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Contents
- Cornell University Press
- Chapter
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List of Illustrations xi Acknowledgments xiii int r oduct ion 1 1 or der ing a Disor der ed Wor l d 19 Natural Historians Confront Disorder 20 A History of Natural Violence: The Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 and the Messina and Calabria Earthquakes of 1783 26 2 ter r ibl e like an ear t h quake: viol ence as a “revol ut ion of t h e ear t h ” 43 The Glacière Massacres: Avignon, 1791 46 The September Massacres: Paris, 1792 58 3 ligh t ning st r ikes 72 Lightning in the Atmosphere 74 The Scepter from Tyrants: Lightning and Sovereignty in the Revolution 82 The Utility of Destruction: The Victims of Lightning 88 The Saltpeter Initiative: Forging Thunderbolts in Backyards 94 Lightning in Crisis: The Explosion of Grenelle 100 4 Pur e Mount ain, Cor r upt ive swamp 104 The Natural and Political Mountain 106 The Virtuous Montagnard 114 The Sublime and the Sacred Mountain 117 CoNteNts x Contents Nature Returned to Itself: Purging the Marais 123 The Festival of the Supreme Being: A Theology of Terror 133 5 “Mount ain, Become a vol cano” 139 Volcanoes in Scientific Inquiry 140 Volcanic Volatility 146 Passion, Terror, and Virtue: The Volcano in Year II 149 The Terrible after the Terror 160 Concl usion: revol ut ionar y like Nat ur e, Nat ur al like a revol ut ion 164 Notes 173 Bibliography 205 Index 223 ...