Robespierre.......................

 

The allure of Robespierre is that he transformed himself into a stoic, but he was also a romantic to the end.  Doctrinaire and calculating, he was a master of sowing differences among his rivals, waiting patiently for them to unravel on their own.  He would then get his chance, proving to be a stern disciplinarian, a capable organizer, and a fearless leader.  He instinctively believed that he would one day rule—he was right—and remarkably, he prophesied that he would one day be killed; he was right there as well.  

-Jay Winik, The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World: 1788-1800