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DANTON, GEORGE JAMES. 



DANTON, GEORGE JAMES. 



Catholic writers of that and the following ages, the necessity of 

 a reform ; and, above all, of a total separation of the spiritual from 

 the temporal authority, things generally confounded by the Koman 

 canonists. That many parts of his poem are allegorical is evident, 

 but that the whole poem is an allegory, a political mystification, as 

 some have pretended, seems a far-fetched hypothesis, an ingenious 

 paradox. Dante was a declared enemy to the Guelphs of Florence 

 and their allies, the papal court and the king of France ; and he 

 poetically represents these three at the beginning of his poem by the 

 emblems of the panther, the wolf, and the lion ; but soon after he 

 drops all metaphor, and inveighs acrainst nil three iu the plainest and 

 the bitterest terms, which he would not have done had he meant to 

 be understood only by the adepts of a secret sect. In canto xix. of 

 the ' Paradise ' he passes in review all the kings of his time, and 

 spares none of them in his reproof; in another place he has some- 

 thing to say against almost every one of the Italian cities and 

 populations. In fact Dante never published his whole poem in his 

 lifetime, for he had spoken in it too plainly to be able to publish it in 

 safety. He wrote it out of the fullness of his heart, in detached 

 parts, and at different periods, and his strains were influenced 

 by the various political vicissitudes of the times, and by his own 

 alternate hopes and despondency. About the year 1316 he had still 

 a chance of his recall to Florence. It was suggested to him by a 

 friend whom Dante in his reply calls father, probably because he was 

 a clergyman, that he might return, provided he acknowledged his 

 guilt and asked absolution. His answer was characteristic of his 

 mind : " No, father, this is not tho way that shall lead me back to my 

 country. But I shall return with hasty steps if you or any other cau 

 open me a way that shall not derogate from the fame and honour of 

 Dante; but if by no such way Florence can be entered, then to 

 Florence I shall never return. Shall I not everywhere enjoy the sight 

 of the sun and stars? May I not seek and contemplate truth 

 an> where under heaven without rendering myself inglorious, nay 

 infamous, to the people and commonwealth of Florence ? Bread, I 

 hope, will not fail me." (See text and translation of this letter in 

 Fcwcolo'g ' Essays on Petrarch and Dante,' 8vo., 1823, with a sketch 

 of Dante's character.) 



In 1317-18 Dante appears to have been still wandering about Italy. 

 In 1319 he repaired to Guido da Polenta, lord of liaveuna, where he 

 wag hospitably received, and where he appears to have remained till 

 his death, which happened in September 1321. He was buried in the 

 church of the Minorites, under a plain monument Bernardo Bembo, 

 senator of Venice nnd podesta of Ravenna, raised to him a mausoleum 

 in 1488, which was afterwards repaired in 1692 by Cardinal Corsi, of 

 Florence, and lastly in 1780 reconstructed altogether in its present 

 form by Cardinal Valenti Gonzaga, legate of pope Pius VI. The 

 reproof 



" Ungrateful Florence ! Dante Bleeps afar," 



was at last felt by the Florentines ; a subscription was made and a 

 monument was raised to the memory of Dante in the church of Santa 

 Croce, which was opened to public view with great solemnity on the 

 24th of March 1830. (Missirini, ' Delle Memorie di Dante in Firenze, 

 1830.) 



Of the manner in which the whole manuscript of Dante's poem was 

 found, collected, transcribed, and published after bis death by his sons 

 Jacopo arid Piero, the early commentaries on the poem, its early 

 printed edition?, and the whole bibliographic history of the work, the 

 reader will find ample information in Foscolo's ' Discorso sul testo di 

 Dante,' London, 1825; and also in Missirini, 'Rivista delle varie 

 Lezioni dclla Divina Commedia, e Catalogo delle piu important! 

 Edizioni,' Padova, 1832. Among the most.'complete editions of Dante's 

 poems are : that of Venice, 5 vols. 4to, 1757-58, with ample notes, and 

 including Dante's Life, by Pelli, and his minor poems and prose 

 works; Lombardi'a edition, Rome, 3 vols. 4to, 1791; and that of 

 Florence, with illustrative plates, 1819, 4 vols. fol. Among the host 

 of commentaries the one called TAnonimo,' and also 1'Ottimo,' 

 written by a contemporary of Dante, who was evidently familiar with 

 the poet, has been published for the first time at Leghorn in 3 vols. 

 8vo, 1827. 



Among the numerous tran illations of the 'Divina Commedia,' in 

 almost every language of Europe, that in English blank verse by Gary, 

 and the English prose version by Dr. J. A. C'arlyle, deserve to be 

 mentioned with especial praise. An Italian translation of Dante's 

 philological triMtise, ' De Vulgar! Eloquio/ was published by Trissino 

 in 1529; and the Latin text in 1577 : this work has occasioned a very 

 animated controversy between Italian philologists in our days. 



DANTON, GEORGE JAMES, bom at Arcis-sur-Aube, October 26, 

 1 759, was one of the most remarkable characters among the leaders of 

 the first French Revolution. He was educated for the bar, and was 

 pursuing the peaceful avocation of a lung's counsel when the first 

 shocks of the great political earthquake called him upon the revolu- 

 tionary arena. Danton was gifted by nature with those faculties 

 which qualify a man for the dangerous office of a political agitator. 

