Back to the future: to wake up in the middle of the French Revolution

Carbon de Flins des Oliviers writes ‘Le réveil d’Épiménide à Paris’ at the beginning of 1790, in the spirit of general enthusiasm for the French Revolution. The play is a big success, with 26 representations over a year. But surprisingly for a contemporary reader, its author has some bitter observations on the recent events and tries to show to the public, among other things, the dangers of boundless freedom of speech proclaimed by the ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen’. He exhorts the French, as they remain active and vigorous actors on the revolutionary stage, to contemplate actively the political changes, for they can always distinguish lie form truth and for nobody can manip ulates them. 

Carbon de Flins des Oliviers writes ‘Le réveil d’Épiménide à Paris’ at the beginning of 1790, in the spirit of general enthusiasm for the French Revolution. The play is a big success, with 26 representations over a year. But surprisingly for a contemporary reader, its author has some bitter observations on the recent events and tries to show to the public, among other things, the dangers of boundless freedom of speech proclaimed by the ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen’. He exhorts the French, as they remain active and vigorous actors on the revolutionary stage, to contemplate actively the political changes, for they can always distinguish lie form truth and for nobody can manip ulates them.