---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: lf the attribute of popular government in…"
description: "\"lf the attribute of popular government in peace is virtue, the attribute of popular government in revolution is at one and the same time virtue and ter..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/maximilien-robespierre-18159_attributes_lf-the-attribute-of-popular-government-i_1161167.jpg"
---

#  lf the attribute of popular government in peace is virtue…

![“lf the attribute of popular government in peace is virtue, the attribute of popular government in revolution is at one and the same time virtue and terror, virtue without which terror is fatal, terror without which virtue is impotent. The terror is nothing but justice, prompt, severe, inflexible…” quote by Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/maximilien-robespierre-18159_attributes_lf-the-attribute-of-popular-government-i_1161167.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/maximilien-robespierre-18159_attributes_lf-the-attribute-of-popular-government-i_1161167.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/maximilien-robespierre-18159_attributes_lf-the-attribute-of-popular-government-i_1161167.jpg)

> “lf the attribute of popular government in peace is virtue, the attribute of popular government in revolution is at one and the same time virtue and terror, virtue without which terror is fatal, terror without which virtue is impotent. The terror is nothing but justice, prompt, severe, inflexible; it is thus an emanation of virtue.”

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Virtue and terror are intertwined in revolutionary governance; virtue without terror is ineffective, terror without virtue is destructive, yet both stem from a pursuit of justice.

**In simple terms:** Revolutionary rule mixes moral ideals with harsh enforcement.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the moral trade‑offs of radical change.

Themes

politics revolution ethics justice power

Mood

cautionary philosophical

Type

historical political

When to use this quote

- political upheaval
- authoritarian regimes
- social reforms
- revolutionary movements

Key Concepts

Virtue theory state violence political legitimacy

Questions to Reflect On

- Is terror ever justified to uphold virtue?
- How can societies balance justice with compassion?

A Different Perspective

Excessive terror can undermine the very virtue it seeks to protect.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Attributes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attributes/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Emanation Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emanation-virtue-1508420/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Peace Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace-virtue-2357568/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Popular Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/popular-government-296063/) [Prompts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prompts/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Severe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/severe/) [Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terror/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Attribute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-attribute-3324789/)

## Related quotes

> [Terror is only justice: prompt, severe and inflexible. It is then an emanation of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/terror-is-only-justice-prompt-severe-and-inflexible-it-is-then-an/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

> [Your words bring me joy. Let the two of us unite to bring forth a world of peace and virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-bei/your-words-bring-me-joy-let-the-two-of-us-unite-to-bring-forth-a/)

[Liu Bei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-bei/)

> [Peace is the virtue of civilization. War is its crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/peace-is-the-virtue-of-civilization-war-is-its-crime/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [“You should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body. Ask for a stout heart that has no fear of death, and deems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/you-should-pray-for-a-healthy-mind-in-a-healthy-body-ask-for-a-stout/)

[Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/)

> [Terror is nothing more than justice, prompt, secure and inflexible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/terror-is-nothing-more-than-justice-prompt-secure-and-inflexible/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

> ['Tis substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule indeed extends with more or less force to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/tis-substantially-true-that-virtue-or-morality-is-a-necessary-spring/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

> [The evils of popular government appear greater than they are; there is compensation for them in spirit and energy it awakens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-evils-of-popular-government-appear-greater-than-they-are-there-is/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Popular government has not yet been proved to guarantee, always and everywhere, good government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/popular-government-has-not-yet-been-proved-to-guarantee-always-and/)

[Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/)

> [The success of our popular government rests wholly upon the correct interpretation of the deliberate, intelligent, dependable popular will of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-harding/the-success-of-our-popular-government-rests-wholly-upon-the-correct/)

[Warren G. Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-harding/)

> [It is clear that in a monarchy, where he who commands the exceution of the laws generally thinks himself above them, there is lessneed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/it-is-clear-that-in-a-monarchy-where-he-who-commands-the-exceution-of/)

[Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/)

> [Democracy may mean something more than a theoretically absolute popular government, but it assuredly cannot mean anything less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/democracy-may-mean-something-more-than-a-theoretically-absolute/)

[Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/)

> [Lawyers are necessary in a community. Some of you...take a different view; but as I am a member of that legal profession, or was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-howard-taft/lawyers-are-necessary-in-a-community-some-of-you-take-a-different/)

[William Howard Taft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-howard-taft/)

> [“For my part I consider the central idea pervading this struggle is the necessity that is upon us of proving that popular government is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-foote/for-my-part-i-consider-the-central-idea-pervading-this-struggle-is/)

[Shelby Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-foote/)

> [ \[V\]irtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/v-irtue-or-morality-is-a-necessary-spring-of-popular-government/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

> [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/)

[James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/)

## More by Maximilien Robespierre

> [The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/the-secret-of-freedom-lies-in-educating-people-whereas-the-secret-of/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

> [Terror is only justice: prompt, severe and inflexible. It is then an emanation of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/terror-is-only-justice-prompt-severe-and-inflexible-it-is-then-an/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

> [To punish the oppressors of humanity is clemency; to forgive them is cruelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/to-punish-the-oppressors-of-humanity-is-clemency-to-forgive-them-is/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

> [It has been said that terror is the principle of despotic government. Does your government therefore resemble despotism? Yes, as the sword that gleams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/it-has-been-said-that-terror-is-the-principle-of-despotic-government/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

> [Smuggle out the truth, pass it through all the obstacles that its enemies fabricate; multiply, spread by all means possible her message so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/smuggle-out-the-truth-pass-it-through-all-the-obstacles-that-its/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

