What is the main idea of the passage? If the source of popular government in time of peace is virtue, the sources of popular government in rebellion is at once virtue and terror; virtue, without which terror is fatal; terror, without which virtue is powerless. Terror is nothing else than justice, prompt, secure, and inflexible. It is therefore a display of virtue; it is not so much a special principle as it is a consequence of the general principles of democracy applied to the most urgent wants of the country.
What is the main idea of this passage?
A good government may need to use terror in a time of revolution.
A good government will never use terror to accomplish its goals.
The best governments use terror whenever they want to.
The best governments like using terror the least.