…and apparently there were only four prisoners in it at the time.
Never mind. 
Liberté!
Egalité!
Fraternité!
and the chance for dodgy Corsican Gunners to dominate Europe!
Guillotine! Guillotine!!!
I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to find an image from the B&W film A Tale of Two Cities of the guillotine scene. There are a bunch of actors doing this way over-the-top rendition of old toothless hags with pipes stuck in their mouths screaming and cackling with delight as each aristo goes to meet his destiny in the loving embrace of Madame Guillotine. They truly were hilarious. 
djm
Allons enfants de la patrie!
Thank you for the modern, liberal state!
Maybe this’ll help.
No, no, I said A Tale of Two Cities. That’s Cane and Able. 
djm
JES, I like the little bucket with the wood shavings. 
And the guy pontificating with his writ has great attitude.
Someone has a little too much time on his hands…
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Approved by the National Assembly of France, August 26, 1789
The representatives of the French people, organized as a National Assembly, believing that the ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities and of the corruption of governments, have determined to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural, unalienable, and sacred rights of man, in order that this declaration, being constantly before all the members of the Social body, shall remind them continually of their rights and duties; in order that the acts of the legislative power, as well as those of the executive power, may be compared at any moment with the objects and purposes of all political institutions and may thus be more respected, and, lastly, in order that the grievances of the citizens, based hereafter upon simple and incontestable principles, shall tend to the maintenance of the constitution and redound to the happiness of all. Therefore the National Assembly recognizes and proclaims, in the presence and under the auspices of the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and of the citizen:
Articles:
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Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.
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The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.
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The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation.
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Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law.
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Law can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful to society. Nothing may be prevented which is not forbidden by law, and no one may be forced to do anything not provided for by law.
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Law is the expression of the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or through his representative, in its foundation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents.
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No person shall be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except in the cases and according to the forms prescribed by law. Any one soliciting, transmitting, executing, or causing to be executed, any arbitrary order, shall be punished. But any citizen summoned or arrested in virtue of the law shall submit without delay, as resistance constitutes an offense.
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The law shall provide for such punishments only as are strictly and obviously necessary, and no one shall suffer punishment except it be legally inflicted in virtue of a law passed and promulgated before the commission of the offense.
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As all persons are held innocent until they shall have been declared guilty, if arrest shall be deemed indispensable, all harshness not essential to the securing of the prisoner’s person shall be severely repressed by law.
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No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions, including his religious views, provided their manifestation does not disturb the public order established by law.
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The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law.
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The security of the rights of man and of the citizen requires public military forces. These forces are, therefore, established for the good of all and not for the personal advantage of those to whom they shall be intrusted.
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A common contribution is essential for the maintenance of the public forces and for the cost of administration. This should be equitably distributed among all the citizens in proportion to their means.
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All the citizens have a right to decide, either personally or by their representatives, as to the necessity of the public contribution; to grant this freely; to know to what uses it is put; and to fix the proportion, the mode of assessment and of collection and the duration of the taxes.
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Society has the right to require of every public agent an account of his administration.
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A society in which the observance of the law is not assured, nor the separation of powers defined, has no constitution at all.
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Since property is an inviolable and sacred right, no one shall be deprived thereof except where public necessity, legally determined, shall clearly demand it, and then only on condition that the owner shall have been previously and equitably indemnified.
Sounds remarkably socialist, doesn’t it? 
djm
Which part? Perhaps Art. 1, 2nd sentence, but apart from that it sounds remarkably enlightened and liberal. And the French would probably reply: not socialist; fraternal.
Notice Art. 4 & 5: elegant expressions of liberty, the universalist principle, the supremacy of law, and Bentham’s harm principle.
I think 3 and 6 sound almost Marxist (almost).
djm
Excerpt from the Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea:
Chapter 1 Politics
Article 1The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is an independent socialist state representing the interests of all the Korean people.
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…
Article 4
The sovereignty of the DPRK resides in the workers, peasants, working intellectuals and all other working people.
The working people exercise power through their representative organs – the Supreme People’s Assembly and local people’s assemblies at all levels.
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…
Article 8
The social system of the DPRK is a people-centered system under which the working people are masters of everything, and everything in society serves the working people.
The State shall defend and protect the interests of the workers, peasants and working intellectuals who have been freed from exploitation and oppression and become masters of the State and society.
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…Article 11
The DPRK shall conduct all activities under the leadership of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
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Article 12
The State shall adhere to the class line, strengthen the dictatorship of people’s democracy and firmly defend the people’s power and socialist system against all subversive acts of hostile elements at home and abroad.
So much for THAT.