HULIN. You'd have to strike down twenty to save one. [_They try in vain to break through the Crowd, which bears off the unfortunate Man._ ROBESPIERRE _then rises from the Crowd and stands on a table. He makes a gesture indicating that he wants silence._] HOCHE. Who is that thin little fellow who's trying to talk? DESMOULINS. That is Robespierre, Deputy from Arras. HOCHE. Shout, Hulin, and make them keep still! HULIN. Listen! Listen to Citizen Robespierre! [_At first_ ROBESPIERRE _trembles. He is not heard amid the confusion. Some cry, "Louder!_"] DESMOULINS. Speak, Robespierre. HULIN. Don't be afraid. [ROBESPIERRE _looks at him with a timid and disdainful smile._] DESMOULINS. He's not used to speaking. HOCHE. Silence, comrades! ROBESPIERRE [_composing himself_]. Citizens, I am Deputy to the Third Estate. I have come from Versailles. That man spoke the truth: Necker has been exiled. The power is now in the hands of the nation's enemies. De Broglie, Breteuil, Foulon: Carnage, Rapine, and Famine, are now the ministers. This means war. I have cast my lot with you. THE CROWD [_terrified],_ We're lost! DESMOULINS. What shall we do? ROBESPIERRE. Let us know how to die. HOCHE [_with a shrug_]. Lawyer! HULIN. Speak to them, Citizen Deputy. ROBESPIERRE. What is the use of talk? Let each one consult his own conscience. HOCHE. They are mad with terror. If they're not made to do something, they are lost. [ROBESPIERRE _takes manuscripts and printers' proofs from his pocket_.] HULIN. What's he going to read? Don't read! One really human word is worth a thousand from those papers! ROBESPIERRE [_opens out his papers, and reads in a quiet, but cutting tone_]. "Declaration of Rights." HOCHE. Listen! ROBESPIERRE. "Declaration of Rights, proposed to the National Assembly, yesterday, Saturday July 11: The National Assembly proclaims abroad to the Universe and under the eye of the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and citizen: Nature has made men free and equal--" [_A thunder of applause, which drowns out the rest of the sentence_.] "Every man is born with inalienable and indefeasible rights: liberty of thought, the care of his honor and his life, the complete freedom of his person, the pursuit of happiness, and resistance to oppression." [_The applause is redoubled_.] HOCHE [_drawing his saber_]. Resistance to oppression! [_Others follow his example, and in a moment the Crowd bristle with arms._] ROBESPIERRE. "Oppression exists against the social order, when even a single member of it is oppressed. There exists oppression against each and every member of the social order, when the whole is oppressed." GONCHON. Are they going on with this? They must be got out of the way. If the army comes, they ought to go somewhere else and get killed! [_He speaks to his associates._] ROBESPIERRE. "The Nation is sovereign." [_A shout is heard. The Crowd are terrified and listen in fear and trembling._] HOCHE. Hulin! The storm at last!