APOPHTEGMATIZATIONS.

NZ Truth, Issue 95, 13 April 1907, Page 1

APOPHTEGMATIZATIONS.

NAPOLEON AS SEER AND STATESMAN.

NO.

(By JOHN -NOETON.)

THE COLOSSUS OK THE CEN- ■ ; v . ■ t^ury ... Somebody has said eotnewhere— who and wheie I cannot recollect— .that Napolpen was ♦' The greatest of the creation^ of God among the sons of men." This is no exaggerated estimate of the- character, career, and 00-»quests of this marvellous' man; both m war and s peace. He is at once the greatest warrior and wisr es-t law-jijiyer the world has seen: since the days of Caesar. Napoleon Bonaparte,, like Julius Caesar, was a destroyer and constructor, ■ a pull^ er-down of < depay^d, dynasties andef-i fete inHjitutijOO?, and a builder-up of new s-t/ati&B and vigorous Governments. History a,Sords no instance of a compeer, except Caesari Cliarlemagne, with whom Napoleon is cre^ dited i with cp-mpgi.rm^ iyimseK, was a mere palaiij|,n, tfie precinrsor of the greats Gaelic conquerors under, one who— thou^i incomparably -great-er-than C,arlckiis pagihus,- who was not born ip the purpie-^was not a Gaul, 3fepoleon,i jsocauattiei. JtarengDii dmm •'•• ■ iiee^ not "be ashamed tii niy conauejpt o£ Italy, l>ecause it is her liberation f roni the thrall of the reutpn. by a- son of their own nobility "-^7hich was a statement as BaAteriflfi to Italian pride as it was /tme, Napoleon being; on both the paternal -mafternal side, a pureblooded Italian, tbou#i m Oor-. sica and Ibred a Frenchman. I purpose printing some day the sage and sententious sayings of Napoleon that II have noticed. in tne ; course of my; I Napoleonic reading. For. the purpose of ' this series I > shall, content myself with citing several ct.' the-; sayings of Napoleon which seem to propoew themselves as pertinr ent to present-day poetics and ■ .diplomacy, and to be pregnant x with the prophetic wisdom of the states-, man and seer. Bui? before proceed^ ing to' do so I wish to justify the foregdittg/ estimate of the character aM dareer: of the Corsican Coocfnetor by CompariscHis. NAPOLEONIC COMPARISONS. There are but <ttoree great ; capSains of whom history gives iis sufficient rficord to enable us to say whether they come witbui ; the Napoleonic category of conquerors. fThese ,are;Haniii ; bal, Alexander, and Caesar.' of them is the, compeer of Napoleon, either m war or . peace, m construction as well as destruction.'; Caesar, who,- perhaps, equalled, if he did not exceed, Napoleon as a deva^atiiig destroyer of .men and nations, was m no sense his equal as a reconatructer of sociejty and a law-giver. True . it is that Caesar paved the way for the' pairtial triumph pi paganChristiani4y under the bloody patricide, matricide, and fratricide, Cpnstantine, throu^a the super cilipus toleration fi>f the crafty Oc^ivius. But there Capsar's direct influence oi Society , stopped > andj after Augustus, his system soon fell to pieces, and (the Empire cpmiripnced tp decline towards it-e final fall^ A^fpr Alexander, Jie was a gteat caftqueror^and city builder, it \b true; but at best, he was little more than an inebriated icdnoclas't, intoxicated .With his own glory, and debauched and debilitated by ; .beautiful boys, women, and wine, which he used and a/bused (to the extreme excess of dementia and dissolution. Hannibal was a great warrioir, and, true to the Qrafty . instincts and Punic perfidity of his Cartiiaginian orisin, Was a consummate tactician, but not a supreme strategist like: Napoleon; He was a destroyer, pure and simple, and his melancholy merit is that he destroyed, much worth preserving, and saved nothing worth saving— not even , for his own country faithless, ungrateful, cruel, and crafty Carthage. Of the , arts 1 of peace he knew little or nothing, ev&n less thafa he knew about law and' legislation. Unlike Alexander and Caesar, Hannibal did not even leave a heritage for' Ms successors to pquftbble over atott to squander. NAPOLEON ON RUSSIA' AND REPUBLICANISM. . : m the M^oducfcion to his National Life afeS Dhatacter, Professor Pearson says : >Napoleon's alleged; \M\ all &vm» m^mSi

