Louis-Antoine St. Just

St. Just was described as "A brain of fire, a heart of ice."

Louis Antoine Léon Florelle de Saint-Just was born in 1767 to a retired army officer and a notary's daughter. He was raised by his great-uncle and a nurse until the age of 4 when his parents began to take care of him. When he was ten his father died and his mother had to deal with him alone. He caused a lot of trouble for her. In 1786 Louis stole silver from his mother and ran away from home. She had him arrested and imprisoned. He came out of prison more mature and soon joined in the Revolution. He was handsome, charming and intelligent, but cruel.When the Revolution began in 1789, Saint-Just was considered by many to be too young, and he was unsuccessful in his early attempts to get involved. In 1790 he took the Civic Oath and so entered the Revolution through the Jacobin party. The next year he wrote Esprit de la Revolution et de la Constitution de France which was a great success. Finally, in 1792, he became a deputy to the Convention. He was now able to make his speeches in Paris, and he quickly made a name for himself as he called for the death of the king. On July 10, 1793 he became one of nine members of the Committee of Public Safety and, along with Robespierre, very influential in the Reign of Terror. He was elected president of the Convention for the month of Ventôse. During this time he called for the arrest of Danton and Camille Desmoulins (a supporter of Danton). They were soon executed.Robespierre was now opposed by many, but Saint-Just stood by his friend and attempted to speak on his behalf. "I defend the man in question because his conduct has appeared to me to be irreproachable, and I would accuse him if he committed a crime. Great God! What kind of leniency is this that plots the ruin of innocent men?" he said in his last speech. Because of this action, Louis was arrested along with Robespierre, Philippe Le Bas, Couthon and Robespierre's brother Augustin. On July 27, 1794, Saint-Just was sent to the guillotine with Robespierre and died for his Republic. The "Angel of Death" was only 26.

"Liberty is a bitch who must be bedded on a mattress of corpses." - Louis-Antoine St. Just, Year II.

"What constitutes a republic is the total destruction of everything that stands in opposition to it." - Saint-Just

"The conspirators who have died, think you they were the children of liberty, because for one brief moment they resembled them?" - Saint-Just

"Those who would make revolutions in the world, those who want to do good in this world must sleep only in the tomb." - Saint-Just

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