Having spoken with Maximilien de Robespierre, I recount here what he told me. He believes, with the great French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, that the general will of the people must be the law of the state. The king should employ the power delegated to him by the constitution to uphold the decrees of the governing body. But, if any one person should consistently oppose the will of the people, even if that person is the king, then, according to Robespierre and Rousseau, that person can justifiably be condemned to death. The French people found that King Louis XVI had consistently attacked the sovereignty of the people and, thus, he deserved death.