But bloody episodes are not always essential to the march of a revolution. The triumph of Hungary over Austria was almost a bloodless one, and that of Free Trade in England was effected practically without violence.
Since a revolution implies a change in the ideas of the masses and not of a minority, be this of the elect or merely of turbulent spirits, revolutions are rare occurrences in history and their effects are lasting. In fact, after the death of Cromwell, feudalism was extinct in England.
Like the pear which falls in autumn when the process of ripening has caused the gradual reabsorption of the juices in the stalk, revolution triumphs and the ancient system perishes when an entire people is persuaded of the necessity for a change. The fall of the pear, however, is not always the result of a slow physiological process, but may be caused by a gust of wind, which dashes it to the ground before the pulp has developed the sweet juices that are the sign of its maturity. In the same way, a revolt or an armed rising of men, whose demands are enforced by threats, may result in the carrying into effect of some programme of reform which is nevertheless too progressive or reactionary, or otherwise unsuited to the country.
In fact, nearly every revolution is preceded by an insurrection, which is suppressed by violence, because it seeks to realise premature ideals, and on this account is frequently followed by a counter-revolution, provoked by reactionary elements.
Unlike revolutions, insurrections are always the work of a minority, inspired by an excessive love or hatred of change, who seek forcibly to establish systems or ideas rejected by the majority. Unlike revolutions, also, they may break out for mere temporary causes--a famine, a tax, the tyranny of some official, which suddenly disturbs the tranquil march of daily life; in many cases they may languish and die without outside interference.
In practice, however, it is extremely difficult to distinguish a revolt from a revolution since the results alone determine its nature, victory being the proof that the ideas have permeated the whole mass of the people.
Political offenders, insurrectionists, and revolutionists are the men who seize the standard of progress and contest every inch of the ground with the masses, who naturally incline towards a dislike of a new order of things. The army of progress is recruited from all ranks and conditions--men of genius, intellectual spirits who are the first to realise the defects of the old system and to conceive a new one, synthesising the needs and aspirations of the people; lunatics, enthusiastic propagandists of the new ideas, which they spread with all the impetuous ardour characteristic of unbalanced minds; criminals, the natural enemies of order, who flock to the standard of revolt and bring to it their special gifts, audacity and contempt of death. These latter types accomplish the work of destruction which inevitably accompanies every revolution: they are the faithful and unerring arm ready to carry out the ideas that others conceive but lack the courage to execute.