友情提示:如果本网页打开太慢或显示不完整,请尝试鼠标右键“刷新”本网页!阅读过程发现任何错误请告诉我们,谢谢!! 报告错误
九色书籍 返回本书目录 我的书架 我的书签 TXT全本下载 进入书吧 加入书签

the origins of contemporary france-5-第15章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页,按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页,按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
————未阅读完?加入书签已便下次继续阅读!




considers that he is not sufficiently disguised。  In the inn at

Calade; 〃he starts and changes color at the slightest noise〃; the

commissaries; who repeatedly enter his room; 〃find him always in

tears。〃 〃He wearies them with his anxieties and irresolution〃; he says

that the French government would like to have him assassinated on the

road; refuses to eat for fear of poison; and thinks that he might

escape by jumping out of the window。  And yet he gives vent to his

feelings and lets his tongue run on about himself without stopping;

concerning his past; his character; unreservedly; indelicately;

trivially; like a cynic and one who is half…crazy; his ideas run loose

and crowd each other like the anarchical gatherings of a tumultuous

mob; he does not recover his mastery of them until he reaches Fréjus;

the end of his journey; where he feels himself safe and protected from

any highway assault; then only do they return within ordinary limits

and fall back in regular line under the control of the sovereign

intellect which; after sinking for a time; revives and resumes its

ascendancy。 … There is nothing in him so extraordinary as this almost

perpetual domination of the lucid; calculating reason; his willpower

is still more formidable than his intelligence; before it can obtain

the mastery of others it must be master at home。  To measure its

power; it does not suffice to note its fascinations; to enumerate the

millions of souls it captivates; to estimate the vastness of the

obstacles it overcomes: we must again; and especially; represent to

ourselves the energy and depth of the passions it keeps in check and

urges on like a team of prancing; rearing horses … it is the driver

who; bracing his arms; constantly restrains the almost ungovernable

steeds; who controls their excitement; who regulates their bounds; who

takes advantage even of their viciousness to guide his noisy vehicle

over precipices as it rushes on with thundering speed。  If the pure

ideas of the reasoning brain thus maintain their daily supremacy it is

due to the vital flow which nourishes them; their roots are deep in

his heart and temperament; and those roots which give them their

vigorous sap constitute a primordial instinct more powerful than

intellect; more powerful even than his will; the instinct which leads

him to center everything on himself; in other words egoism。'23'





II。 Will and Egoism。



Bonaparte's dominant passion。 … His lucid; calculating mind。 … Source

and power of the Will。 … Early evidences of an active; absorbing

egoism。 … His education derived from the lessons of things。 … In

Corsica。 … In France during the Revolution。 … In Italy。 … In Egypt。 …

His idea of Society and of Right。 … Maturing after the 18th of

Brumaire。 … His idea of Man。 … It conforms to his character



It is egoism; not a passive; but an active and intrusive egoism;

proportional to the energy and extension of his faculties developed by

his education and circumstances; exaggerated by his success and his

omnipotence to such a degree that a monstrous colossal I has been

erected in society。  It expands unceasingly the circle of a tenacious

and rapacious grasp; which regards all resistance as offensive; which

all independence annoys; and which; on the boundless domain it assigns

to itself; is intolerant of anybody that does not become either an

appendix or a tool。 … The germ of this absorbing personality is

already apparent in the youth and even in the infant。



〃Character: dominating; imperious; and stubborn;〃



 says the record at Brienne。'24'  And the notes of the Military

Academy add;'25'



〃Extremely inclined to egoism;〃 … 〃proud; ambitious; aspiring in all

directions; fond of solitude;〃



undoubtedly because he is not master in a group of equals and is ill

at ease when he cannot rule。



 〃I lived apart from my comrades;〃 he says at a later date。'26' … 〃I

had selected a little corner in the playgrounds; where I used to go

and sit down and indulge my fancies。  When my comrades were disposed

to drive me out of this corner I defended it with all my might 。  My

instinct already told me that my will should prevail against other

wills; and that whatever pleased me ought to belong to me。〃



Referring to his early years under the paternal roof at Corsica; he

depicts himself as a little mischievous savage; rebelling against

every sort of restraint; and without any conscience。'27' 〃 I respected

nothing and feared nobody; I beat one and scratched another; I made

everybody afraid of me。  I beat my brother Joseph; I bit him and

complained of him almost before he knew what he was about。〃 A clever

trick; and one which he was not slow to repeat。  His talent for

improvising useful falsehoods is innate; later on; at maturity; he is

proud of this ; he makes it the index and measure of 〃political

superiority;〃 and 〃delights in calling to mind one of his uncles who;

in his infancy; prognosticated to him that he would govern the world

because he was fond of lying。〃'28'



