by Emil Ludwig
By no means all among the millions who have voted for him are his whole-hearted adherents. Even in Paris, when he makes a triumphal entry into the Luxembourg, there is so little public applause that he says afterwards to his Minister of Police :
" Why did you not work up opinion beforehand ? "
Said Fouche : " We are still the children of the-ancient Gauls, of whom it was said that they could neither endure liberty nor tolerate oppression."
" What do you mean ? "
" I mean, Citizen Consul, that, in your last steps, the Parisians fancy they see the loss of liberty, and a tendency towards absolutism."
A Bloodhound
" I should not care to rule for six weeks, if I had but the shadow of power, and could not be master! "
" You have only to be humane, strong, and just, at one and the same time," rejoins the fox (who never showed any of these qualities himself), " and soon you will win all hearts once again."
" Public opinion is capricious. I shall know how to mend it," said Bonaparte, turning his back on his interlocutor.
A two-minutes' talk like this, and Napoleon has made up his mind. He dismisses Fouche, but not because he is afraid of the ex-cleric (whom he despises, rather). He abolishes the Ministry of Police, and transfers its functions to the Ministry of Justice, " for I wish to show Europe that my policy is peaceful, and that the French love me sincerely." We must get used to such phrase-mongering, in which he cloaks his policy. To keep Fouche quiet, he makes the ex-minister a senator. When, on leaving office, Fouche discloses to the Consul a reserve fund of two and a half million francs, Bonaparte is amazed, and tells him to keep half the sum " as a token of personal regard." In the anteroom, the departing Fouche grins over his mental arithmetic, adding the undisclosed residue of the reserve to the amount of the First Consul's gift.
Such are Bonaparte's methods with a dangerous man who knows too much. As for public opinion, he can take his measures to get that on his side. It is because he is determined not to be indebted to any party or any individual, that he demands a popular ratification of his appointment as Consul for life, just as he had asked for popular approval after the coup d'etat. The result gives him assurance that the revolution is over. " This consultation of the people has a twofold advantage. Besides confirming the prolongation of the consular term, it throws light on the sources of my power, which otherwise might have seemed ambiguous." The phrasing shows that he is aware of his dangerous position betwixt revolution and
The Fiction of Democracy
legitimacy. To the very last, he will be worried by this problem.
Like a Roman imperator, Bonaparte wishes to concentrate all the powers of State in his own hands ; but whereas the Roman's title to power was the commandership of the armies, Napoleon is" supreme because of his supreme efficiency. That is why he bases his power, not upon the army, which loves him, but upon the people, to which he is hostile. He wants to be " tyrant," in the classical sense of the term ; but he wishes to be tyrant on a democratic footing, as the outcome of a free popular decision. The people, the source of power, is to transfer power to Napoleon. None knows better than he the weakness of any such fiction, but it is imposed on him by the spirit of the age. After all, Bonaparte can fearlessly quote in his own favour the revolutionary principle that power must go to talent instead of to birth, for where can a more talented man than himself be found ? But instead of contenting himself with talent as the source of his power (the talent that has brought him victory in war and in peace, the talent that has enabled him to grasp the reins), he muddies this splendid source by a popular vote, feels morally compelled to do so, and even fancies that he is clarifying the waters by his action. If Bonaparte saves the revolution, he certainly kills the republic.
These ideas are not the outcome of calculating policy, but of the mood which seeks its stimulus in classical life. It is the same mood as that which draws him towards the East; the same mood as that which, on the day of the coup d'etat, led him to make a fool of himself before the Councils. " Your place is among the men of Plutarch," said the first who really understood Bonaparte in early youth. The Consul was not a democrat in the sense that he believed in popular sovereignty. What he lacked was such days as those of classical antiquity, when genius did not need to entrench itself behind representative assemblies, but held sway on its own initiative ; or Asia, where, even in modern times, there are monarchs in the literal sense. In his work-room
Letter to Louis of Bourbon
at Saint-Cloud there are two busts, Scipio's and that of Hannibal. No other position than that of Roman emperor or that of caliph was suited to his temperament.
Immediately after the coup d'etat, the Bourbons, with a childlike frankness, had made advances to him. The brother of the executed king, now Count of Provence, and in future days to reign as Louis XVIII, asked the son of the revolution to help him to the throne. The demand was thrice repeated, and a handsome reward was offered. The Consul made no answer to the first two applications. To the third he replied as follows :
" Sir, I have received your letter, and thank you for what you are so kind as to say about myself. You cannot seriously wish to come back, for your return would cost a hundred thousand lives. You must sacrifice your personal interests to the peace and happiness of France, and history will thank you for the sacrifice. I am not insensitive to the misfortunes of your family ... I shall be happy to do all in my power to contribute to the welfare and tranquillity of your retirement. Bonaparte."
Very different is Napoleon's reception of the Vendee royalists, for he hopes to win them over to his side. At first they fail to understand him when, after a long time of waiting, the man of destiny, wearing his old green coat, and with untidy hair, makes advances to them.
