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the origins of contemporary france-5-第82章

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of Kellermann; Jourdan and Lefebvre; Otto and Tronchet alongside of

Masséna; Augereau; Ney; Lannes; Soult and Davout ; four cardinals side

by side with eighteen marshals; and likewise even down to corporal;

and to Egyptian veterans blinded by ophthalmia on the banks of the

Nile; comprising common soldiers who; through some brilliant

achievement; had won a sword or a gun of honor; as; for instance;

Coignet;'47' who; dashing ahead with fixed bayonet; kills five

Austrian artillerymen and takes their cannon himself alone。 Six years

before this he was a stable…boy on a farm and could neither read nor

write; he is now mentioned among the first of those promoted; a

colleague and almost a comrade of Monge; the inventor of descriptive

geometry; of de Fontanes; grand…master of the university; of marshals;

admirals; and the highest dignitaries; all sharing in common an

inestimable treasure; the legitimate heirs of twelve years'

accumulated glory by the sacrifice of so many heroic lives and all the

more glorified because so few;'48' and because; in these days; a man

did not obtain the cross by twenty years of plodding in a bureau; on

account of routine punctuality; but by wonderful strokes of energy and

audacity; by wounds; by braving death a hundred times and looking it

in the face daily。



Henceforth; legally as well as in public opinion; they form the staff

of the new society; its declared; verified notables; enjoying

precedences and even privi1eges。 On passing along the street the

sentinel presents arms; a company of twenty…five soldiers attends

their funeral procession; in the electoral colleges of the department

or arrondissement they are electors by right and without being

balloted for; simply by virtue of their rank。 Their sons are entitled

to scholarships in La Fléche; at Saint…Cyr; and in the lycées; and

their daughters at Ecouen or Saint…Denis。 With the exception of a

title; as formerly; they lack nothing for filling the place of the old

nobility; and Napoleon re…creates this title for their benefit。 The

title itself of chevalier; count; duke or prince carries along with an

idea of social superiority; when announced in a drawing room; when it

precedes the first sentence of an address; those who are present do

not remain inattentive; an immemorial prejudice inclines them to award

consideration or even deference。 The Revolution tried in vain to

destroy this power of words and of history; Napoleon does better: he

confiscates it; he arrogates to himself the monopoly of it; he steals

the trade…mark from the ancient Régime; he himself creates 48;000

chevaliers; 1000t barons; 388 counts; 31 dukes and 4 princes。

Furthermore; he stamps with his own mark the old nobles whom he

introduces into his nobility: he coins them anew and often with an

inferior title; this or that duke is lowered a notch and becomes

simply a count: taken at par or at a discount the feudal coin must; in

order to pass; receive the imperial stamp which gives it its

recognized value in modern figures。



But; let the old…fashioned metal be what it may; whether gold; silver

or copper; even crude and plebeian; the new coin is of good alloy and

very handsome。 Frequently; like the old currency; it displays coats of

arms in high relief; a heraldic crown and the name of a locality; it

no longer bears the name of territory; and it does not call to mind a

primitive sovereignty。 On the contrary; it bears the name of a victory

or of a conquest and reminds one of recent exploits。 Duc de Montebello

or a Prince de la Moskowa is equivalent in the imagination

contemporaries to a Duc de Montmorency or a Prince de Rohan; for; if

the prince or duke of the empire is without ancestors; he is or will

be an ancestor himself。 To these prizes coveted by vanity Napoleon

tacks on every substantial and pecuniary advantage; in ready money or

landed property; not alone large salaries; adjunctive sénatoreries;

occasional munificent gifts;



* a million at one time to General Lasalle; but likewise vast revenues

from the extraordinary domain'49';

* 32;463;817 francs a year divided amongst 4970 persons;

* pensions from 250 to 5000 francs for all legionaries;

* villas; large estates; private incomes; distinct and superb

endowments for those of the highest rank; a fortune of 100;000 livres

income and more to 34 of these;

