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there given: 〃Oh。 Napoleon;〃 said Paoli to me; 〃you do not belong to
this century; you talk like one of Plutarch's characters。 Courage;
you will take flight yet!〃
'4' De Ségur; 〃Histoire et Mémoires;〃 I。; 150。 (Narrative by
Pontécoulant; member of the committee in the war; June; 1795。) 〃Boissy
d'Anglas told him that he had seen the evening before a little
Italian; pale; slender; and puny; but singularly audacious in his
views and in the vigor of his expressions。 … The next day; Bonaparte
calls on Pontécou1ant; 〃Attitude rigid through a morbid pride; poor
exterior; long visage; hollow and bronzed。 。 。 。 He is just from
the army and talks like one who knows what he is talking about。〃
'5' Coston; 〃Biographie des premières années de Napoléon Buonaparte;〃
2 vols。 (1840); passim。 … Yung; 〃 Bonaparte et son Temps;〃 I。; 300;
302。 (Pièces généalogiques。) … King Joseph; 〃Mémoires;〃 I。; 109; 111。
(On the various branches and distinguished men of the Bonaparte
family。) … Miot de Melito; 〃Mémoires;〃 II。; 30。 (Documents on the
Bonaparte family; collected on the spot by the author in 1801。)
'6' 〃Mémorial;〃 May 6; 1816。 … Miot de Melito; II。; 30。 (On the
Bonapartes of San Miniato): 〃The last offshoot of this branch was a
canon then still living in this same town of San Miniato; and visited
by Bonaparte in the year IV; when he came to Florence。〃
'7' 〃Correspondance de l'Empereur Napoléon I。〃 (Letter of Bonaparte;
Sept。29; 1797; in relation to Italy): 〃A people at bottom inimical to
the French through the prejudices; character; and customs of
centuries。〃
'8' Miot de Melito; I。; 126; (1796): 〃Florence; for two centuries and
a half; had lost that antique energy which; in the stormy times of the
Republic; distinguished this city。 Indolence was the dominant spirit
of all classes。 。 。 Almost everywhere I saw only men lulled to
rest by the charms of the most exquisite climate; occupied solely with
the details of a monotonous existence; and tranquilly vegetating under
its beneficent sky。〃 … (On Milan; in 1796; cf。 Stendhal;
introduction to the 〃Chartreuse de Parme。〃)
'9' 〃Miot de Melito; I。; 131: 〃Having just left one of the most
civilized cities in Italy; it was not without some emotion that I
found myself suddenly transported to a country (Corsica) which; in its
savage aspect; its rugged mountains; and its inhabitants uniformly
dressed in coarse brown cloth; contrasted so strongly with the rich
and smiling landscape of Tuscany; and with the comfort; I should
almost say elegance; of costume worn by the happy cultivators of that
fertile soil。〃
'10' Miot de Melito; II。; 30: 〃Of a not very important family of
Sartène。〃 … II。; 143。 (On the canton of Sartène and the Vendettas of
1796)。 … Coston; I。; 4: 〃The family of Madame Laetitia; sprung from
the counts of Cotalto; came originally from Italy。〃
'11' His father; Charles Bonaparte; weak and even frivolous; 〃too fond
of pleasure to care about his children;〃 and to see to his affairs;
tolerably learned and an indifferent head of a family; died at the age
of thirty…nine of a cancer in the stomach; which seems to be the only
bequest he made to his son Napoleon。 … His mother; on the contrary;
serious; authoritative; the true head of a family; was; said Napoleon;
〃hard in her affections she punished and rewarded without
distinction; good or bad; she made us all feel it。〃 … On becoming head
of the household; 〃she was too parsimonious…even ridiculously so。
This was due to excess of foresight on her part; she had known want;
and her terrible sufferings were never out of her mind。 。 。 。
Paoli had tried persuasion with her before resorting to force。 。 。
。 Madame replied heroically; as a Cornelia would have done。 。 。 。
From 12 to 15;000 peasants poured down from the mountains of Ajaccio;
our house was pillaged and burnt; our vines destroyed; and our flocks。
。 。 。 In other respects; this woman; from whom it would have been
so difficult to extract five francs; would have given up everything to
secure my return from Elba; and after Waterloo she offered me all she
possessed to restore my affairs。〃 (〃 Mémorial;〃 May 29; 1816; and
〃Mémoires d'Antonomarchi;〃 Nov。 18; 1819。 … On the ideas and ways
of Bonaparte's mother; read her 〃Conversation〃 in 〃Journal et
Mémoires;〃 vol。 IV。; by Stanislas Girardin。) Duchesse d'Abrantès; 〃
