alternatehistory.com

Voltaire wrote famously: "Monsieur l'abbé, I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write." Now he died before the French Revolution started, let alone the terror regime of Robespierre.

But what if he had witnessed it? How would his most likely reaction have been? Admittedly, he would have been more than 90 years old, so we should rather wonder about an earlier revolution / rule of terror.

But I digress, so here is what I have been pondering:
* Would he have joined the noblemen and abbes on their way to the guillotine, rather than compromise his principles?
* Would he have tried a meek protest, only to be told to shut up if he doesn't want to suffer the same fate?
* Or would he even have shown a different side of personality which he never did in our history? Which would mean: He would have joined the radicals, openly proclaiming that human rights only apply to the third estate, not to noblemen.
Top