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the origins of contemporary france-5-第86章

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30;000; of which only 1;200 are in civil careers。 At the présent time;

December 1; 1888 (documents furnished by the records of the Légion

d'honneur); there are 52。915 decorated persons; of which 31;757 are

soldiers and 21;158 civilians。 Under the empire there was in all 1

cross to every 750 Frenchmen; at that time; out of 50 crosses there

were 2 for civil services; while in our day there are nearly 20。 (QUID

informs us that on 30…11…1994 the strength amounted to 207;390

persons。 SR。)



'49' Edmond Blanc; ibid。; 276…299; 325 and 326。 (List of titles of

prince and duke conferred by the emperor; and of gifts of 100;000

francs rental or of above that sum。)



'50' Mathieu Dumas; 〃Mémoires;〃 III。; 363。



'51' Napoleon; 〃Mémoires。〃



'52' Compare with the Brothers Grimm's fairytale: 〃The Fisherman and

his Wife。〃



'53' Thiers; 〃Histoire du Consulat et de l'Empire;〃 V。 III。; p。 210。



'54' Thiers; ibid。;  p。195 (October 1806)。 Napoleon; in one of his

bulletins; had mentioned Murat's cavalry alone; omitting to mention

the infantry of Lannes; which behaved as well。 Lannes; disappointed;

did not dare read this bulletin to his men; and spoke to the emperor

about it。 'What reward can they look for if they don't find their

names published by the hundred…tongued voice of Fame which is under

your control!〃 Napoleon replies: 〃You and your men are children …

glory enough for all! 。 。 。 One of these days your turn will come in

the bulletins of the grand army。〃 Lannes reads this to his troops on

the great square of Stettin and it is received with outbursts of

enthusiasm。



'55' Madame de Rémusat。 III。; 129。



'56' The Revolution;〃 pp。 356…358。 (Laff。 I。 pp。 825…826。) … Marmont;

〃Mémoires;〃 I。 122。 (Letter to his mother; January 12; 1795。) 〃Behold

your son zealously fulfilling his duties; deserving of his country and

serving the republic。 。 。 。 We should not be worthy of liberty if we

did nothing to obtain it。〃



'57' Compare the 〃Journal du sergent Fricasse;〃 and 〃les Cahiers du

capitaine Coignet。〃 Fricasse is a volunteer who enlists in the defence

of the country; Coignet is a conscript ambitious of  distinguishing

himself; and he says to his masters: 〃I promise to come back with the

fusil d'honneur or I shall be dead。〃



'58' Marmont; I。; 186; 282; 296。 (In Italy; 1796。) 〃At this epoch; our

ambition was quite secondary; we were solely concerned about our

duties and amusements。 The frankest and most cordial union existed

amongst us all。 。 。 。 No sentiment of envy; no low passion found room

in our breasts。 (Then) what excitement; what grandeur; what hopes and

what gayety! 。 。 。 Each had a presentiment of an illimitable future

and yet entertained no idea of personal ambition or calculation。〃 …

George Sand; 〃Histoire de ma vie。〃 (Correspondence of her father;

Commander Dupin。) … Stendhal; 〃Vie de Napoléon。〃 〃At this epoch

(1796); nobody in the army had any ambition。 I have known officers to

refuse promotion so as not to quit their regiment or their mistress。



'59' Roederer; III。; 556。 (Burgos; April 9; 1809; conversation with

General Lasalle written down the same evening。) 〃 You pass through

Paris?〃 〃Yes; it's the shortest way。 I shall get there at five in the

morning; I shall order a pair of boots; get my wife with child and

then leave for Germany。〃 … Roederer remarks to him that one risks

one's life and fights for the sake of promotion and to profit by

rising in the world。 〃No; not at all。 One takes pleasure in it。 One

enjoys fighting; it is pleasure enough in itself to fight! You are in

the midst of the uproar; of the action; of the smoke。 And then; on

acquiring reputation you have had the fun of making it。 When you have

got your fortune you know that your wife and children won't suffer。

That is enough。 As for myself; I could die to…morrow。〃 (The details of

this conversation are admirable; no document gives a better idea of

the officer of the epoch。)



'60' Compare with the idea of an ideal Chaver (kibbutznik)。: Melford

E。 Spiro;  wrote 〃Kibbutz。 Venture in Utopia。〃 60 and described how

the Israeli kibbutzim as early as 1917 wanted the ideal kibbutzim to

be:



