The copper era., 1908-05-28
Napoleon BOnaparte on the Founder of
 Christianity.

Him and whoever else in the world, there is no possible team of cOmpari- son. His ideas and His sentiments, the truths which He announces, His manner of convincing, are not ex- plained either by human organization or by the nature of things.
 His birth,, and the history of His life; the profundity of His doctrine which grapples the mightiest difficult ties and which is of those difficulties the most admirable solution; His Gospel, His apparition, His empire, His march across the ages and the realms-everything is for me prodigy, mystery insoluble, which plunges me into revelries which I cannot escape, a mystery which is there before my eyes, a mystery which I can neither deny nor ex- plain. Here I see nothing human.
 The nearer l approach, the more carefully I examine everything is above me, everything remains grand, of a grandeur which overpewers. His religion is a revelation from ID intelligence which is certainly not that of man. There is there pro- found originality which has created series of words and of maxims be- fore unknown. Jesus borrowed noth- ing from our science. One can ab- solutely find nowhere but in Him alone the imitation or the example of His life. He is not a philosopher, since He advances by miracles: and from the commencement, His dis ciples worshipped Him.
 In fact, the sciences and philosophy avail nothing for salvation; and Jesus came into the world to reveal the mysteries of Heaven, and the laws of the Spirit. Also He has nothing to do but with the soul, and to that alone He brings His Gospel. The soul is sufficient for Him, as He is sufficient for the soul. Before Him the soul was nothing: matter and time were the masters of the world. At His voice, everything returns to order; science and philosophy become secondary. The soul has recognized its sovereignty. All the scholastic scaffolding falls, as an edefce ruined, before one single word-faith
 What a Master and what a Word. which can effect such a revolution. With what authority does He teach men to pray! He imposes His belief, and no one thus far has been able to contradict Him,-first, because the Gospel contains the purest morality: and also because the doctrine which it contains of obscurity is only the proclamation and the truth of that which exists where no eye can see and no reason can penetrate. Who is the insenate who will say "No" to the intrepid voyager who recounts the marvels of the icy peaks which he alone has had the boldness to visit. Christ is that bold voyager. One can doubtless remain incredulous; but no one can venture to say ''is it not so."
 You speak ot Ceasar, of Alexan- der, of their conquests, and of the enthusiasm which they kindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of dead man making con quests with an army faithful and en- tirely devoted to his memory? My armies have forgotten me, even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal Such is our power! A single battle lost crusbes us, and diversity scatters our friends.
 Can you conceive of Caesar as the eternal emperor of the Roman sen ate, and, from the depth of his mausoleum, governing the empire, watching over the destinies of Rome? Such is the history of the invasion and conquest of the world by Chris tianity; such is the power of. the God of the Christians; and such is the perpetual miracle of the progress of the faith and of the government f His Church. Nations pass away, thrones crumble, but the Church re- mains. What is, then, the power which has protected this Church, thus assailed by the furious pillows of rage and the hostility of ages? Whose is the arm which for eighteen hundred years has protected the Church from so many storms which have threat ened to engulf it?
 Alexander, Caesar, Charlemange and myself founded empires; but on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ alone founded His empire upon love, and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.
 In every other existence but that of Christ, how many impertections! Where is the character which has not yielded, vanQuished by obstacles? Where is the individual who has never been governed by circum- stances or places, who has never sue cumbed to the influences of the