" Come over to my side. Mine will be the government of youth and enthusiasm ! . . . You struck shrewd blows for your princes. . . . But your princes have by no means covered themselves with glory. Why were they not in Vendee to lead the fight ? Was not that their place ? "
" They were kept in London by political considerations," answered the nobles.
" They should have crossed the Channel in the first fishing smack they could get hold of," he answered passionately, and, so the report runs, " in a voice that seemed to come from the depths of his stomach." Yes, my fine noblemen, from the depths
Napoleon and the Royalists
of his stomach!. The phrase carries with it the implications of an incident in universal history which was still recent, still vivid in Napoleon's memory. That was the tone proper to the bold adventurer who. in a tiny frigate, had made his way across the storm-tost Mediterranean, through the enemy fleet, to reach the coast where power was his for the seizing. Hear how he mingles flattery and threats, the young wizard who has turned the whole continent upside down !
" What would you like to be ? General or prefect ? You and yours can have whatever you please, if you will come over to my side. Nothing ? Would you think it a disgrace to wear the coat that Bonaparte wears? . . .Unless you will make peace, I will march against you with a hundred thousand men, and burn your towns to ashes ! "
" If you do," answers the count firmly, " we shall annihilate your columns."
" You dare to threaten me ? " he exclaims—this time " with a terrible voice," But upon receiving a matter-of-fact answer, he is calm once more. The noble emissaries retire in disgust, having achieved nothing, having been perplexed by his foreign accent, and by the impetuous imagination, which leads him to complicate the issues to such an extent that it is often hard to follow his meaning.
None the less, the Consul induces a great many of the emigres to return, disarming their hostility by making suitable provision for them. Forty thousand families promptly come back. At the same time, he negotiates with the Jacobins, although these, " with their metaphysics, are enough to ruin twenty governments." He feels sure of the support of those who follow the middle courses of democracy, for the democratic masses feel safe under his rule, now that
Paris is no longer a sort of civilian camp, and now that (a benevolent despot) he is doing all in his power to bring better times. Consider these instructions issued to various authorities :
" If the cold should be sharp, as it was in 1789, you must
In Favour of the Working Classes
have fires kept alight in the churches and market-places, so that as many people as possible can warm themselves."—" The winter is very severe, meat is dear, we must provide work in Paris. Get on with the cutting of the Ourcq canal, with the construction of the Quai Desaix, with the paving of the back streets."—" The law directs that all beggars shall be laid by the heels. Were we to do nothing more than this, our conduct would be barbarous and absurd. Arrest them, certainly, that you may give them work and food. We must have several homes of refuge in every department."—" There are a great many out-of-work shoemakers, hatters, tailors, and saddlers. See to it that five hundred pairs of shoes are made every day." He writes to the Minister for War saying that special orders for supplies for the artillery are to be issued. To the Minister for Home Affairs : " We must provide work, especially this month before the holidays. Issue an order that in May and June two thousand of the Saint Antoine workmen are to supply chairs, chests of drawers, armchairs, etc. . . . Send me your proposals to-morrow, so that a beginning may be made promptly."
He reads a by-law that no one wearing a workman's blouse is to walk through the Tuileries garden. Instantly he has the regulation cancelled, and gives express permission for such people to go through. He learns of a proposal to close the public reading-rooms : " I won't allow anything of the kind. I have not forgotten my own experience, how useful it was to know of a well-warmed room where I could read the newspapers and recent pamphlets. I will not allow others who are as poor as I was then to be robbed of these comforts." In the Theatre Francais, the stalls are to be very cheap on Sundays, " so that the people may enjoy the performance." There are to be no gambling hells in France: " They bring families to ruin, and I should set a bad example were I to tolerate them."
By his new education law, he establishes public elementary schools, middle schools, lycees, and technical colleges,
The Legion of Honour
through-out the country. There are to be six thousand free scholarships, and a third of these are to be reserved for the sons of specially deserving persons. Within three years, there are 4,500 elementary schools, 750 middle schools, and 45 lycees. He honours the Institute by choosing a third of his first senators from among its members. The Ministry for Home Affairs is instructed to draw up lists " of the ten best painters, sculptors, composers, musicians, architects, and other artists whose talents make them worthy of support." He orders great frescoes to be painted, which shall depict striking incidents in his battles. He gives his reasons for this State regulation of art, saying: " People complain that we have no literature. That is the fault of the Minister for Home Affairs ! "
But if he tranquillises persons of all occupations by bringing them prosperity, what opening will be left, in this nation of the ambitious, for the pursuit of fame ? If there is to be no war and no court life, where will the French find an outlet for their vanity ? He answers this question by founding the Legion of Honour.
