on 17 july 1793 lux witnessed the execution of the girondist charlotte corday, who had assassinated the radical agitator jean-paul marat. with the publication of provoking pamphlets, in which he justified the killing as an act of liberation, he was apparently risking his life deliberately, although not all motives of his behavior at this time are comprehensible nowadays, especially those concerning his relation to corday and her actions. the poet justinus kerner, whose older brother johann georg kerner witnessed the events in paris, reported on these activities in his book "bilderbuch aus meiner knabenzeit", which was based on his brother's records.