4063. JACOBINS, Battle for liberty.—
In the struggle which was necessary, many
guilty persons fell without the forms of trial,
and with them some innocent. These I deplore
as much as anybody, and shall deplore some of
them to the day of my death. But I deplore
them as I should have done had they fallen in
battle. It was necessary to use the arm of the
people, a machine not quite so blind as balls
and bombs, but blind to a certain degree. A
few of their cordial friends met at their hands
the fate of enemies. But time and truth will
rescue and embalm their memories, while their
posterity will be enjoying that very liberty for
which they would never have hesitated to offer
up their lives. The liberty of the whole earth
was depending on the issue of the contest, and
was ever such a prize won with so little innocent
blood? My own affections have been deeply
wounded by some of the martyrs to this cause,
but rather than it should have failed I would
have seen half the earth desolated; were there
but an Adam and Eve left in every country,
and left free, it would be better than as it
now is.—
To William Short. Washington ed. iii, 502.
Ford ed., vi, 153.
(Pa.,
Jan. 1793)