Loyal to his people

A brother to his fellows

A man of truth

A helpful and dependable brother

A lover of nature

Obedient to the orders of his leaders

Joyful and gay

Economical and generous

A man of courage

Pure in thoughts; words; and deeds  (opposition to drinking; smoking

and sexual relationships)。



'61' Balzac has closely studied and admirably portrayed this type in a

〃Ménage de Gar?on。〃 … See other similar characters in Mérimée (〃Les

Mécontens;〃 and 〃les Espagnols en Danemark〃); in Stendhal (〃le

Chasseur vert〃)。 I knew five or six of them in my youth。



'62' Words of Marshal Marmont: 〃So long as he declared 'Everything for

France;' I served him enthusiastically; when he said; 'France and

myself' I served him zealously; when he said; 'myself and France;' I

served him with devotion。 It is only when he said; 'Myself without

France;' that I left him。〃



'63' An expression found by Joseph de Maistre。



'64' An expression heard by Mickiewicz in his childhood。



'65' These sums are given; the former by Mérimée and the latter by

Sainte… Beuve。



'66' M。 de Champagny 〃Souvenirs;〃 III。; 183。 Napoleon; passing his

marshals in review; said to him (1811): 〃None of them can take my

place in the command of my armies; some are without the talent; and

others would carry on war for their own benefit。 Didn't that burly

Soult want to be king of Portugal?〃 〃Well; sire; war need not be

carried on any longer。〃 〃Yes; but how maintain my army? And I must

have an army。〃



'67' 〃Souvenirs〃; by PASQUIER (Etienne…Dennis; duc); chancelier de

France。 in VI volumes; Librarie Plon;  Paris 1893。 IV。; 112。

(According to the papers of Savary; many of Napoleon's letters and

statements by M。 de Saint…Aignan。)



'68' 〃Mémorial;〃 Aug。26; 1816。



'69'  The driving motor of unlimited capitalism as well; a driving

force only to be tempered by the law and by a desire for social

admiration of different kinds。 (SR。)



'70' 〃Travels in France during the years 1814 and 1815。〃 (Edinburgh;

1816; 2 vols。) … The author; a very good observer; thus sums up the

principle of the system: 〃To give active employment to all men of

talent and enterprise。〃 There is no other condition: 〃Birth;

education; moral character were completely set aside。〃 … Hence the

general defect of the system。 〃The French have literally no idea of

any duties which they must voluntarily; without the prospect of

reward; undertake for their country。 It never enters their heads that

a man may be responsible for the neglect of those public duties for

the performance of which he receives no regular salary。〃







BOOK FOURTH。 Defect and Effects of the System。



CHAPTER I。 Local Society。





I。 Human Incentives。



The two Stimuli of human action。 … The egoistic instinct and the

social instinct。 … Motives for not weakening the social instinct。 …

Influence on society of the law it prescribes。 … The clauses of a

statute depend on the legislator who adopts or imposes them。 …

Conditions of a good statute。 … It favors the social instinct。 …

Different for different societies。 … Determined by the peculiar and

permanent traits of the society it governs。 … Capital defect of the

statute under the new régime。



So long as a man takes an interest only in himself; in his own

fortune; in his own advancement; in his own success; his interests are

trivial: all that is; like himself; of little importance and of short

duration。 Alongside of the small boat which he steers so carefully

there are thousands and millions of others of like it; none of them

are worth much; and his own is not worth more。 However well he may

have provisioned and sailed it; it will always remain what it is;

slight and fragile; in vain will he hoist his flags; decorate it; and

shove ahead to get the first place; in three steps he has reached its

length。 However well he handles and maintains it; in a few years it

leaks; sooner or later it crumbles and sinks; and with it goes all his

effort。 Is it reasonable to work so hard for this; and is so slight an

object worth so great an effort?



Fortunately; man has; for a better placement of his effort; other

aims; more vast and more substantial: a family; a commune; a church; a

country; all the associations of which he is or becomes a member; all

the collective undertakings in behalf of science; education; and

charity; of local or general utility; most of them provided with legal

statutes and organized as corporations or even as a legal entity。 They

are as well defined and protected as he is; but more precious and more

viable: for they are of service to a large number of men and last for

ever。 Some; even; have a secular history; and their age predicts their

longevity。 In th
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