 He was tall and muscular, his features were harsh and striking, and 

 his voice resembled the roaring of breakers or the growling of the 

 thunder. He was ambitious and bold ; hi* eloquence, the offspring of 

 an impamioned imngination, th ugh without the charms of rhetorical 



uio<;. niv. VOL. ii. 



elegance and philosophical depth, was overwhelming by its vehemence. 

 His energy, activity, and courage were unbounded : he seemed to be 

 the very incarnation of the revolutionary spirit. It is no wonder that 

 such a man soon became the leader of popular commotions and the 

 terror of all who dared to oppose him. 



In 1790, supported by the revolutionary club of the Cordeliers, 



he was elected member of the departmental administration of the 

 Seine. After the imprisonment of Louis at Vaveunes, he was the 

 prime mover of the popular assemblage of the Champa do Mars, in 

 which he called for the dethronement of the king. On the 8th of 

 August 1791, he presented himself before tha legislative assembly, 

 and with unprecedented audacity told the representatives of France 

 that their refusal to declare the throne vacant would be the signal for 

 a general insurrection. The fate of Louis was decided, and Danton 

 being elected minister of justice, became the head of that body of six 

 men who were intrusted with absolute executive power. In this 

 capacity he showed himself blood-thirsty, ambitious, vindictive, and it 

 is said venal ; but he was also courageous and skilful in conducting 

 public affairs at a time when every step was attended with danger. 



When tho Prussian army had entered France, and consternation 

 began to spread in all quarters, when the leaders of the republican 

 party were at a loss what to do to avert the impending hurricane, 

 Dautou ascended the tribune, and addressing the convention in one of 

 the most impassioned speeches ever uttered by a popular leader, he 

 ended with these eventful words: "The country is iu danger; to 

 avert the crisis one thing only is needful boldness, incessant boldness, 

 nothing but boldness." These words acted like a spell upon the 

 French nation ; within a few weeks fourteen republican armies stood 

 upon the field of battle, and repelled with unexampled bravery the 

 aggression of the allied forces. 



If Dautou had turned his energies ouly against the enemies of his 

 country, his memory might have passed unsullied to posterity : but 

 he allowed his wild passions to rage against his fellow-citizens ; and 

 most of the horrors of the French Revolution, particularly those of 

 the days of September, were originated, supported, or encouraged by 

 him. After the abolition of royalty Dantou gave up the office of 

 minuter of justice for that of a president in the constituent committee 

 and in that of Public Safety. While discharging these functions ho 

 prepared public opinion for the decapitation of the king. When the 

 tribunal whose business it was to pass the sentence of death was 

 sitting, Dautou was absent; but he returned in time to vote for the 

 king's execution. Like Sieyes, he gave no reason for his vote. 



In the meantime the people of Paris, or rather the party which was 

 headed by the clubs of the Jacobins, had chosen auother leader, who iu 

 his private conduct was the opposite of Danton, aud in his political 

 views his most powerful antagonist. This was Robespierre, a man of 

 singular character, who combined with great personal purity and dis- 

 interestedness a stern, profound, uncompromising political character, 

 and the most inveterate malignity towards all who crossed his path or 

 wounded his intense self-love. Dantou, though more free in his 

 private life, was kind and generous in temper, frank, unreserved, and 

 unselfish, and if there be truth iu the assertion of his enemies that he 

 sought to turn to his own pecuniary advantage the opportunities 

 afforded by bis position, it is certain that he could have done i-o but to 

 a small extent and with little success, for he lived in comparative 

 poverty, and left almost nothing for his family at his death. But there 

 cau be little doubt that he was a self-indulgent man, aud his manner 

 of life was one likely to be especially offensive to a rnau of austere 

 habits like Robespierre, who from the first hated as well as envied 

 him. On the other hand, Dautou shrunk with something like dread 

 from Robespierre. He had lost his old energy and decision, or could 

 not put them forth in a personal contest. Robespierre was never more 

 thoroughly in earnest Foreseeing that if he continued in the capital 

 there must cornea struggle the issue of which could not in the present 

 state of affairs be doubtful, Dauton withdrew from the theatre of 

 political action, stigmatising his rival by the name of " ultra-revo- 

 lutionist." He had married a young wife, and he was easily persuaded 

 by her to seek happiness in domestic privacy. When summoned to 

 give an account of his financial administration, he refused to submit to 

 such examiuation, uuless his five colleagues were aUo compelled to do 

 the same, and retired to hia native place. Efforts were made to bring 

 about a reconciliation between Robespierre and Danton, and the two 

 master-spirits of the revolution met, but there was no friendliuess on 

 eituer side. Robespierre reproached Danton with malversation, and 

 Danton retorted by charging Robespierre with his cruelties : aud they 

 parted avowed aud irreoouciluable enemies. The friends of Dantou 

 urged him to strike the first blow or to seek safety by flight. He 

 refused b .th. He knew, he said, that his death was resolved on, but 

 he would neither fly nor turn executioner. He was denounced by 

 St Just as a traitor before the Comite de Salut Public, aud arrested 

 on the night of the 31st of March 17'J I. He was carried before the 

 Revolutionary Tribunal ou the 2nd of April, along with Desuioulina, 

 Chabot, and twelve others of the DantuuUts. The trial was of course 

 a mere mockery; Dautou spoke loudly, aud on the pin that he was 

 endeavouring to excite the populace ho was 01 tiered to be sikut; no 



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