* a fortune of 450;000 livres in the public funds to Cambacérès; of

683;000 livres in the public funds to Masséna; of 728;000 livres in

the public funds to Ney; of 910;000 livres in the public funds to

Davout; of 1;354;000 livres in the public funds to Berthier;

* and besides all this; three 〃sovereign principalities;〃 Neufchatel

to Berthier; Benevento to Talleyrand; and Ponte…Corvo to Bernadotte。 …



This last attraction which; in these times of violent and premature

death; is of no little account。 Napoleon opens out hereditary and

undefined prospects beyond the perspectives of life and of inferior

interests。 Each of the titles conferred by him; that of prince; duke;

count; baron; and even that of chevalier; is transmissible in direct

descent; according to primogeniture from father to son; and sometimes

from uncle to nephew; under specified conditions which are very

acceptable; and of which the first is the institution of an

inalienable majority; inattackable; consisting of this or that income

or real property; of bank stock or state securities; from 3000 francs

for common chevaliers up to 200;000 francs for the dukes; that is to

say; a certain fortune in perpetuity due to the sovereign's

liberality; or to the prudence of the founder; and intended to support

the dignity of the title from male to male and from link to link

throughout the future chain of successive inheritors。 Through this

supreme reward; the subtle tempter has a hold on the men who care not

alone for themselves but for their family: henceforth; the work as he

does; eighteen hours a day; stand fire; and say to themselves; while

sinking at their desks or facing cannon…ball that their pre…eminence

survives them in their posterity:



〃In any event my son will succeed me and even become greater by my

death。〃



All the temptations which serve to overcome the natural lethargy of

human matter are simultaneously united and; with the exception of

personal conscience and the desire for personal independence; all

other internal springs are strained to the utmost。 One unusual

circumstance gives to eager ambitions a further increase of energy;

impulse and enthusiasm。 … All these successful or parvenu men are

contemporaries: all have started alike on the same line and from the

same average or low condition in life; each sees old comrades superior

to himself on the upper steps; he considers himself as good they are;

suffers because he is not on their level; and strives and takes risks

so as to mount up to them。 But; however high he mounts; he still sees

higher yet others who were formerly his equals; consequently; no rank

obtained by them seems to him above his deserts; and no rank that he

obtains suffices for his pretensions。



 〃See that Masséna;〃 exclaimed Napoleon;'50' a few days before the

battle of Wagram; 〃he has honors and fame enough; but he is not

satisfied ; he wants be a prince like Murat and Bernadotte: he will

risk getting shot to…morrow simply to be a prince。〃 …



Above these princes who have only the rank; the title and the money;

come the grand…dukes and reigning viceroys like Murat; grand…duke of

Berg; and Eugene; viceroy of Italy。 Above Eugene and Murat are the

vassal…kings; Louis; Joseph; Jerome; then Murat himself; who; among

these; is in a better place; and Bernadotte; the only sovereign that

is independent; all more or less envied by the marshals; all more or

less rivals of each other; the inferior aspiring to the superior

throne; Murat inconsolable at being sent to Naples and not to Spain;

and at having only five millions of subjects instead of thirteen

millions。 From top to bottom of the hierarchy and even to the loftiest

places; comprising thrones; the steps rise regularly above each other

in continuous file; so that each leads to the following one; with

nothing to hinder the first…comer; provided he is lucky; has good legs

and does not fall on the way; from reaching the top of the staircase

in twenty or thirty years。 〃It was commonly reported in the army … he

has been promoted king of Naples; of Holland; of Spain; of Sweden; as

formerly was said of the same sort of man; who had been promoted

sergeant in this or that company。〃 … Such is the total and final

impression which lingers on in all imaginations; it is in this sense

that the people interpret the new Régime; and Napoleon devotes himself

to confirming the popular interpretation。 Accordingly; the first duchy

he creates is for Marshal Lefebvre



〃purposely;〃 as he says;'51' because 〃this marshal had been a private

and everybody in Paris h
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