I did not sing, my friend, I conducted. Those that speak without action are paving stones. Some cannot act, some won't, but it is on their foundations that I marched. ...As you did it would seem. You were exiled for your defiance, I was executed for mine. The people were not ready to rise at my back, I am afraid.
However, I saw no reason to abandon the hesitant, the unsteady. If nothing else, if no Republic be won, I hoped a sacrifice would lead them on. Give them assurance that they were not wrong, that there were those willing to die for their hope. That the Republic, which was for the people, would support them unconditionally. My only regret was that I took my friends with me.