comte de Emmanuel-Auguste-Dieudonné Las Cases

“ They have carried on such fine intrigues for these six months!... But I will not be the King of a Jacquerie. If there are any means of governing with a Constitution, well and good..... I wished for the empire of the world; and, to insure it, unlimited power was necessary to me. To govern France only, a Constitution may be better.... I wished for the empire of the world, and who in my situation would not have wished for it? The world invited me to govern it: sovereigns and subjects vied with each other in hastening beneath my sceptre. I have rarely found any opposition in France ”

“ During the meeting at Bayonne, Ferdinand’s former preceptor and his principal counsellor (Escoiquiz) at once perceiving the vast projects entertained by the Emperor, and pleading the cause of his master, said to him: "You wish to create for yourself a kind of Herculean labour, when you have but child’s play in hand. You wish to rid yourselves of the Bourbons of Spain; why should you be apprehensive of them? They have ceased to exist; they are no longer French. You have nothing to fear from them; they are altogether aliens with respect to your nation and your manners. ”

“ Never had he witnessed ill-humour in either the one or the other: to please him had been the constant object with both of them.
Some one ventured to observe, however, that Maria-Louisa had boasted that, whenever she desired any thing, no matter how difficult, she had only to weep. The Emperor laughed, and said, this was new to him. He might have suspected it of Josephine, but he had no idea of it in Maria-Louisa. And then, addressing himself to Mesdames Bertrand and Montholon: “Thus it is with you all, ladies,” said he: “in some points you all agree.” ”

“ Did they still dread my ambition, my conquests, my universal monarchy? But my power and my resources were no longer the same; and, besides, I had only defeated and conquered in my own defence: this is a truth which time will more fully develop every day. Europe never ceased to make war upon France, her principles, and me; and we were compelled to destroy, to save ourselves from destruction. The coalition always existed openly or secretly, avowed or denied; it was permanent; it only rested with the Allies to give us peace; for ourselves, we were worn out ”

“ They are wrong, for instance,” said Napoleon, “when they applaud so highly the continence of Scipio, and fall into ecstasies at the calmness of Alexander, Cæsar, and others, for having been able to sleep on the eve of a battle. It could only be a monk, debarred from women, whose face brightens up at the very name—who neighs behind his bars at their approach, who could give Scipio much credit for forbearing to violate the female whom chance threw into his power, while he had so many others entirely at his disposal. ”

“ Chatham gloried in being a merchant; Lord Castlereagh, to the serious injury of his nation, has indulged himself in the satisfaction of acting the fine gentleman; he has sacrificed his country to fraternise with the great people of the continent, and from that moment has united in his person the vices of the saloon with the cupidity of the counting-house; the duplicity and obsequiousness of the courtier with the haughtiness and insolence of the upstart. The poor English constitution is in imminent danger. ”

“ The Emperor would not listen to such a suggestion. He might, doubtless, by dint of speed or disguise, have gained Brest, Nantes, Bordeaux, or Toulon, and in all probability have reached America; but he conceived that either disguise or flight would be derogatory from his dignity. He thought himself bound to prove to all Europe his full confidence in the French people, and their extreme attachment to him, by passing through his dominions at such a crisis, merely in the quality of a private man, and unattended by any escort. ”

“ It is erroneous to suppose that death alone is sufficient, and that the kind of death has no influence on the mind of the criminal in the premeditation of his crime; for if there be inequality of punishment, there is no culprit who would not make his choice if he were permitted so to do. Let any member of society consult his own feelings: he would shudder at the very idea of certain punishments, while perhaps he would be totally indifferent to certain modes of death. The inequality of punishments and the solemnity of executions belong therefore to the justice and policy of civilization. ”

“ Meanwhile I should have surrounded myself with a national senate or junta selected from among the members of the Legislative Body—men distinguished by national names, and worthy of general confidence. I should have fortified my military Dictatorship with all the strength of civil opinion. I should have had my tribune, which would have promulgated the talisman of my principles through Europe. The Sovereigns would have trembled to behold the contagion spread among their subjects. ”

“ Do not believe that you are about to attack a disarmed nation, and that you can, by a mere parade of your troops, effect the subjugation of Spain. The revolution of the 20th of March proves, that the Spaniards possess energy. You have to contend with a new people; it has all the courage, and will display all the enthusiasm shewn by men, who are not worn out by political passions. ”

