Robert-François Damiens's Execution

After trying to assassinate the king, Robert-François Damiens was sentenced to be executed by having his skin ripped with pliers, molten lead and sulfur poured onto his ripped skin, then dismemberment by four horses. At hearing this, Damiens replied, "Well, it's going to be a tough day." Several texts recount with extreme precision all the horror of his execution in 1757.