Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1852-02-27
Hannibal and Napoleon.

Scarce any one, at all familiar with history. can
nave tailed TO observe the extraordinary parallesm
ee.Ween Inc campaigns the military conduct, and the
fortunes of Hannibal and Napoleon That parallesm
is strlklngy touched upon by Arnold. "Twice ;, he
says history has there been witnessed the strog.
gle OF the highest individual genius against the re-
sources and institutions of great nation and in both
cases the nation has been victorious For seventeen
years Hannibal strove against England the effects of
Inc nrs ended IN Zama those of the second in Water
loo. Inc extraordinary smilitude of the genius con-
duct and military character of these two giants in
arms is lar from ending with this general resemblance
Almost from point TO point their destinies are similar
AT the age of twenysix, Hannibal was elected to The
supreme command OF the Carthagenian armies, and
thenceorh TO the close of the war; he disposed at his
Will the resources and held in the hollow of his hand
the councils of his country
AT the age of flrs IroTp Inence his
fortunes and his will those of France. The
of the glory of both the Alps and Italy
Both had the faculty OF seeing at glance where
the blow must be planted, which should cripple the
enemy both delivered that blow nsantaneously and
irreslsbly. Both had the same reliance their cav
airy arm of service; Hannibal winning by If all
his greatest victories, and NAPOLEON insisting TO the
last that cavalry in equal force equally led, must con-
quer infantry. Both vanquished every leader in the
field whom he personally encountered, save the very
last and there is probably no one so prejudced to
assert at this day that either Hannibal or Napoleon
found in his conqueror superior in strategy or militia
ry genius Nor does the similarity end here; for
both found their final vanqushers in generals made in
Spain by conflicts with their lieulenants who
in wise superior to other eminent leaders of
their enemy and both ultimately perished miseraby,
IN exile victims to the countries which they had kept
so long in awe and perturbation.
AS men of genuine greatness, | shall observe only,
that single act of Hannibals life subserved to
any selfish motive, or mlnisered to his aggran-
dZement; and that single act of Napoeons did not
so. The consideration of self would seem never to
have occurred the one, have been present
the other. Both were fanatics for glory the one be-
cause his own was his countrys; the other because
his country's was his own. Both were accused by
their enemies of great moral crimes and urptude and
both in the main, uniusy. 1t is of the sad truths
concerning warfare, but less truth, that in play
ing the game of war, with nations for playhngs and
the world for a field, exped!ency must be in great
degree the moral rules and that, if the game is to be
played at ALL the sufferngs the lives of individuals,
even if those individuals be counted by thousands,
must not be considered where the suferings the
lives of millions are in question The sin lies in play
ing the game at ALL not in the details or the practice
of the play. Both these great men were stern and
unreentng in carrying out the lines which they held
it true policy to lay down neither, so far history
shows, tainted in the least degree by anything
sembling personal cruelty Both have been accused OF
faithessness-a charge never in any to be much
regarded, brought between nations; for nations
ever prompt to declam loudly, when the LOSERS against
deeds, the like of which themselves commit readily
when the winners. In the of Hannibal the Ro
had all the history writing TO themselves; thence
Punic faith is to this day the proverb for entire faith
lessness. Had the French writers alone made the
worlds annals of the late great struggle, perfdious
Albion - had gone down a by-word TO all ages Had
the English held the like station, the utter fathess-
ness of Napoleon would have become proverbal with
prosperity.