The Legion will form a group of stalwart supporters, for Those who have taken a solemn oath to resist any attempt at the restoration of the feudalist regime will not be so likely to side against Bonaparte. Besides, it is not to be merely an officers' club, inasmuch as the aim is to provide distinctions for all who do good service. He therefore appoints a natural philosopher to the office of arch-chancellor; and when, in the Council of State, a warning reference is made to the kinship between these orders of distinction and the abuses which have been swept away, he answers with perfect seriousness :
" I doubt if there has ever been a republic without such distinctions. You declare that they are toys for children. Well, grown men are led by toys. I would not say that from a rostrum, but in a council of sages and statesmen I can speak my mind. I do not think that the French love liberty and equality; they have not been changed by ten years of revolution ; they are what the
An Attempt on His Life
Gauls were, fierce and fickle. They are accessible to only one sentiment, the love of honour. That is why we must have distinctions. . . . Soldiers must be allured by fame and pay. . . . Here is a new kind of money assessed at a different valuation from current coin. Its source is inexhaustible. With no other kind of money, is it possible to reward actions which are so sublime that they cannot be valued in current coin." In these notable words, we hear the rippling of the three fountains of his soul: contempt for mankind, understanding of the masses, and the critical aloofness of the foreigner who has chosen a new fatherland.
IV
On Christmas Eve, 1800, the Consul was driving to the opera. Josephine and her daughter were following in another carriage. In a narrow street an empty cart partially blocked the way, and caused a halt. The cart was pushed aside, and the coachman whipped up his horses. The instant after the carriage had passed, an infernal machine hidden in the cart exploded. About twenty persons were killed, but no one in either Napoleon's or Josephine's carriage was hurt. On reaching the opera, Napoleon went straight to his box. When his wife arrived, he said calmly: " Josephine, those rascals wanted to blow me up; send for a copy of the music." Outwardly unmoved, he listened to the performance of Haydn's recent work, Creation.
Ordinarily, good music made him forget all his schemes; but this evening his brain was busily at work, pondering the causes and foreseeing the consequences of the attempt on his life. It mattered little who " the rascals " were, revolutionaries of the left or revolutionaries of the right. He knew well enough that he had plenty of enemies on both sides. The question was, whether it would suit him best to assume that his would-be assassins belonged to the right or to the left. His mind was soon made up on this point. Had the attempt been successful, the
Political Consequences
consequences for France would have been immeasurably great. Well, the consequences of the unsuccessful attempt should be no less momentous. It was a lucky chance, and he would make it solve the problem of personal power.
Next morning, when people came to offer congratulations on his escape, and when all were agreed in the opinion that the outrage must have been planned by the royalists, with assumed heat Napoleon declared they were absolutely mistaken. " This was the work of Septembrists, intellectuals, the non-commissioned officers of the revolution—persons with a bolder imagination and more culture than the masses, but in close touch with them, and always ready to spur on the workers ! " When, in the Council of State, a proposal was made to institute special proceedings, Bonaparte objected on the ground that the method would be too slow. His speech was impassioned:
" Either we must do nothing at all, and, like Augustus, forgive the sinners; or else we must act promptly, take far-reaching steps which will guarantee social order once for all. . . No ordinary criminal procedure will suffice; this is a matter for statesmanship. . . . Blood must flow. As many of the guilty must be shot as there perished innocent persons in the streets. Two hundred of these raging wolves must be seized and transported. They are always watching and waiting for their prey. All our troubles are due to these metaphysicians ! "
Old Tronchet shakes his head. The attempt had been the work of emigres and Englishmen.
" Are you proposing that I should transport noblemen or priests ? " asked Napoleon angrily. " Vendee is quiet, and I do not want to banish the servants of the most widely spread religion in the world. I shall have to dismiss all the members of the Council of State, for, with two or three exceptions, every one of you believes in this fable of a royalist plot. . . . Do you think me a child ? Am I to say that the country is in danger ? Has France ever been in better case since the revolution, the army more victorious, the country more peaceful ? A pretty
Dictatorship
thing that men who have never been among the tru
e friends of liberty, should now display so much concern for liberty ! Do not think to excuse yourselves by saying : ' I defended the patriots in the Council of State.' That might go down in a drawing-room, but it will not go down here, among the most enlightened men in France! " He abruptly closes the sitting. Do the councillors understand his drift ?
These alarums and excursions are not the outcome of any sense of personal danger, for if that were his motive, if his own alarmed will-to-live were at work, he would seek out the real offenders as object for vengeance. The whole scene was statecraft. Whom can we frighten here at home ? Whom can we pacify across the frontier ? That is what the Consul is asking himself. Those are the considerations that guide his actions. Of course, there is a personal motive as well. He thinks that his own safety can best be guarded by draconian measures. " I did not sleep well o' nights," he said at a later date, " until I had had these leaders of the great towns sent across the seas. I was not afraid of the sort of conspirator who gets up at nine o'clock in the morning and puts on a clean shirt ! "
At the same time, he is infuriated by an anonymous pamphlet, " Csesar, Cromwell, and Bonaparte," in which the writer advocates the establishment of a hereditary monarchy. Who is daring to disclose his own secret thoughts, even though the indiscreet pamphleteer is a sympathiser ? When one of his confidants says that the only thing wrong with the pamphlet is that the disclosure is premature, Bonaparte lets the observation pass. But these two attempts, the attack on his body and the attack on his mind, have terrible consequences as far as freedom is concerned. The Tribunate and the Chambers are purged of a fifth of their numbers, Constant, Chenier, and other noted democrats being excluded; sixty-one out of seventy-three newspapers are suppressed; pamphlets and plays are subjected to a censorship. When the Council of State
