The Terror of Natural Right: Republicanism, the Cult of Nature, and the French Revolution

351 Pages·2009·1.9 MB·English

by  Dan Edelstein

THE TERROR OF NATURAL RIGHT

T H E T E R R O R of
N A T U R A L R I G H T
Republicanism, the Cult of Nature,
and the French Revolution
DAN EDELSTEIN
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
Chicago & London
DAN EDELSTEIN
is assistant professor of French at Stanford University.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2009 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2009
Printed in the United States of America
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-18438-8 (cloth)
ISBN-10: 0-226-18438-2 (cloth)
The University of Chicago Press gratefully acknowledges the generous
support of Stanford University toward the publication of this book.
Illustration on p. iii: Jean-Jacques Lebarbier, The Declaration of Human Rights . . .
August 20–26, 1789 (detail). Musée de la Ville de Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Paris,
France. Photograph copyright Erich Lessing / Art Resource, New York.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Edelstein, Dan.
The terror of natural right: republicanism, the cult of nature, and the French
Revolution / Dan Edelstein.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-18438-8 (cloth: alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-226-18438-2 (cloth: alk. paper) 1. France—History—Reign of Terror,
1793–1794. 2. France—History—Revolution, 1789–1799. 3. France—Politics
and government—1789–1799. 4. Republicanism—France—History—18th century.
5. Political violence—France—History—18th century. I. Title.
DC183.5.E445 2009
944.04’4—dc22
2009001654
a The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
To my parents, Lynn Mahoney Edelstein and Stuart J. Edelstein

) CONTENTS _
Acknowledgments  ix
Introduction  TO LIVE AND DIE BY NATURE’S LAWS 1
Natural Right and Republicanism in France • 6 | Natural Republicanism
and the Golden Age • 11 | “Enemies of the Human Race”: Transgressing
the Laws of Nature • 15 | Natural Right and Terror Laws in the
French Revolution • 17 | Restoring the Republic of Nature: The Jacobin
Project • 21
Prologue  HOSTIS HUMANI GENERIS 26
Natural Man and Natural Right: New World Controversies • 27 | The
“True Ancient Enemy of the Human Race”: Theology and the Devil • 30
Killing No Murder: Tyranny and Natural Right • 32 | Pirates and the Law
of the Land • 34 | The Law of Nations and the Law of Nature • 36
Conclusion: Enlightenment and Hostility • 41
PART I A SECRET HISTORY OF NATURAL 
REPUBLICANISM IN FRANCE (1699–1791)
Chapter 1  IMAGINARY REPUBLICS 45
The State of Nature and the Golden Age: From Montaigne to Fénelon • 51
Troglodytes and Romans: Montesquieu’s Two Republicanisms • 62
Classical Republicanism and Natural Right: Mably and Rousseau • 71
Chapter 2  FINDING NATURE 87
Republican Orientalism (Voltaire) • 88 | Ethnography of the Golden Age:
Diderot and Tahiti • 94 | Physiocracy: Conceiving the Natural Republic •
101 | The Politics of Sensibilité: Sylvain Maréchal, Natural Republican • 111
The Coming of the French Republic • 118
PART II THE REPUBLIC OF NATURE (1792–94)
Chapter 3  OFF WITH THEIR HEADS: DEATH AND THE
TERROR 127
Power to the People? Popular Violence and State Manipulation • 133 |
Terror by Committee: The Practice of Violence • 140 | The Revolutionary Dia­
lectic: The Counterrevolution and Cycles of Violence • 142 | To Kill a King:
viii • CONTENTS
Judging by Nature • 146 | Outlawing the Nation: Natural Right and Ter­
ror Laws • 158 | Only “Natural”: Becoming a Terrorist • 163
Chapter 4  THE CASE OF THE MISSING CONSTITUTION:
OF POWER AND POLICY 170
Chronicle of a Death Foretold: A Jacobin “Conspiracy” • 172 | The “Festi­
val of Nature”: Performing Natural Authority • 180 | Conventions, Con­
stitutions, and the Declaration of Rights • 187 | Republican by Nature:
Saint­Just versus the Girondins • 197 | What’s Left of the General Will? •
206
Chapter 5  THE DESPOTISM OF NATURE: JUSTICE AND
THE REPUBLIC-TO-COME 215
Waiting for the Republic: The Revolutionary Government • 221 | “Let Jus­
tice Be the Order of the Day”: Ending “the Terror” • 225 | One Republic
under the Supreme Being: The Metaphysical Panopticon • 231 | And Jus­
tice for All: The Law of 22 Prairial • 249 | “System of Terror” or Natural
Republic? • 253
Conclusion  LEGACIES OF THE TERROR 257
From a Natural Republic to a World Revolution • 260 | Terror and Totali­
tarianism • 263 | Two Concepts of Exceptionality • 271
Bibliography  277
Index  313
) ACkNOWLEDGMENTS _
I DO NOT THINk I could have written this book anywhere besides Stan-
ford. The garden campus and ver aeternum played no small part, to be sure,
but it is the people that truly make Stanford a paradise of learning. Like
a patient gardener, Robert Harrison transplanted me here and saw that I
flourished: To his scholarly model and unparalleled support I am forever
indebted. Sepp Gumbrecht and Josh Landy have been the best mentors,
friends, and critics one could hope for. And this book would simply not have
been the same without the intellectual generosity of keith Baker. He truly
was il miglior fabbro, revealing my own arguments to me, sharing his inter-
pretations, and sharpening mine. I have also benefited tremendously from
the invaluable advice of my Stanford colleagues Jean-Marie Apostolidès,
John Bender, Russell Berman, Elisabeth Boyi, Philippe Buc, Joshua Cohen,
J. P. Daughton, Jean-Pierre Dupuy, Paula Findlen, Grisha Friedin, Roland
Greene, Josh Ober, Aron Rodrigue, and the Stanford Bungee Lunch group.
I owe a special thanks to Sarah Sussman, curator for French and Italian
Studies at Stanford Libraries, for her great assistance with securing primary
and secondary sources. I am also grateful for a grant from the vice-provost
for Undergraduate Education, supporting research assistants; to the Re-
search Unit of the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages; and to
the president for the generous research funds made available to humanities
faculty.
There are, of course, many wonderful people elsewhere, and I am par-
ticularly fortunate to work in a field that boasts such an array of brilliant
and generous scholars. At an early stage of this project, and then at every
subsequent turn, David A. Bell has provided crucial and decisive input and
support. His incredibly attentive reading of my book manuscript trans-
formed it in more ways than I could have imagined. I learned more in my
dear friend Jake Soll’s study than in most classes I’ve taken. Elena Russo
has been a wonderful reader and colleague. As many other junior schol-
ars, I benefited from Colin Jones’s legendary support and suggestions. My
understanding of republicanism and political thought owes much to