按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
passionate love for democratic virtue that they felt compelled
to kill all those who disagreed with them。 France was turned
into a slaughter house。 Everybody suspected everybody else。
No one felt safe。 Out of sheer fear； a few members of the old
Convention； who knew that they were the next candidates for
the scaffold； finally turned against Robespierre； who had
already decapitated most of his former colleagues。 Robespierre；
‘‘the only true and pure Democrat；'' tried to kill himself
but failed His shattered jaw was hastily bandaged and
he was dragged to the guillotine。 On the 27th of July； of the
year 1794 （the 9th Thermidor of the year II； according to the
strange chronology of the revolution）； the reign of Terror came
to an end； and all Paris danced with joy。
The dangerous position of France； however； made it necessary
that the government remain in the hands of a few strong
men； until the many enemies of the revolution should have been
driven from the soil of the French fatherland。 While the
half…clad and half…starved revolutionary armies fought their
desperate battles of the Rhine and Italy and Belgium and
Egypt； and defeated every one of the enemies of the Great
Revolution； five Directors were appointed； and they ruled
France for four years。 Then the power was vested in the hands
of a successful general by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte；
who became ‘‘First Consul'' of France in the year 1799。 And
during the next fifteen years； the old European continent became
the laboratory of a number of political experiments； the
like of which the world had never seen before。
NAPOLEON
NAPOLEON
NAPOLEON was born in the year 1769； the third son
of Carlo Maria Buonaparte； an honest notary public of
the city of Ajaccio in the island of Corsica； and his good
wife； Letizia Ramolino。 He therefore was not a Frenchman；
but an Italian whose native island （an old Greek； Carthaginian
and Roman colony in the Mediterranean Sea） had
for years been struggling to regain its independence；
first of all from the Genoese； and after the middle of the
eighteenth century from the French； who had kindly offered
to help the Corsicans in their struggle for freedom and had
then occupied the island for their own benefit。
During the first twenty years of his life； young Napoleon
was a professional Corsican patriota Corsican Sinn Feiner；
who hoped to deliver his beloved country from the yoke of the
bitterly hated French enemy。 But the French revolution had
unexpectedly recognised the claims of the Corsicans and gradually
Napoleon； who had received a good training at the military
school of Brienne； drifted into the service of his adopted country。
Although he never learned to spell French correctly or
to speak it without a broad Italian accent； he became a Frenchman。
In due time he came to stand as the highest expression
of all French virtues。 At present he is regarded as the symbol
of the Gallic genius。
Napoleon was what is called a fast worker。 His career
does not cover more than twenty years。 In that short span
of time he fought more wars and gained more victories and
marched more miles and conquered more square kilometers and
killed more people and brought about more reforms and generally
upset Europe to a greater extent than anybody （including
Alexander the Great and Jenghis Khan） had ever managed
to do。
He was a little fellow and during the first years of his life
his health was not very good。 He never impressed anybody
by his good looks and he remained to the end of his days very
clumsy whenever he was obliged to appear at a social function。
He did not enjoy a single advantage of breeding or birth or
riches。 For the greater part of his youth he was desperately
poor and often he had to go without a meal or was obliged
to make a few extra pennies in curious ways。
He gave little promise as a literary genius。 When he competed
for a prize offered by the Academy of Lyons； his essay
was found to be next to the last and he was number 15 out of
16 candidates。 But he overcame all these difficulties through
his absolute and unshakable belief in his own destiny； and in
his own glorious future。 Ambition was the main…spring of his
life。 The thought of self； the worship of that capital letter
‘‘N'' with which he signed all his letters； and which recurred
forever in the ornaments of his hastily constructed palaces； the
absolute will to make the name Napoleon the most important
thing in the world next to the name of God； these desires carried
Napoleon to a pinnacle of fame which no other man has
ever reached。
When he was a half…pay lieutenant； young Bonaparte was
very fond of the ‘‘Lives of Famous Men'' which Plutarch； the
Roman historian； had written。 But he never tried to live up
to the high standard of character set by these heroes of the
older days。 Napoleon seems to have been devoid of all those
considerate and thoughtful sentiments which make men
different from the animals。 It will be very difficult to decide
with any degree of accuracy whether he ever loved anyone
besides himself。 He kept a civil tongue to his mother； but
Letizia had the air and manners of a great lady and after the
fashion of Italian mothers； she knew how to rule her brood of
children and command their respect。 For a few years he was
fond of Josephine； his pretty Creole wife； who was the daughter
of a French officer of Martinique and the widow of the
Vicomte de Beauharnais； who had been executed by Robespierre
when he lost a battle against the Prussians。 But
the Emperor divorced her when she failed to give him a son
and heir and married the daughter of the Austrian Emperor；
because it seemed good policy。
During the siege of Toulon； where he gained great fame
as commander of a battery； Napoleon studied Macchiavelli
with industrious care。 He followed the advice of the Florentine
statesman and never kept his word when it was to his
advantage to break it。 The word ‘‘gratitude'' did not occur in
his personal dictionary。 Neither； to be quite fair； did he expect
it from others。 He was totally indifferent to human suffering。
He executed prisoners of war （in Egypt in 1798） who had
been promised their lives； and he quietly allowed his wounded
in Syria to be chloroformed when he found it impossible to
transport them to his ships。 He ordered the Duke of Enghien
to be condemned to death by a prejudiced court…martial and to
be shot contrary to all law on the sole ground that the
‘‘Bourbons needed a warning。'' He decreed that those German
officers who were made prisoner while fighting for their
country's independence should be shot against the nearest wall；
and when Andreas Hofer； the Tyrolese hero； fell into his hands
after a most heroic resistance； he was executed like a common
traitor。
In short； when we study the character of the Emperor； we
begin to understand those anxious British mothers who used
to drive