Remark this observation of the uncles … it sums up the experiences of

a man of his time and of his country; it is what social life in

Corsica inculcated; morals and manners there adapted themselves to

each other through an unfailing connection。  The moral law; indeed; is

such because similar customs prevail in all countries and at all times

where the police is powerless; where justice cannot be obtained; where

public interests are in the hands of whoever can lay hold of them;

where private warfare is pitiless and not repressed; where every man

goes armed; where every sort of weapon is fair; and where

dissimulation; fraud; and trickery; as well as gun or poniard; are

allowed; which was the case in Corsica in the eighteenth century; as

in Italy in the fifteenth century。 … Hence the early impressions of

Bonaparte similar to those of the Borgias and of Macchiavelli; hence;

in his case; that first stratum of half…thought which; later on;

serves as the basis of complete thought; hence; the whole foundation

of his future mental edifice and of the conceptions he subsequently

entertains of human society。  Afterwards; on leaving the French

schools and every time he returns to them and spends any time in them;

the same impressions; often renewed; intensify in his mind the same

final conclusion。  In this country; report the French

commissioners;'29' 〃the people have no idea of principle in the

abstract;〃 nor of social interest or justice。  〃Justice does not

exist; one hundred and thirty assassinations have occurred in ten

years。 。 。 。 The institution of juries has deprived the country of all

the means for punishing crime; never do the strongest proofs; the

clearest evidence; lead a jury composed of men of the same party; or

of the same family as the accused; to convict him; and; if the accused

is of the opposite party; the juries likewise acquit him; so as not to

incur the risk of revenge; slow perhaps but always sure。〃 … 〃Public

spirit is unknown。〃 There is no social body; except any number of

small parties hostile to each other。 。 。 。 One is not a Corsican

without belonging to some family; and consequently attached to some

party; he who would serve none; would be detested by all。 。 。 。 All

the leaders have the same end in view; that of getting money no matter

by what means; and their first care is to surround themselves with

creatures entirely devoted to them and to whom they give all the

offices。 。 。 。 The elections are held under arms; and all with

violence。 。 。 。 The victorious party uses its authority to avenge

itself on their opponents; and multiplies vexations and outrages。 。 。

。 The leaders form aristocratic leagues with each other。 。 。 。 and

mutually tolerate abuses。  They impose no assessment or collection (of

taxes) to curry favor with electors through party spirit and

relationships。 。 。 。 Customs…duties serve simply to compensate friends

and relatives。 。 。 。 Salaries never reach those for whom they are

intended。  The rural districts are uninhabitable for lack of security。

The peasants carry guns even when at the plow。  One cannot take a step

without an escort; a detachment of five or six men is often sent to

carry a letter from one post…office to another。〃



Interpret this general statement by the thousands of facts of which it

is the summary; imagine these little daily occurrences narrated with

all their material accompaniments; and with sympathetic or angry

comments by interested neighbors; and we have the moral lessons taught

to young Bonaparte。'30'  At table; the child has listened to the

conversation of his elders; and at a word uttered; for instance; by

his uncle; or at a physiognomic expression; a sign of approbation; a

shrug of the shoulders; he has divined that the ordinary march of

society is not that of peace but of war; he sees by what ruses one

maintains one's…self; by what acts of violence one makes ones way; by

返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 1
未阅读完?加入书签已便下次继续阅读!
温馨提示: 温看小说的同时发表评论,说出自己的看法和其它小伙伴们分享也不错哦!发表书评还可以获得积分和经验奖励,认真写原创书评 被采纳为精评可以获得大量金币、积分和经验奖励哦!