Mémoires;〃 II。; 318; 369。 〃Avaricious out of all reason except on a
few grave occasions。 。 。 。 No knowledge whatever of the usages of
society。 。 。 。 very ignorant; not alone of our literature; but of
her own。〃 … Stendhal; 〃Vie de Napoleon〃: 〃The character of her son is
to be explained by the perfectly Italian character of Madame
Laetitia。〃
'12' The French conquest is effected by armed force between July 30;
1768; and May 22; 1769。 The Bonaparte family submitted May 23; 1769;
and Napoleon was born on the following 15th of August。
'13' Antonomarchi; 〃Mémoires;〃 October 4; 1819。 〃Mémorial;〃 May 29;
1816。
'14' Miot de Melito; II。; 33: 〃The day I arrived at Bocognano two men
lost their lives through private vengeance。 About eight years before
this one of the inhabitants of the canton had killed a neighbor; the
father of two children。 。 。 。 On reaching the age of sixteen or
seventeen years these children left the country in order to dog the
steps of the murderer; who kept on the watch; not daring to go far
from his village。 。 。 。 Finding him playing cards under a tree;
they fired at and killed him; and besides this accidentally shot
another man who was asleep a few paces off。 The relatives on both
sides pronounced the act justifiable and according to rule。〃 Ibid。;
I。; 143: 〃On reaching Bastia from Ajaccio the two principal families
of the place; the Peraldi and the Visuldi; fired at each other; in
disputing over the honor of entertaining me。
'15' Bourrienne;〃 Mémoires;〃 I。; 18; 19。
'16' De Ségur; 〃Histoire et Mémoires;〃 I;; 74。
'17' Yung; I。; 195。 (Letter of Bonaparte to Paoli; June 12; 1789);
I。; 250 (Letter of Bonaparte to Buttafuoco; January 23 1790)。
'18' Yung; I。; 107 (Letter of Napoleon to his father; Sept。 12;
1784); I。; 163 (Letter of Napoleon to Abbé Raynal; July; 1786); I。;
197 (Letter of Napoleon to Paoli; June 12; 1789)。 The three letters
on the history of Corsica are dedicated to Abbé Raynal in a letter of
June 24; 1790; and may be found in Yung; I。; 434。
'19' Read especially his essay 〃On the Truths and Sentiments most
important to inculcate on Men for their Welfare〃 (a subject proposed
by the Academy of Lyons in 1790)。 Some bold men driven by genius。 。
。 。 Perfection grows out of reason as fruit out of a tree。 。 。 。
Reason's eyes guard man from the precipice of the passions。 。 。
The spectacle of the strength of virtue was what the Lacedaemonians
principally felt。 。 。 。 Must men then be lucky in the means by
which they are led on to happiness? 。 。 。 。 My rights (to
property) are renewed along with my transpiration; circulate in my
blood; are written on my nerves; on my heart。 。 。 。 Proclaim to
the rich …your wealth is your misfortune; withdrawn within the
latitude of your senses。 。 。 。 Let the enemies of nature at thy
voice keep silence and swallow their rabid serpents' tongues。 。 。 。
The wretched shun the society of men; the tapestry of gayety turns to
mourning。 。 。 。 Such; gentlemen; are the Sentiments which; in
animal relations; mankind should have taught it for its welfare。〃
'20' Yung; I。; 252 (Letter to Buttafuoco)。 〃Dripping with the blood
of his brethren; sullied by every species of crime; he presents
himself with confidence under his vest of a general; the sole reward
of his criminalities。〃 … I。; 192 (Letter to the Corsican Intendant;
April 2; 1879)。 〃Cultivation is what ruins us〃 … See various
manuscript letters; copied by Yung; for innumerable and gross mistakes
in French。 … Miot de Melito; I。; 84 (July; 1796)。 〃He spoke curtly
and; at this time; very incorrectly。〃 … Madame de Rémusat; I。; 104。
〃Whatever language he spoke it never seemed familiar to him; he
appeared to force himself in expressing his ideas。〃… Notes par le
Comte Chaptal (unpublished); councillor of state and afterwards
minister of the interior under the Consulate: 〃At this time; Bonaparte
did not blush at the slight knowledge of administrative details which
he possessed; he asked a good many questions and demanded definitions
and the meaning of the commonest words in use。 As it very often
happened with him not to clearly comprehend words which he heard for
the first time; he always repeated these afterwards as he understood
them; for example; he constantly used section for session; armistice
for amnesty; fulminating point for culminating point; rentes voyagères
for 'rentes viagères;' etc。〃
'21' De Ségur; I。; 174
'22' C