The First French Republic 451 attachment to the religion of your fathers and to the sover- eign whom we mourn to-day, to make it necessary to exhort you to redouble your zeal and fidelity toward our young and unfortunate monarch and your ardor in avenging the blood of his august father. We cannot fail to enjoy the support of the sovereigns who have already so generously embraced our cause ; and if it is possible for us to find any consolation, it lies in the opportunity offered us to avenge our king, to place his son upon the throne, and to restore to our coun- try that ancient constitution which can alone serve as a basis for its happiness and glory. This is the sole object of my solicitude and of that of my brother. Our titles have been changed, but our union is and will always remain the same, and we shall endeavcr with more ardor than ever to fulfill our duty towards God, our honor, the king, and you. Louis Stanislas Xavier. VI. The Ideals of the Terrorists Among the terrorists none was more ardent and in- defatigable than Saint-Just, a young fanatic of unim- peachable probity, who, as member of the Committee of Public Safety and as agent of the Convention in the provinces, urged on the war against all the enemies of the Revolution, whether within or without France. He was a firm friend and admirer of Robespierre and suf- fered death with him on the 10th Thermidor (July 28, 1794). He left behind him some unpublished notes on republican institutions written during his last months, when he foresaw that, among so many opponents of his exalted ideas, he was likely to lose his life. The few selections which are given below serve to show how Saint-Just, Robespierre, and their sympathizers pro- posed to elaborate and to carry out, at the cost of no
