Log in

Radical Translations
  • Date
  • False: false attribution such as false place of imprint or false date
  • Fictional place: false imprint contains a fictional, invented place of imprint or date
  • Form: type or genre of writing.
  • Female
  • Male
  • Language
  • Noble: person was born noble.
  • Place
  • Role: the main role of a person or organization in relation to a resource.
  • Subject: content, theme, or topic of a work.
  • Uncertainty: information could not be verified.

On the propriety of bringing Louis XVI to trial

1792-11-21 Subjects: Law, Politics and government Forms: Speeches Translation Status: Source-text, Unpublished English Paris

Contributions

Thomas Paine
author

Related resources

has translation
Opinion de Thomas Payne, sur l'affaire de Louis Capet: Adressée au Président de la Convention Nationale. Imprimé par ordre de la Convention Nationale translation

Notes

Placeholder title. Despite what Newberry Library says it is unclear whether this source text was ever published at the time. Try to check English newspapers etc.

This speech was the first made by Paine during the trial of Louis XVI, on whether and how the King should be tried and what punishment he should receive. In it, he argued that Louis XVI should receive a fair and unbiased trial, and if found guilty, the citizens of France should decide whether or not he should be punished. As a staunch anti-monarchist, Paine disregarded the notion that Louis XVI’s status as a sovereign monarch granted him inviolability, arguing that Louis should be subject to the same laws as all French citizens: "Je pense qu’il faut faire le procès à Louis XVI, non que cet avis me soit suggéré par un esprit de vengeance… mais parce que cette mesure me semble juste, légitime & conforme à la saine politique. Si Louis est innocent, mettons-le à portée de prouver son innocence; s’il est coupable, que la volonté nationale determine si l’on doit lui faire grace, ou le punir" (p.5).