Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1865-03-21
IoIIts NAPOLEONS BOOK
rErr lcE ruE " HISTORY OF JULES ~. s easAh'

PREF ACy To TUE % HISTORY or JULIUS c-hsAh, u
4 NAPOLEON M, EaPERoR OF FRANCE. l.
Historical truth ought not to be less sacred tnai
religion. If the precepts of faith elevate our SOU
above the interests OF this world the lessons OF ms
tory, in their turn, inspire us with love VI .'f'
beautiful and the just, with haired iof ever, 'ut
which is an obstacle to the advancement OF tiIe Wei
fare of mankind Those lessons TO DC Pron.S .p
lreqaire certain conditions. II is necessary 'ia'
facts should be reproduced with rigorous exact
tude, that political and social changes shoulo DC
phiIOsophcally analysed, that the piqpanl attraS,
ton OF the details OF the lives OF pm olc men shouiu
not distract attention from their poilicai TASK or
Throw their proydential mission into oblivion. The
historian TOO otlen gives us the various phases ei
history spontaneous events without diving deeper
into anterior facts for their real origin and natural
deduction; in like manner as the artist, VINO IN r.
producing the accidents OF nature deNoteS nimsell
simply 10 their picturesque effect without being able
in lbs picture to give their seientihcdemonSrat hon.
The historian ought TO be more than painter; he
fought like the geologist who explains the pheno,n-
enai OF the globe, TO disclose the secret OF tls
transformation of our social world. But III
i writing history, what are the means to ascertain
| the trslhl The only way is to follow the
rues of logic. Let us take it for granted at once
that great results always due to great cause,
never to small one; in Other words an incident III
significant in appearance. never leads TO great re-
suits without practising cause which has allowed
i that small incident to achieve great result. A
spark does not create great conhagration unless
Il &C falls upon combustible materials accumulated
beforehand. Montesquieu confirms this idea = Ii
| is not good fortune, he says, which rules the
Il world. There general causes,
either moral or physical which act in every mon
Il archy, elevate il, uphold it, or ruin it. All Incl
i dents are subjected to these causes, and if the
chance OF battle-that is To say, special cause
has ruined the state, there existed general cause
which implied that Mat state was 10 perish IN sin
gle battle in fact, tn chief inducements absorb all
other special Incidents" :. II, during period OF
Il nearly one thousand years the Romans always is
| sued forth triumphant from the most severe trials
aud from the greatest dangers, t is because there
was a general cause which always rendered them SUI
perlOr TO their enemies, and which did not suffer de-
ieats and partial disasters 10 lead To fall OF their
i sway. III the Roman after giving TO the world the
example of a people establishing themselves firmly
and growing great by liberty, have seemed since
Caesar to throw themselves blmdhy into serf-
dom, il is because there existed a general
reason which fatally prevented the republic from
returning to the pure form of its former institu-
tons; il is because its wants and the new interests
| of a society in labor required other means TO be
satisfied In the same manner that logic proves TO
us in important events the reason why they i'm
peEatiye IN like manner we must recognize both in
the long duration of institution the proof of its
worth, and in the ncontestable influence Of a
upon his age the proof Of his genius. The task
ssts then in endeayoring - discover the vital ell
ement which constituted the strength of the instu
ton, like the predominatng idea which maze the
u.
errors of those historians who collect facts trans
mitied by preceding ages without arranging them
according to their philosophical inn ortance glorify
ing what deserves censure, and leaving in the dark
that which calls for light. it is not minnie analy
| sis of the Roman organization which will make us
understand the duration Of so great an empire, but
deep investigation into the spirit al its institutions;
4 il is nos moreover, detailed narrative OF the
lesser acts N superior man which will reveal ~
us the secret of his asccndency, but careful
L, 4.
| When extraordinary facts demonstrate an eminent
genius what eau he more contrary to good sense
than to attribute 10 him oil the passions and
sentiInentS of medocrity What more erroneous
than to recognize the e-enIinence Of those priy-
legged beings who appear from time To time in. his
tory as brilliant beacons, dissipating the darkness
of their epoch and throwing light upon the future
TodeRy such pre-eminencc would, moreover, be an
insult to human nature, by believing IL capable of
submitting Tor a length OF time aud voluntarily TO
domination not based upon real greatness or ncon-
Itesable utility, Let be logical and we shall be
lust. Too many historians find it more easy to
lower men of genius than 10 raise themselves by
generous inspiration TO their level by penetrating
their vast designs Thus, regards Caesar, instead
1 OF showing us Rome by civil wars, corrupted by
wenth treadng its institutions under foot, threat
ened by powerful naions--the Gauls, the Germans
| and the PartSianS--incapable OF maintaining itseR
without a stronger central power, more stable and
NOR Just instead, say, Of drawing that faithful
Il
\ youth, meditating already upon supreme power
/ lf he reSSts Syla, IL he disagrees with Cicero,
If b. enters into alliance with Pompey, n is all
l the result Of that far-aghted cunning WHICH las
dyined everything to enslave eyerythingj if he
dashes into Gaul il is to acquire wealth by page
or soldiers devoted to his canse il he crosses the
sea 10 carry his eagles into an unknown country the
conquest of which will strengthen that of the Gans
il vas but to seek tor pearls supposed to exist in
The seas of Great Britain. II, after having van
gnE he'd the formidable enemies of italy beyond the
Alps, he meditaeS upon an expedition hgainst the
Parthians TO avepge the defeat of DraSsES it Isl say
certain historians, because activity suited his ma
tnFa, aud that he enjoyed better health when IN
| the field II. he accepts with gratitude laurel
crown from the Senate and bears ii proudly, IL is
to hide his bald head it, finally, he is assassnated
| b. the E,en whom he has overwhelmed with his
bounty, it Is because hs wished TO make himself
! king: as il lie was not, for his contemporaries as
wei as pOsterity, much greater than any King
Since lSuetOnius and Plutarch such are the miser-
sbIc interpretations which have been given TO the
| MODEST acts. But By whSt sign TO recoq-
nize the greatness OF a man In the sway oil his
| deaS, when his principles add his system triumph
despite bis death or his defeat. Is it not, in fact,
| the prerogalive OF genius 10 0ptliYe destruc-
| ton and TO extend its empire over flu
4 ture generations Caesar disappeared, and his
4 Influence pFOdomiRstes still more than du-
ring his lifetime. cicero, hs adversary, Is
obliged to e&claim, Allthe acts OF Caesar, his wrr
a tines, his words, his promises, his thoughts, are
more pOweriul after his death than II he were still
alive" During centuries IL has sgioed 10 toll the
world that such wa. the will of Caesar for the world
10 obey. That which precedcs sufficiently indicates
the object have proposed 80 myself in writing this
history. That Object is to prove that when Proyi-
| dcnce raises up such men as Cesar Charlemagne,
and Napolson it is to trace out to nations the path
they ought to follow, to stamp new era with the
seal of their genius, AMI to accomplish in few years
! she work ofpiany centuries. Happy thsnatons who
| comprehend aud follow them Voc n those who
! Jews they cruelty their Messiah. They are blind
I. and guilty--blind for they see not the inn
! rottanoe Of their efforts 10 suspend tho final
Triumph OF good; guilty, for they pnly yetard its
progress by impeding its prompt and fertile aap'
hliration. In fact, neither the. assassination
OF Caesar nor the Imprisonment Of st. Helena could
f. oI