In effect， under a government which disavows attacks on persons and on public or private property， not only is the Jacobin theory impossible， but Jacobin wrongs are condemned. Now， the Jacobins， even if they have abjured their principles， remember their acts. They become alarmed on the arrival of the first Third， in October， 1795： "The Conventionalists，" writes one of the new deputies，[60] "look upon us as men who will one day give them up to justice." After the entry of the second Third， in May， 1797， their fright increased； the regicides， especially， feel that "their safety depends only on an exclusive and absolute dominion."[61] One day， Treilhard， one of their notables， alone with Mathieu Dumas， says to this old Feuillant and friend of Lafayette， of well known loyalty and moderation： "You are very honest and very able men， and I believe that you really desire to maintain the government as it is， because neither for you nor for us is there any sure way of substituting another for it. But we Conventionalists cannot allow you to go on； whether you mean it or not， you are gradually leading us to our certain ruin； there is nothing in common between us." -- "What guarantee do you then require？" -- "Only one.
After that， we'll do all you want - we'll let you relax the springs -give us this guarantee and we'll follow you blindly！ -- "Well， what do you mean by that？" -"Enter the tribune and declare that if you had been a member of the Convention， you would have voted the death of Louis XVI. as we did！"-"You demand an impossibility. You would not do this in our place.
You sacrifice France to vain terrors." -
"No， the risk is not equal； our heads are at stake！"Their heads， perhaps， - but certainly their power， places， fortunes， comforts and pleasures， all that in their eyes makes it worth while to live. - Every morning， seventy Paris newspapers and as many local gazettes in the large towns of the provinces expose， with supporting documents， details and figures， not merely their former crimes， but， again， their actual corruption， their sudden opulence founded on prevarication and rapine， their bribes and peculations -* one， rewarded with a sumptuously furnished mansion by a company of grateful contractors；* another， son of a bailiwick attorney and a would-be Carthusian， now possessor of ecclesiastical property， restored by him at a great outlay for hunting-grounds； another also monopolizes the finest land in Seine-et-Oise；* another， the improvised owner of four chateaux；* another， who has feathered his nest with fifteen or eighteen millions，[62]
With their loose or arbitrary ways of doing things， their habits as hoarders or spendthrifts， their display and effrontery， their dissipations， their courtiers and their prostitutes. How can they renounce all this？ - And all the more because this is all they have.
These jaded consciences are wholly indifferent to abstract principles， to popular sovereignty， to the common weal， to public security； the thin and brittle coating of sonorous phrases under which they formerly tried to hide the selfishness and perversity of their lusts， scales off and falls to the ground. They themselves confess that it is not the Republic for which they are concerned， but for themselves above everything else， and for themselves alone. So much the worse for the Republic if its interest is opposed to their interest； as Siéyès will soon express it， the object is not to save the Revolution but the revolutionaries. - Thus disabused， unscrupulous， knowing that they are staking their all， and resolute， like their colleagues of August 10， September 2 and May31 and like the Committee of Public Safety， they are determined to win， no matter at what cost or by what means.
For this time again， the Moderates do not want to comprehend that the war has been declared， and that it is war to the knife. They do not agree amongst themselves； they want to gain time， they hesitate and take refuge in constitutional forms - they do not act. The strong measures which the eighty decided and clear-sighted deputies propose， are weakened or suspended by the precautions of the three hundred others， short-sighted， unreliable or timid.[63] They dare not even avail themselves of their legal arms：
* annul the military division of the interior，* suppress Augereau's commission，* and break the sword presented at their throats by the three conspiring Directors.
In the Directory， they have only passive or neutral allies， Barthélémy， who had rather be assassinated than murder， Carnot， the servant of his legal pass-word， fearing to risk his Republic， and， moreover， calling to mind that he had voted for the King's death.