The collected works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 03 (of 12)Hazlitt, William
General
The collected works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 03 (of 12)
Hazlitt, William
English essays -- 19th century
improve this principle of ricketty admiration to Eastern perfection,
where every changeling is held sacred, and that which is the disgrace of
human intellect is hailed as the image of the Divinity!
It is said that in France the old royalists and the revolutionary
republicans are agreed in the same point. Bonaparte is the point of
union between these opposite extremes, the common object of their hate
and fear. I can conceive this very possible from what I have observed
among ourselves. He has certainly done a great deal to mortify the pride
of birth in the one, and the vanity of personal talents in the others.
This is a very sufficient ground of private pique and resentment, but
not of national calamity or eternal war. I am, Sir, your humble servant,
EICONOCLASTES SATYRANE.
THE BOURBONS AND BONAPARTE
_Dec. 6, 1813._
The following paragraph in a daily paper is equally worthy of notice for
magnificence of expression and magnanimity of sentiment:—
‘When or under what circumstances the great Commander may think fit to
carry his forces against the large military or commercial depôts of the
south of France, we do not pretend to form conjectures. We are
confident, that as nothing will disturb the calm and meditative prudence
of his plans, so nothing will arrest the rapidity of their execution. We
trust alike in his caution and in his resolution: but, perhaps, there
may be in store for him a higher destination than the capture of a town
or the reduction of a province. What if the army opposed to him should
resolve to avenge the cause of humanity, and to exchange the bloody and
brutal tyranny of a Bonaparte for the mild paternal sway of a Bourbon?
Could a popular French general open to himself a more glorious career at
the present moment, than that which Providence seemed to have destined
to the virtuous Moreau? Or is it possible that any power now existing in
France could stop such a general and such an army, supported by the
unconquered Wellington and his formidable legions, if they were to
resolve boldly to march to Paris, and bring the usurper to the block!
Every disposable soldier in France is on the Adour, or on the Rhine. In
the case we are supposing, there would be no enemy to encounter, unless
the northern frontier were at once denuded of troops, and the road to
Paris on that side laid open to the allies. This is no question of the
attachment of the French nation to one dynasty or to another: it is a
question of military enterprise, in the minds of military adventurers.
The simple possibility, not to say the high moral probability, that in a
moment of general defection, an army which has so much in its hands may
run with the stream of popular feeling throughout Europe, is enough to
make the tyrant tremble on his throne. Lord Wellington is doubtless
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account