How does this quote pertain to the French Revolution?

Question

"A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens opens with the quote, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it ws the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way."

How does this quote pertain to the French Revolution? specifically the age of wisdom & foolishness - I understand the rest of it.

Thank you!

Answer 1

There was some wisdom in the French Revolution --for example, the idea that it a government should operate to serve the welfare of the citizens and not just the church and the nobility ... but there was also foolishness in it, like the execution of large numbers of people based on nothing but gossip or the accusations of their enemies.

Answer 2

The use of oxymorons explains the many contradicting feelings during the French Revolution.