L’Endehors Archives - The Libertarian Labyrinth

Louise Michel, “Today or Tomorrow” (1893)

July 4, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur

[ezcol_1half] Today or Tomorrow. Everything is good that strikes or stings. [1] So much the better if these bandits have finished their work. The scaffold has started the party, and the fire will beat its wings over the apotheosis. The blood of Ravachol splashes, from his false collar to his cuffs, the cold man of the Élysée. The Élysée! That’s the spot that draws the looks! From it the grand finale, the final bouquet will rise into the air, and the cross of Our Lady of the Slaughter will be the streetlamp. [2] The sun has risen red in the […]

Emile Henry, “Comrades of l’En Dehors” (1892)

May 26, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur

COMRADES OF L’EN DEHORS I read in your last number an article from the compagnon Malatesta, entitled “A Little Theory.” Please be so good as to insert these few lines of personal reflections on that subject. The compagnon Malatesta, after having elaborated upon the imminence and the necessity of a violent revolution, and considering the role of the anarchists to contribute to its imminent arrival, said that “any act of propaganda or achievement, by word or by deed, individual or collective, is good when it serves to bring nearer and to facilitate the Revolution… » Then, speaking of acts of revolt […]

Octave Mirbeau, “Ravachol” (May 1, 1892)

July 10, 2015 Shawn P. Wilbur

Ravachol by Octave Mirbeau Translated and introduced by Robert Helms Francois-Claudius Koeningstein (Oct. 14, 1859 — July 11, 1892), known to posterity as Ravachol, was born to Dutch and French parents at Saint-Chamond, near St. Etienne in Eastern France. He was angered by two actions taken by the French government on May 1, 1891. One was at Fourmies, where the newly designed Lebels machine gun was used against a peaceful May Day rally at which women and children were carrying flowers and palms. Casualties there numbered 14 dead and 40 wounded. The other incident was at Clichy, where police attacked […]

Louise Michel, “Today or Tomorrow” (on Ravachol, 1892)

February 2, 2013 Shawn P. Wilbur

[Here’s another of the articles written shortly after Ravachol’s execution, in which Louise Michel added her bit to the Ravachol myth. There was a good deal of reference between the various contributions to L’Endehors. Michel began her article with a line from an article by Zo d’Axa and references Gustave Mathieu’s “The Little Ravachols will Grow.” This working translation is a little rough, but I’ll be finishing these as a group.] Today or Tomorrow. Louise Michel Everything is good which strikes or stings.[1] So much the better if these bandits have finished their work. The scaffold has started the party, […]