by befog .Repufylicajr or Cossack seems more probable now than when it was first given to the. world." This, is a somewhat ..loose, not ,to ! say slovenly, style for so ' precise a | writer as Pearson to adopt when dealing with so important a matter; and the facts .of which could be easily^ verified by a mere cursory consultatipn of readily accessible authentic authorities. There was nothing mythical or apocryphal about this* "atriegjed'' predicltion of iNapoifecwi concerning Eurppe arid Russia. The authorities for its. authenticity are quotad 1 - m a : footnote, by, Professor Pearson himself.' Here they are ; . , Yotl are:in thq flower of your age/and anfty ezpedi^lrae tHrfcy-flve years longer, j I think you ■vsdll see that the Russians | will .either invade arid take India ; or enter Europe with 400,000 Cossacks and 1 200,000 Tje^l Ba§sians.— P'Meara's " Nap.oleaaat'St. Helena;" vdii,^. 104. . ; : TM;€apffci^n;tfo ous ,situat*pii, being continually exposed to. the risk Vpf being overruii by Cossacks. and sS^aJ3i^"liiie, Exile) and Conversations of the Emperor Napoleon," " by Count d&.LaB-Cases, pa,rt 6, p. 2. Professor PeaißSpn, who baSa proved himself so expert m pointing; -out, i and picking to pieces, the false propheoies of others, here falls, himself, into thJe mistake which he so acutely criticises m others, by permanently precogiiazing on Napoleon's prophecy .m these word's : "The pafrt of \the prophecy which relates to Russia seems the best 'proved;" In what way .provigd ? Russia has- not -yet taken or invaded India, nor has she yet entered and overrun Europe wi^Jh Cossacks. and Tartars. •• . ' •■ ' ■ , • ■ .' RUSSIA'S GREAT MILITARY ;, ACHIEVEMENTS. The vigor imparted to the peoples of Europe by democratic principles and repubiican institutions has been the chief safeguard of the Continent agarttost the literal fulfilment of Napoleon's prediction, with regard to Russian aggression, Had Europe remained what Napoleon founds her, had he not smasfied the crowns, oVr erturned the thrones and weakened the dynasties, and destroyed the prestige of "princes, f dominations, aod powers," which afflicted and oppressed the people, especially m Italy and Germany, heir moral . and military weakness would have bieen such that her Cossack , Conquest by Russia must -have ' proved am easy taski What Russia would havetpeen capable of achieving m such fayoraWe circumstances, is showa by vwhat she has achieved under adVerse circumstances! The power which since Napoleon'® time . has waged, not ingloriously, a long and bloody war against the tremendous combination of the combined military and naval power of England, France and Italy ; that has fought such gallant fights for freedom on behalf of the Christian states of the Balkan Peninsula ; and finally, m spite of her, naval and military services be* ang honeycombed with corruption and cowardice, and of the throne and social system struggling m the throes of revolution, was able to maintain a war like that against the Japanese, for nearly two years, so many thousand miles from her natural base, against such overwhelming odds as the numbers, discipline, training and disinterested patriotism of the pagan Japs, furnishes m these very facts proof positive that Russia is even to-day as much a powe|r -to be reckoned with as she was when she broke the power of Napoleon .at Moscow, and subsequently invaded France, invested and occupied Paris, and dictated the terms and conditions of the peace of Europe after Napoleon had been relegated to St. Helena. During the war m Manchuria, Russia, m spite of the corruption of her administrators and cowardice of her commanders, performed prodigies m •the transportation of men and material of war such as have never been paralleled since HariniUal and Napoleon crossed the Alps. England's achievements m maritime transportation during the late' Boer War, though phenomenal, can m no sense 'be compared with those of Russia m the late Russo-Japanese war. It was from the aggression of a Power of such resources t and poJ^falM&g Sfcfeafc jrepublicanism say-

