A Place of Greater Safety

by Hilary Mantel

August 10 was illegal, he says; so too was the taking of the Bastille. What account can we take of that, in revolution? It is the nature of revolutions to break laws. We are not justices of the peace; we are legislators to a new world. ‘Mm,’ Camille says, up on the Mountain. ‘This is not an ethical position. It is an excuse.’ He is speaking quietly, almost to himself; he is surprised by the violence with which his colleagues turn round on him. ‘He is in politics, practical politics,’ Danton says. ‘What the fuck does he want with an ethical position?’ ‘I don’t like this idea of ordinary crimes and political crimes. Our opponents can use it to murder us, just as we can use it to murder them. I don’t see what good the idea does. We ought to admit that all crimes are the same.’ ‘No,’ Saint-Just said. ‘And you talk, Lanterne Attorney.’ ‘But when I was the Lanterne Attorney, I said, right, let’s have some violence, it’s our turn. I never excused myself by saying I was a legislator to the world.’ ‘He is not making excuses,’ Saint-Just said. ‘Necessity does not have to be excused or justified.’ Camille turned on him. ‘Where did you read that, you half-wit? Your politics are like those improving fables they give to children, each one with a little moral tag on the end. What does it mean? You don’t know. Why do you say it? You have to say something.’