The New York herald., 1865-04-22
NEW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, APRIL o. 1855

and Greeley on the Roman and Ameri-
q can RepubIics.
In the glorious republic of letters no titles
are recognized save those of books. and ON its
equal plain the Editor and the Emperor stand on
level. The pious and rose tinted poems of the
fair Queen of Navarro can claim no higher rank
than we accord to the memoirs of Moll Flanders.
who was a pickpocket, something much worse,
. and also not pious. Shakspere is emperor by
! as many titles as there are dramas from his
hand; while King James, of England-in whose
reign he partly lived, and who was much the
bigger Indian of the two at that time-is found
to have achieved less literary fame by his
|" Counterblast against Tobacco" and other
essays of a similar gravity. So, too, in our own
day, "The American Conflict" by Horace
Greeley, may prove, to the progressive thinkers
: OF all nations, work of equal interest with
; Napoleon's Life of Caesar" now being repub-
lished in this city, which has had the revision of
half the classical sav0ns of Europe, and for its
author an Emperor who does not scruple to
seize and shape all historical records to suit the
needs of the Napoleonic dynasty.
These two books are now before US, 80 far
as published. Napoleon's first volume is able
and thoughtful in no common degree, and will
probably aim to give us, as it progresses, a
PHILOSOPHY of Imperialism" thinly yelled
under pretence of recording the life of one
julius Caesar, with oil its immediate surround
! ings and remoter consequences while Gree
: 8ley's "American Conflict" might far more cor
rectly be styled philosophy of Popular Insti-
tutions," with full particulars in regard to the
= political controversies of this continent during
Z the past half century. Both are books well
deserving attention: Napoleon, In his first
= volume, reciting with mastery simplicity and
condensation the political and party history of
: the so-called "Consular Republic" in its early
days, to prove that popular institutions have
an empire for their natural elimination and
highest stage of development; while Greeley,
Hooking into human affairs as we see them on
: this continent, with eyes not blinded by per
sonal interest, discovers that popular institu-
( tions in their true sense, are now for the
! first time actually existing among us, and that
+ their grand climacteric can never be achieved
until absolute legal equality shall have been
conceded to all members of the human
family.
The premises on which Napoleon starts are
erroneous, and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS the ad-
mitted subtlety and skill of his argument-all
! his conclusions are more or less vitiated. We
have to-day in this country the first true repub-
! lican or radically democratic government that
! has ever been seen on earth-all the so-called
republics Of Greece having been oligarchies!
4 in which the few controlled and the many were
nothing, or worse than nothing-mere helos
and white slaves of the same race with their
masters. Nor was Rome ever a republic. In
( its early days, it was mere walled city gov
\ erned by kings or mayors who held Office for
1liie. These kings were finally abolished by the
controlling oligarchy Of few families, who
\ formed themselves into Common Council,
called Senators or "Conscrpt Fathers"-the
/ Fifth avenue of the sacred city, doing all the
voting, while the denizens of its Mackerelvlle
Z and Five Points had no political rights. It
was this municipal system under which single
: city made laws for the whole world, and not
a national republic, which the dynasty Of the
Caesars overthrow; and it is to be further re-
marked, that Augustus knowing that history
never repeats itself, wisely avoided return to
+ the old and worn out title of king" but
adopted in its place that of "imperator," or
commander, which was voluntary designation
of respect then given by the Roman soldiers to
their successful generals. Napoleon, therefore,
is wrong in thinking that in the case of Rome,
or any other case of antiquity, popular demo-
cratic republic, such as our own, was ever
merged into an empire; and Greeley is quite
: right in believing that now, for the first time,
we have reached point of enlightenment rem
dering possible and certainly successful gov
equality of all adult males who permanently
> reside within its limits
The two books under notice are, indeed, of q
remarkable character; and, to obtain the full
\ Significance of either, both should be read.
: They are from the pens of remarkable men
3type-men, SO to speak, of their respective
countries, as to-day organized and governed.
: Both, as introductions to the main body of
Z their subject, give us q complete, although
condensed, synopsis or grouping together of
the political and party combinations of the
countries they respectively treat of; while
neither encumbers this portion of his prelmi-
nary narrative by any reference to the acci-
dents of battles or of individual fortunes, save
when such reference may be necessary for the
comprehension of new moral, political or party
revolutions. Looking at both as mere literary
works of art, the palm must be conceded to the
Emperor, whose style is faultless, and who
brings to the evolvement of his peculiar
I theories extensive erudition, the elaborate
polish Of years, and general atmosphere of
thought which has all the semblance of calm
and philosophical reflection; while the outpour-
= ings of the Editor are evidently the hurried
compilations of brief leisure moments in life
Of active political and journalistic labor, and