Dawn and Revolution

George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, writing on the French Revolution (from The Philosophy of History, p. 447):

“Never since the sun had stood in the firmament and the planets revolved around it had it been perceived that [humanity’s] existence centers in [its] head, i.e. in Thought, inspired by which [it] builds up the world of reality. Anaxagoras had been the first to say that nous [mind] governs the world; but not until now had [humanity] advanced to the recognition of the principle that Thought ought to govern spiritual reality. This was accordingly a glorious mental dawn. All thinking beings shared in the jubilation of this epoch.”