He needed the courage to give battle, but on the spot; Madame de Renal had been surprised by his speech, because the men whom she was in the habit of meeting were always saying that the return of Robespierre was made possible especially by these young men of the lower orders, who had been too well educated.
Il fallait avoir le courage de livrer bataille, mais sur-le-champ ; Mme de Rênal avait été étonnée du mot de Julien, parce que les hommes de sa société répétaient que le retour de Robespierre était surtout possible à cause de ces jeunes gens des basses classes, trop bien élevés.