King's Trial: St. Just's Side
In this report, I will briefly summarize the arguments that St. Just put forward in the first of the two speeches he had given in front of the Convention during the trial of Louis XVI. It occurred on 13 November 1792, and it was young St. Just's inaugural speech. Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristics of St. Just's speech were its theoretical bent, its abstract spirit, and magnificent (or intolerable, depending on one's taste) aura of moral self-righteousness. Already in this speeches we see the trait that made this moral puritan one of the most vilified Jacobins-his willingness to interpret (perhaps even insistence on interpreting) everything and anything outside of his dogma as a sign of weakness, if not an outright counter-revolutionary act. He started of by insisting that the King should be judged, contrary to the opinions of his defenders, but he should be judged as an enemy, not as a citizen, as the Committee on Legislation suggested. St. Just berated his colleagues-they, he said, "fell into forms without principles," their "mistaken measures of prudence, delays, and reflections were here truly imprudent." He topped it off by proclaiming that the "subtlety of spirit and of character is a great obstacle to
St. Just decried "to respect the king no longer." The oppressor of a free nation and abuser of its laws "must die to assure the tranquillity of the people." Throughout the speech, deputies were continually reminded the Louis intended "people to be crushed." But St. Just did not stop at there-he professed that "a king should be accused, not for the crimes of his administration, but for the crime of having been king." Monarchy for St. Just cannot be tolerated, for it is "guilty before nature, and all men hold from nature the secret mission to destroy such domination wherever it may be found." "No man can rule innocently," proclaims St. Just. The casuistic spirit of the proceedings, according to St. Just, should be foreign to the creators of the Republic. The deputies were becoming "each others slaves" while arguing the pointless legalities. St. Just tried to wash "the shared guilt" and "weakness" from the minds of his listeners. He implored them to "strike a first blow" to the King who was not connected to the people in any way, shape, or form. For there was no "natural bond" between them-the rights of the Kings existed only as long as they benefited the people. The King has committed a variety of crimes, and for that this artificial "cloak of dignity" was withdrawn. Consequently, Louis was not a citizen, and thus cannot be judged by civil law. Indeed, in civil law, it was the people who should be tried for deposing Louis. After uttering that immortal phrase, St.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1002
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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