Ed Europe. So that although this Napoleonic pjrophecy was pr-emiatuxe as to time, and ; inaccurate as to the direction m wiiich j&ie Cossack/ power of the Rugjian Collossus would extend itself, it has proved practically true"' *ais' regards Rapuiblicanisni m Europe. If it he right. to regard . republicanism as the otip great factor m building bulwarks against Russian, atgjsresaion, it- is no abuse of the meaning of prophecy to say that this particular prophecy of Napoleon's was one of the most prescient forccs-sts of the future ever made. • * • . REPUBLICANISM IN EUROPE. Napoleon's prophecy, although not literally fulfilled, has m a great measure been justified by the course of events. Soon after^his death, republican revolutions drove two Bourbon Kings from the throne (Charles X,. and 'Louis XVIII), and a few years later, another republican re-. volution drove another King (Louis Philiippe), from the same throne, and made Napoleon's unworthy ne^ phew, Louis Bonaparte, President" <'qf ■ the Republic, and, subsequently, .Em-;, peror of the French. On the ruins of those republican revolutions rests, 'the Frjanoh .Republic, of -to-day, strong enough to struggle successful-: ly against the Papacy, which no King or ruler before Napoleon's . day had ever done with success and safety, and which no Continental Power since Napoleon s time has done so thoroughly as the Govcsrmnen'fi of France. No republic-; am -institution or constitution tih^t existed m Napoleon's day has been" -.destroyed, pr v has disappeared through decay. Since his death, if not persistently m the way/ arid tothe 'decree he prophesied, republicanism has made enormous > stnd&s. m Europe. Apart from the great French Republic, republicanism is rampant m Germany under, the name of Socialism ; m Austria it is much the s^me.. The disintegration of the Austrian Empire will probably, soojti: follow -the demise of the doddering; old dotard, „ the present Bmperot Francis- Joseph, and will possibly be followed by the setting ap o/f republics m Hungary, and Bohemia. Italy, having abolished the Temporal Power of the Pope, is ripe for republicanism, as . are Spain ajnd Portugal, which are simmering with, republicanism. The recsnt breaking away of Norway from Sweden shows tbat the repubfibcan spirit is also '■ . strong iand garow^iag thro^ghpnit 'Scandinavia. Holland and Belgium, .may y.et be rescued from .the maw of German militarism my becom^ing, one, republican buffer Sflate againslti 1 monarchical) encroachment arid .s#-m sor.tion- As for England, her ways are past fotding oitt ; she is being, drained of her national lifer-bipod by emigration, and paralysed by pauperism, and will probably decay indegradatjpn and die a disgraceful death under an imparted German dynasty, of whom the present King is probably the last whom England will tolerate, and the last of whom Englishmen 1 will say a good word. NAPOLEON *AS : AN APOPHTH'E}&MA^riZER. It is, however, Napoleon's opinion ; of bis own aohievremenis, bpth as a soldier and 1-aw-gifver, that are most interesting to the student of .tire rriilitary, diplomatic, and social history, of Europe duripg the last hundred years. The manner and matter of Napoleon's apopih'ttiegincutizatipns on his own conduct and character maice thiem not only masterpieces of aphoristic expression, but they lend \a. luminous light to the consideration of much m Ms career that has 'been made dark by malignity and distorted by detracttpn. And here it is useful' to observe that almost- as great an interest attaches to "Che •captivity of Nappleon at St. Helena, as to nis cpniqiuesfe m Europe and BpjVipt. I<t was. at St. Helena thatNapoleon sought to. justify himself before Humanity and future ages. It was on the rock of St. Helena that | the con'q/ueror of empires conquered the sympathy and admiration of peoples. It was at St. Helena that the J Napoleonic Legend was born and tr?y7i.;mitted to France :i.s a precious heritage, to be even mp.re reverently cherished than the henp's ashes, whicJi now rest on t>e banks pf the Seine, as, with, ihis dy.in# breath, he desired and' directed. As one of the writers, of the Cam/bridge Modern History (H. A. L. Fisher) observes : The Napoleonic Legend has been a force m the polities of Europe ; aud*he Legend owes rmioh. to the artifice of the. exiles. The great Captain, hero 6t adventures wonderous as those of the Arabian Nights, passes over the Myster- ' ious ocean to his lonely island, ahd<; emerges transfigured m some ennobliagv mirage. He shares the agonies of Prometheus, benefactor of humanity, chained to his solitary rock ; his spirit is •with . Marcus AuroUus, moving m the serene orbit of humane and beneficent wisdom. The seed sown from St. Helena fell upon fruitf ul soil, and was tended by devout hands. This is a wonderful tribute to one i of the very few of the world's very . greatest men, whose memory has been more malignantly misrepresented -tham'that of any other mortal man Such is the power of plutocracy m command of the priniang press, winch, as a means of murderous

