Tom Holland

speaker

51,366 appearances 197 recordings 9 series first heard Oct 2024 last heard 2d ago

Tom Holland’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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The Rest Is History · 708. The Terror: The Reign of Robespierre (Part 2) · 23 Sep 2026 podcast

But I don't think it explains what is inspiring him in the revolution because there are much, much more formative influences, as we will see. matched

So Robsier does very well at school. matched

He qualifies as a lawyer and he returns to his hometown where he makes a name for himself as a friend of the poor. matched

He is always taking on the cases of people who can't afford legal representation. matched

Okay. matched

And so he makes a good name for himself. matched

People see him as a virtuous, principled person, an admirable person. matched

But having said that, I mean, he seems destined for a life of the utmost provincial obscurity. matched

Except that Robespierre himself, I think, is daring to dream. matched

He's daring to dream of a better life and a better order for France. matched

And the reason for this is the very familiar one that he's been reading a lot of books. matched

and Robespierre has read all of them. matched

Yeah, so back in the 17th century, Thomas Hobbes said that he would ban the reading of histories by the Greeks and the Romans because it just fostered rebellion and revolution against kings. matched

And I think that matched

Everything that happens in the 18th century would have confirmed him in that view. matched

So Robespierre, like Charlotte Corday and like so many other stars of the revolution, is obsessed by classical history. matched

He becomes a huge admirer of the virtues of the Greeks and the Romans, their love of country and matched

their determination not to allow their fellow citizens to succumb to conspiracies by evil aristocrats. matched

The archetype of this is Cicero, provincial upstart who comes to Rome and saves his country from Catiline, who is the archetype of a seedy aristocratic conspirator. matched

And he is obsessed by this in a way that so many people are. matched

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