"Self-respect is one thing, and presumption another. Without the former, no man ever became a good officer; under the influence of the latter, generals have committed great faults. The former is the necessary result of knowledge; the latter of ignorance. A man acquainted with his duty can rarely be placed in circumstances new, surprising, or embarrassing; a man ignorant of his duty will always find himself constrained to _guess_, and not knowing how to be right by _system_, will often be wrong by _chance_." "These remarks are neither made nor offered as applying exclusively to the science of war. They apply to all other sciences; but in these, errors are comparatively harmless. A naturalist may amuse himself and the public with false and fanciful theories of the earth; and a metaphysician may reason very badly on the relations and forms of matter and spirit, without any ill effect but to make themselves ridiculous. Their blunders but make us merry; they neither pick pockets, nor break legs, nor destroy lives; while those of a general bring after them evils the most compounded and mischievous,--the slaughter of an army--the devastation of a state--the ruin of an empire!" "In proportion as ignorance may be calamitous, the reasons for acquiring instruction are multiplied and strengthened. Are you an _honest_ man? You will spare neither labor nor sacrifice to gain a competent knowledge of your duty. Are you a man of _honor_? You will be careful to avoid self-reproach. Does your bosom glow with the holy fervor of _patriotism_? You will so accomplish yourself as to avoid bringing down upon your country either insult or injury." "Nor are the more selfish impulses without a similar tendency. Has _hunger_ made you a soldier? Will you not take care of your bread! Is _vanity_ your principle of action? Will you not guard those mighty blessings, your epaulets and feathers! Are you impelled by a love of _glory_ or a love of _power_? And can you forget that these coy mistresses are only to be won by intelligence and good conduct?" "But the _means_ of instruction, say you, where are they to be found? Our standing army is but a bad and ill-organized militia, and our militia not better than a mob. Nor have the defects in these been supplied by Lycees, Prytanees, and Polytechnic schools. The morbid patriotism of some, and the false economy of others, have nearly obliterated every thing like military knowledge among us." "This, reader, is but one motive the more for reinstating it. Thanks to the noble art of printing! you still have _books_ which, if _studied_, will teach the art of war." "_Books_! And what are they but the dreams of pedants? They may make a Mack, but have they ever made a Xenophon, a Caesar, a Saxe, a Frederick, or a Bonaparte? Who would not laugh to hear the cobbler of Athens lecturing Hannibal on the art of war?"