Taine's description and analysis of events in France between 1750 and 1870 are, as you will see, colorful, lucid, and sometimes intense. His style might today appear dated since he writes in rather long sentences, using parables to drive his points firmly home. His books were widely read in academic circles and therefore influenced a great many political students in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Lenin, who came to Paris around 1906, might well have profited by Taine's analysis. Hitler is also likely to have profited from his insights. Lenin was like so many other socialists of his day, a great admirer of Robespierre and his party, and would undoubtedly have tried to find out how Robespierre got into power and why he lost his hold on France the way he did. Part of Taine's art was to place himself in the place of the different people and parties who took part in the great events. When he pretends to speak for the Jacobins, it is so convincingly done that it is hard to know whether he speaks on 'their behalf or whether he is, in fact, quoting one of them.
Taine, like the Napoleon he described, believed that to understand people, you are aided if you try to imagine yourself in their place. This procedure, as well as his painstaking research, makes his descriptions of the violent events of the past ring true.
Taine knew and described the evil inherent in human nature and the crowd. His warnings and explanations did not prevent Europe from repeating the mistakes of the past. The 20th century saw a replay of the French Revolution repeated in all its horror when Lenin, Mao, Hoxa, and Pol Pot followed its script, and when Stalin and Hitler made good use of Napoleon's example.
Taine irritated the elite of the 3rd French Republic as well as everyone who believed in the popular democracy based on one person, one vote. You can understand when you read the following preface, which was actually placed in front of "The Revolution" volume II. Since it clarifies Taine's aims and justifications, I have moved and placed it below.
Volume 1: Format: TEXT | PDF | HTML
Volume 2: Format: TEXT | PDF | HTML
Volume 3: Format: TEXT | PDF | HTML
Volume 4: Format: TEXT | PDF | HTML
Volume 5: Format: TEXT | PDF | HTML
Volume 6: Format: TEXT | PDF | HTML
E-text Prepared by Svend Rom