“ He opposed the abdication, which he said was a death-blow to France; and he wished that we should defend ourselves even to annihilation. Carnot was the only one who maintained this opinion; all the rest were for the abdication. That measure was determined, and Carnot, covering his face with his hands, burst into tears.
At another moment the Emperor said, “I am not a God: I cannot do all by my own single efforts: I cannot save the nation without the help of the nation. I am certain that the people then entertained these sentiments, and that they are now suffering undeservedly. ”

“ I ought to have given a liberal constitution to the Spanish nation, and charged Ferdinand with its execution. If he had acted with good faith, Spain must have prospered and harmonized with our new manners. The great object would have been obtained, and France would have acquired an intimate ally and an addition of power truly formidable. Had Ferdinand, on the contrary, proved faithless to his new engagements, the Spaniards themselves would not have failed to dismiss him, and would have applied to me for a ruler in his place. ”

“ Those great and excellent truths can never cease to exist, so completely are they blended with our fame, our monuments, and our prodigies. We have washed away their first stains in the flood of glory, and they will henceforth be immortal. 62Created in the French tribune, cemented with the blood of battles, adorned with the laurels of victory, saluted with the acclamations of the people, sanctioned by the treaties and alliances of Sovereigns, and having become familiar to the ears as well as in the mouths of Kings, these principles can never again retrograde! ”

“ Is there any need to extend the punishment to the wife, and violently to dissolve a union which identifies her existence with that of her husband? Would she not say:—‘You‘You had better have taken his life, I should then have been permitted at least to cherish his memory; but you ordain that he shall live, and you will not allow me to console him in his misery.’misery.’ Alas! how many men have been led into guilt only through their attachment to their wives! Those therefore who have caused their misfortunes should at least be permitted to share them. ”

“ Will any thinking man, will any historian pronounce such an opinion?
"The Allies advanced with all Europe in their train, against a force which might be almost counted as nothing. They had 600,000 men in the line, and nearly an equal number in reserve. If they had been beaten, they had nothing to fear, they could have fallen back. I, on the contrary, in Germany, 500 leagues from home, had hardly a force equal to my enemy’s. I was surrounded by sovereigns and people repressed only by fear, and who, on the first disaster, were ready to rise against me. ”

“ I am like the watch that exists, without possessing the consciousness of existence. However, the sentiment of religion is so consolatory that it must be considered as a gift of Heaven: what a resource would it not be for us here to possess it! What influence could men and events exercise over me, if, bearing my misfortunes as if inflicted by God, I expected to be compensated by him with happiness hereafter! What rewards have I not a right to expect who have run a career so extraordinary, so tempestuous, without committing a single crime, and yet how many might I not have been guilty of? ”

“ Liberal ideas flourish in Great Britain, they enlighten America, and they are nationalized in France; and this may be called the tripod whence issues the light of the world! Liberal opinions will rule the universe. They will become the faith, the religion, the morality of all nations; and, in spite of all that may be advanced to the contrary, this memorable era will be inseparably connected with my name ”

“ If I had not proved victorious at Jena, Austria and Spain would have assailed me in my rear. If I had not triumphed at Wagram, which by the by, was a less decisive victory, I had to fear that Russia would abandon me, that Prussia would rise against me; and meanwhile the English were already before Antwerp.
"Yet what was my conduct after the victory? At Austerlitz, I gave Alexander his liberty, though I might have made him my prisoner. [9] After Jena I left the House of Prussia in possession of a throne which I had conquered: after Wagram, I neglected to parcel out the Austrian monarchy. ”

“ A part of what he said follows:
“What a fatality,” he said, "that my return from the Island of Elba was not acquiesced in, that every one did not perceive that my reign was desirable and necessary for the balance and repose of Europe! But kings and people both feared me; they were wrong, and may pay dearly for it. I returned a new man; they could not believe it; they could not imagine that a man might have sufficient strength of mind to alter his character, or to bend to the power of circumstances. ”

“ But at Wilna we might have entered into arrangements for the advantage of all, subjects as well as sovereigns!”
On another occasion, the Emperor said, "I might have shared with Russia the possession of the Turkish empire. We had oftener than once contemplated the idea, but Constantinople was always the obstacle that opposed its execution. The Turkish capital was the grand stumbling-block between us. Russia wanted it, and I could not resign it. Constantinople is worth an empire of itself. It is the real keystone of power; for he who possesses it may rule the world. ”

