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Saint Ravachol

Pierre Quillard, “Conversation on the Life and Death of Ravachol” (1892)

July 10, 2015 Shawn P. Wilbur
[one_third padding=”0 10px 0 0px”][/one_third][two_third_last padding=”0 0px 0 10px”] CONVERSATION ON THE LIFE AND DEATH OF RAVACHOL I see only condemnation to death which distinguishes a man, thought Mathilde: it is the only thing which cannot be bought. (de Stendhal — The Red and the Black.) These voices were heard near the sea, on a peaceful summer evening: half-naked, on the blond beaches, some men were lying lazily beside beautiful young women, and, although they lived today, the dying rays of the sun, the soft caress of the waves, the harmony of the twilight gave to their words and gestures […]
Saint Ravachol

Paul Adam, “Eulogy for Ravachol” (July 1892)

July 10, 2015 Shawn P. Wilbur
[one_third padding=”0 10px 0 0px”] [/one_third][two_third_last padding=”0 0px 0 10px”] EULOGY FOR RAVACHOL Paul Adam In these times, miracles and saints seem set to disappear. We can easily believe that the souls of contemporaries lack the spirit of sacrifice. The martyrs of this century have always been obscure citizens, maddened by the din of political words, and then gunned down without mercy, in 1830, 1848, and 1871, for the benefit of certain parliamentary situations arranged by a few violent and shifty advocates. And it would even be imprudent to claim that no wish of individual interest committed these unfortunate combatants […]
Saint Ravachol

Letter to Constant Martin, April 11, 1892

July 10, 2015 Shawn P. Wilbur
A letter from Ravachol One of our colleagues publishes a letter from Ravachol, communicated to him by an anarchist, Mr. Constant Martin, to whom it had been addressed. Here is the text of that letter:   Conciergerie, Cell 4, April 11, 1892.             Dear friend, I thank you for the feelings of gratitude and for your desire to see the trial go in my favor. I am not deluding myself. I am waiting to be sentenced to death. It is what I want, for live without liberty is too sad when one has the idea but cannot give it vigor. […]
Saint Ravachol

Letter to the Police Prefect

July 10, 2015 Shawn P. Wilbur
Paris, March 30, 1892       Monsieur Lozé I learn from the newspapers that you are sure of catching me. Well, let me tell you that you will not take me alive at least; dead, it is possible, I am throwing myself in the Seine in [   ] I have had enough of life. Do not look for the guilty ones in the explosions of the Blvd. St. Germain and the rue de Clichy, for you will not find them. I am the guilty party. It is the magistrates I wanted [to strike]. But pardon me, for I am going to […]
Bakunin Library

Looking forward (July 2015)

July 9, 2015 Shawn P. Wilbur
[ezcol_2third] “Chaque commentateur de Bakounine fait un choix.” – Frank Mintz, Saint-Imier, 2012. It’s been a while since I’ve done an update on the publishing side of the Bakunin Library project. Work on the Bakunin Reader inches along steadily, as I wrestle with the content of the introduction. At the same time, I am making yet another pass through the correspondence, as well as minor, fragmentary and lesser-known texts, comparing my rough plan for the various volumes of the Library against the available work and existing editions. I’ve been trying to balance my developing plan with the criticisms I have […]
Bakunin Library

Letter to Ogarev and Ozerov (April 5, 1871)

July 5, 2015 Shawn P. Wilbur
Letter to Nikolay Platonovich Ogarev and Vladimir Michajlovich Ozerov April 5, 1871, Locarno 1. To Jean. Here is a letter to Varlin for you. I send it to you today in case, enflamed by our impatient friend Ross, you should decide to leave Paris before circumstances and especially financial means have allowed me to join you. On that subject, I have already written to Ross and to you yesterday. Return the letter to Varlin only from hand to hand. In all probability the Parisians succumb, but they will not succumb in vain, having accomplished their task, and posed the question; […]
Bakunin Library

Letter to Nikolay Ivanovich Zhukovsky (May 5, 1870)

July 5, 2015 Shawn P. Wilbur
[Letter to Nikolay Ivanovich Zhukovsky, in Russia]                              May 5, 1870. Locarno.                              Casa Pedrazzini. Dear Zhuk, The day after my arrival, I responded briefly to you few words. Now I want to discuss with you. You probably already know that I have punctually fulfilled, towards Guillaume and Fritz Robert, what we have decided among us; and I see, in the latest issues of Solidarité, which I have found here in the home of a friend, that Guillaume has held strictly to the direction fixed. The last two issues are excellent. I wish very much to know the impression that […]
Bakunin Library

Revolutionary Socialism in Russia (1875)

July 5, 2015 Shawn P. Wilbur
Revolutionary Socialism in Russia [1875] We have before us a very curious text, the translation of which the reader will find, added as an appendix, at the end of this article. It is a confidential circular, recently issued by Mr. le Comte Pahlen, minister of what is called justice in Russia. We find there an indisputable proof of the threatening invasions of revolutionary socialism in that country. Indeed, it is not the fanatical exaltation of a sectarian, nor the interested calculation of a socialist politician, it is the authorized voice of a statesman, minister of a great Empire, that speaks […]