misrepresentation, 'is , oven more powerful than was the Napoleonic ar- • tillery against ( c^aleseed Europe. TIMB,.^A^G>LiBON :} S ONLY ; The master off the : who had coi^rollftd ■millipiis of men, conquered kingdoms,.\said. : ':;on; the. desert island of St. Helena^ is my. only superfluity.'' Was it any wonder that such a y man, s 0 circumscribed and deprived, as Napoiepn was 'in his: captivityj of every superfluity but .time, should, ch'^e. and fret like a captive eagle !''-lih such . an insular isolation, lqudcken.,all the leaden hours wias a t^skV top jh'eavy evcn\fbr •has busy -geni'us-.''' As we are told by the sympat%'feic^E/ngHsh:man aboye quoted', ,wrj?tinig' \ unsympathetic Englishijeh;-';,!^; ' ; '- ; ' ; ,He learnt, a litfclo. English, he dictated moiapij;s,:h,9 played chess; he read bopks and newgpapei^.-^e.setGpurgandinatiie-iDatical and, m fh,te latter :kaJf of 1819, a»^ in the early'' half of 1820,; he. fottnd.soiQo Spfepein gardening, tn the first two year? of his captivity his spirits ■were som^tjines^high, and even exuberant; and] m the exercise of his splendid intic^ectj he Jiiave {oTmd-^onae genuino enjoyment!. 'Ijtut at heart h,6 was miserable, spiting .himself like a cross ciiUa, and. aUowing petty insidts to fester ■witlun him. ' : - How iiie Was calm, proud', and grand,- np\v, : irritable aud wayward. I Even the apprPach of,' death could not \ purge Ms soul of ifcs eviil humours, and he left a legacy; tp Oantillon as a reward for attempting jto assas'sjnatc the Puke ; of ' Wellington. '..' "/.'[' A very pretty, pjece of patriotic peh.m^nsfeip, .tp" be s .fure,;especi9;ny when it ts borne m 'inand; this was \ written by -•" an i^iil.isihinia,n whos e^ L countrym€^' ; :.had 'beeji starved, drar,: jjooned, and' sweated m prder to lifcribe the C,6ntkeisal Powers into farmed Coalition, against Napoleon ; 'who h.ad harbored, all Napoleon's •smemips , sheltered cOnspiraztors a--gaipsthis 'lilei a»d &*?% «ire 4 assassins like George C^dbudjal tp taike .him tr^cherously- off the sew? upon whioh h"e played so great a l . par.t, to Ehjglaxid's , gr j?at cpst , aiid deep disgfaoe. A cplbssal. crime it was then m the ey^S oiE, such as these for Nappleoh to remember m his wiir a miis^uided niian- w&o had attempted jtp mu?der- -the Pulce ot "Wellnigton ! •■ -'-x. ■': : :- .." ■ ■" ' . • But tiim,^ and' tide- wait for no man and ttoe mail-bipat for the Eastern ■Slates saiJs from Fremantle an hour ;h,ence, so that thY selection of some of Napoleon's swibiinie sayings -^hich I intend as a set-ioff agaiiist %c fore,gomg Cockney Ohauymisms/ must be ■deferred for tbte next number of this ;series'. : ■'-'■:■'■ '■ ■ ■ Palace Hotel, Perth, Western -Aiistralia, Maroh 19th, 1&07. ','.