“ The Sovereigns then talked of nothing but principles and virtue; but now,” added he, “that they are victorious and without control, they practise unblushingly all the wrongs which they themselves then reprobated. What resource and what hope were there then left for nations and for morality? Our countrywomen at least,” he observed, “have rendered their sentiments illustrious: Madame Labedoyere was on the point of dying from grief, and these papers shew us that Madame Ney has displayed the most courageous and determined devotion. Madame Lavalette is become the heroine of Europe.” ”

“ Europe would have presented but a single fleet and a single army. We might have ruled the world. We might every where have established peace and prosperity, either by dint of force or persuasion. Yes, I repeat it, what mischief have we not done! What good might we not have effected!"
Never was Napoleon in a more talkative humour. ”

“ Men of business, jobbers and intriguers, by possessing themselves of the springs of government, acquired the greatest influence; all places were given to worthless individuals, to protégés, or to relations—corruption crept into every branch of the administration. This was soon perceived, and those who had it in their power to waste the public money could act without fear; the foreign relations, the armies, the finances, the department of the Interior, all felt the pernicious effects of so vicious a system. ”

“ I was too powerful not to despise with impunity the intrigues, and the known immorality, of the greater part of them. None of these causes have therefore contributed to my downfall; but only unforeseen and unheard-of catastrophes; compulsory circumstances; 500,000 men at the gates of the capital; a revolution still recent; a crisis too powerful for French heads; and, above all, a dynasty not sufficiently ancient. ”

“ One day, when urged to the utmost extremity, he addressed her as follows:—"Madam, according to the feudal notions and doctrines, entertained by you and your friends, you pretend to be the sovereigns of your estates! Now, on the same principles, I may style myself the Sovereign Lord of France. I may claim Paris as my village, and may banish from it every individual who is obnoxious to me. I judge you by your own laws. Begone! and never venture to return!" On decreeing her exile, the Emperor was firmly resolved never to be prevailed on to recal her ”

“ This I must acknowledge, in spite of all the affection I bore her, and the sincere attachment which I am sure she entertained for me. Though Louis’ whimsical humours were in all probability sufficiently teasing, yet he loved Hortense; and in such a case a woman should learn to subdue her own temper, and endeavour to return her husband’s attachment. Had she known how to repress her temper she would have spared herself the vexation of her late lawsuit; she would have passed a happier life; she would have accompanied her husband to Holland, and would have staid there. ”

“ If I had had more time to myself, I would have taken great pains to extend these unions to the provinces, and even to the Confederation of the Rhine, in order to strengthen the connection of those distant portions of the empire with France; but in such proceedings, I exerted only my influence, and never my authority. Lord Castlereagh disregards such distinctions; it is important to his policy to render me odious; he is not scrupulous about the means; he does not shrink from any calumny; he has every advantage over me. ”

“ I was at Lyons, I reviewed some troops, I had the Mayor to dine with me, who, by the way, has boasted since that it was the worst dinner he ever made in his life.” The Emperor became animated; he paced the chamber quickly. “I was again become a great power,” he continued: and a sigh escaped him, which he immediately checked with these words, in an accent and with a warmth which it is difficult to describe: “I had founded the finest empire in the world, and I was so necessary to it that, in spite of all the last reverses, here, upon my rock, I seem still to remain the master of France. ”

“ I am the Emperor of the peasants, of the lower ranks in France.... Thus, in spite of all that is past, you see the people return to me—there is a sympathy between us. It is not so with the privileged classes; the nobility have served me, have rushed in crowds into my ante-chambers, there are no offices that they have not accepted, solicited, pressed for. I have had my Montmorencies, my Noailles, my Rohans, my Beauveaus, my Mortemarts. But there was no analogy between us. The steed curvetted, he was well trained, but I felt him quivering under me. With the people it is another thing ”

“ I do not approve of your Imperial Highness’s conduct in so precipitately making yourself master of Madrid. The army ought to have been kept ten leagues from the capital. You had no assurance that the people and the magistracy were about to recognise Ferdinand, without a struggle. The Prince of the Peace must, of course, have partisans among those employed in the public service; there is also an habitual attachment to the old King, which might lead to unpleasant consequences. Your entrance into Madrid, by alarming the Spaniards, has powerfully assisted Ferdinand. ”

“ He will not find my conscience stained with the thoughts of murder and poisonings, with the infliction of violent and premeditated death, events so common in the history of those whose lives have resembled mine. I have striven only for the glory, the power, the greatness of France. ”