed: Unity is a game and not a history lesson, they admitted that many historical aspects of the game were exaggerated. Apologists of Robespierre suggested that his involvement in the Reign of Terror was falsely accused.^[9]^[10]