> [Omelets are not made without breaking eggs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/omelets-are-not-made-without-breaking-eggs/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

> [The general will rules in society as the private will governs each separate individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/the-general-will-rules-in-society-as-the-private-will-governs-each/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

> [Establish liberty on a rock of brass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/establish-liberty-on-a-rock-of-brass/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

> [Pity is treason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/pity-is-treason/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

> [The revolution is the war of liberty against its enemies. The constitution is the rule of liberty against its enemies. The constitution is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/the-revolution-is-the-war-of-liberty-against-its-enemies-the/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

> [The aim of constitutional government is to preserve the Republic; that of revolutionary government is to lay its foundation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/the-aim-of-constitutional-government-is-to-preserve-the-republic-that/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

> [Formerly, when a king died at Versailles the reign of his successor was immediately announced by the cry: "The king is dead, long live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/formerly-when-a-king-died-at-versailles-the-reign-of-his-successor/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

> [Food that is necessary for man’s existence is as sacred as life itself. Everything that is indispensable for its preservation is the common property…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/food-that-is-necessary-for-man-s-existence-is-as-sacred-as-life/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

> [Any law which violates the inalienable rights of man is essentially unjust and tyrannical; it is not a law at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/any-law-which-violates-the-inalienable-rights-of-man-is-essentially/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

> [Softness to traitors will destroy us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/softness-to-traitors-will-destroy-us-all/)

[Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

[Explore all 35 Maximilien Robespierre quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/)

## More Attributes quotes

> [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/)

[Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/)

> [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/)

[Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/)

> [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [I think the greatest imagination we can exercise is one that imagines how someone else feels. Because you know how you feel, but so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-gelbart/i-think-the-greatest-imagination-we-can-exercise-is-one-that-imagines/)

[Larry Gelbart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-gelbart/)

> [A lover asked his beloved, Do you love yourself more than you love me? Beloved replied, I have died to myself and I live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lover-asked-his-beloved-do-you-love-yourself-more-than-you-love-me/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [One of the greatest attributes of jazz, I think, is that it is that open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/one-of-the-greatest-attributes-of-jazz-i-think-is-that-it-is-that-open/)

[Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/)

> [God is compassionate and just, loving and holy, wrathful and forgiving. WE can't sideline His more difficult attributes to make room for the palatable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/god-is-compassionate-and-just-loving-and-holy-wrathful-and-forgiving/)

[Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/)

> [I'm Irish and always will be, but America has taught me so much. Maybe it's here in the U.S. that we find a healing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fionnula-flanagan/i-m-irish-and-always-will-be-but-america-has-taught-me-so-much-maybe/)

[Fionnula Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fionnula-flanagan/)

> [“It is this spirit of godliness that will bring forth the attributes, the principles and the life style of godliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/it-is-this-spirit-of-godliness-that-will-bring-forth-the-attributes/)

[Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/)

> [My Calvinism persuades me that we are open to God, in the sense that we are not delimited, not organisms with fixed attributes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-calvinism-persuades-me-that-we-are-open-to-god-in-the-sense-that/)

[Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/)

> [A pivotal spiritual attribute is that of self-mastery-th e strength to place reason over appetite. Self-mastery builds a strong conscience. And your conscience determines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/a-pivotal-spiritual-attribute-is-that-of-self-mastery-th-e-strength/)

[Russell M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-m-nelson/)

> [I have often noticed that the two nuclear powers on the Indian subcontinent, India and Pakistan, attribute to Kashmiris an inferior intellect, a lineage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyla-ali-khan/i-have-often-noticed-that-the-two-nuclear-powers-on-the-indian/)

[Nyla Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyla-ali-khan/)

> [Primarily affecting low-information voters and members of the mainstream media, Obama Worship Syndrome attributes impossible capabilities to Obama's political opponents, finds excuses for every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/primarily-affecting-low-information-voters-and-members-of-the/)

[Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/)

> [Developing Christlike attributes in our lives is not an easy task, especially when we move away from generalities and abstractions and begin to deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/developing-christlike-attributes-in-our-lives-is-not-an-easy-task/)

[Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/)

> [If I have any attribute that serves me well, it's I don't have a long-range plan in life. I have no idea. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wilbon/if-i-have-any-attribute-that-serves-me-well-it-s-i-don-t-have-a-long/)

[Michael Wilbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wilbon/)

[Browse all 852 Attributes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attributes/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "lf the attribute of popular government in peace is virtue, the attribute of popular government in revolution is at one and the same time virtue and terror, virtue without which terror is fatal, terror without which virtue is impotent. The terror is nothing but justice, prompt, severe, inflexible; it is thus an emanation of virtue.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Maximilien Robespierre"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/lf-the-attribute-of-popular-government-in-peace-is-virtue-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Attributes"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/lf-the-attribute-of-popular-government-in-peace-is-virtue-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/maximilien-robespierre-18159_attributes_lf-the-attribute-of-popular-government-i_1161167.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/maximilien-robespierre-18159_attributes_lf-the-attribute-of-popular-government-i_1161167.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/maximilien-robespierre-18159_attributes_lf-the-attribute-of-popular-government-i_1161167.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“lf the attribute of popular government in peace is virtue, the attribute of popular government in revolution…” — Maximilien Robespierre",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Maximilien Robespierre",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "lf the attribute of popular government...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/lf-the-attribute-of-popular-government-in-peace-is-virtue-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/lf-the-attribute-of-popular-government-in-peace-is-virtue-the/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```