1
10
81
-
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document
<p><i>Barras conferred with his aide-de-camp over the weight of numbers:</i></p> <p>"They are 40,000 against 4,000, granted [I said]. We shall make up the deficiency in numbers by our courage; a single discharge of grape fired in the air will suffice to strike terror in the ranks of our opponents, who will all of them fly if a few of them get their faces scratched. They are merely Pompey's dandies, afraid of having their faces spoiled." Such was my plan in all its simplicity. And when I said to Bonaparte: "We must centralize," he fully grasped my intentions. . . .</p> <p>What course were they going to adopt? Their commanders probably did not know themselves. Suddenly a few shots were fired from the most advanced battalion of the grenadiers of the [rebel] National Guard. Those of the line, whom Bonaparte had by my orders concealed in the building contiguous to the rue du Bac, spurred on by the sound of shooting, sprang up and opened fire. Although unable to judge whether this preliminary skirmish was planned or fortuitous, I saw in it the beginning of a general engagement in which we would certainly be overpowered by numbers.</p> <p>I had a twelve-pounder gun under the walls of the Hôtel de Nesle, near the rue de Beaune. The gunners stood ready with lighted fuses. I gave the order to fire, and the first volley of grape mowed down some of the nearest National Guardsmen. The whole column wavered, and its recoil proved to me that it could not stand its ground. I therefore gave orders to keep up the firing, but to fire entirely in the air as it seemed to me that the noise would be sufficient to disperse the hostile phalanxes. It was enough, as I had anticipated, to lay low a few of the vanguard; all the rest scattered. . . .</p> <p>Civil war is undoubtedly the worst of all political evils. But the picture presented by the chaotic defeat of these well-fleshed battalions—who left their arms, and even their coats, on the field of battle as they followed the example of their doughty chiefs—roused the brave defenders of the Convention to mirth.</p> <p><i>Barras also decried Napoleon for his actions on 13 Vendémiaire:</i></p> <p>As he has, since his subsequent appearances on the stage, arrogated to himself the leading role and the sole influence in everything, it is necessary that I should once more point out in precise terms what relates to him personally.</p> <p>Bonaparte was neither more nor less than my aide-de-camp on 13 Vendémiaire. I was mounted, he was on foot, and consequently could not follow me wherever I went. The only mission he received from me was to go to the Pont Royal, and return and report to me what was going on there. He did not give, and did not have the authority to give, any order on his own account. He was never at any point of attack except at the Carrousel, whence he did not stir; Brune was in command there.</p> <p>I have not left out, however, the fact that he gave indication of a quick military perception when, pulling me by the coat and drawing me a few paces away from a position which would have exposed me to the first discharge, he said to me in an outburst of animation which was the product of the circumstances: "All would be lost if you were killed. The drama hinges on you alone; there is no one who could take your place. What action are you going to take?" It was then that I ordered Brune to fire his cannon, and Bonaparte, pressing my hand, exclaimed: "The republic is saved."</p>
Sortable Date
1795-10-05
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Paul-François-Jean-Nicolas Barras, <i>Memoirs of Barras: Member of the Directorate</i>, trans. and ed. George Duruy, 4 vols. (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1895): 1:299–305, 332.
Description
An account of the resource
In the waning days of the Convention in the fall of 1795, royalist–influenced sections in Paris revolted to prevent a new constitution that protected the position of the radicals. Bonaparte was delegated to put down the uprising of 5 October 1795 (13 Vendémiaire Year IV). Bonaparte’s decisiveness and willingness to fire cannons on the demonstrators—in his words, to "give them a whiff of grapeshot"—both consolidated the government’s control and revealed how much the revolutionary state after Thermidor was dependent on the military.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
451
Title
A name given to the resource
Bonaparte Saves the Day
Relation
A related resource
https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/451/
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
October 5, 1795
Napoleon Bonaparte
Text
-
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document
<p><i>10 November, 1799 (19 Brumaire, Year VIII)</i></p> <p>On my return to Paris, I found division among all the authorities, and agreement upon only one point: that the Constitution was half destroyed and could not save liberty.</p> <p>All parties came to me, confided to me their plans, disclosed their secrets, and asked for my support. I refused to be one party's man.</p> <p>The Council of Elders summoned me, and I went. An outline for general restoration had been planned by the men who the nation has become accustomed to regarding as the defenders of liberty, equality, and property. This plan needed to be looked at calmly, freely and away from any influences or fears. Consequently, the Council of Elders decided to transfer the Legislative Body to Saint-Cloud, and gave me control over the forces necessary to ensure its independence. I believed it my duty to accept the command, for my fellow citizens, for the soldiers being killed in our armies, and for the national glory acquired at the cost of their blood.</p> <p>The Councils assembled at Saint-Cloud. Republican troops guaranteed their security from without, but assassins created terror from within. Several deputies of the Council of Five-Hundred, armed with stilettos and firearms, made death threats to those around them.</p> <p>The plan which was to have been further developed, was put aside. The majority fell into disorganization, the boldest orators became disconcerted, and the futility of every wise proposition was obvious.</p> <p>I took my pain and indignation to the Council of Elders. I asked them to ensure the execution of their generous outline. I showed them the ills of the homeland . . . they agreed with me and demonstrated anew their steadfast will.</p> <p>I appeared before the Council of Five-Hundred just as I had before the Elders; alone, unarmed, my head uncovered, and was applauded. I had come to remind the majority of its will, and to assure them of their power.</p> <p>The stilettos that had threatened the deputies were instantly raised against their liberator. Twenty assassins rushed at me, aiming at my breast. The guards of the Legislative Body whom I had left at the door of the hall ran forward and placed themselves between the assassins and me. One of these brave guards had his clothes pierced by a stiletto. They escorted me to safety.</p> <p>At the same moment, cries of "outlaw" were raised against me, the defender of the law. It was the fierce cry of assassins against the power that was destined to suppress them.</p> <p>They crowded around the president, uttering threats and bearing arms, and commanded him to outlaw me. I was informed of this and ordered him to be rescued from their fury. Six guards of the Legislative Body grabbed hold of him. Immediately afterwards, guards of the Legislative Body charged into the hall and cleared it.</p> <p>The factions, intimidated, broke up and left. The majority, freed from their attacks, returned peaceably and upon their own will into the meeting hall, listened to the proposals on behalf of public safety, deliberated, and drafted the salutary resolution which is to become the new and provisional law of the Republic.</p> <p>Frenchmen, you will no doubt recognize this behavior as that of a zealous soldier of Liberty, a citizen devoted to the Republic. The rights of conservative, tutelary, and liberal ideas have been restored through the dispersal of the dissidents who oppressed the Councils.</p>
Sortable Date
1799-11-10
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
John Hall Stewart, <i>A Documentary Survey of the French Revolution</i> (New York: Macmillan, 1951), 763–65. (Slightly retranslated)
Description
An account of the resource
Having seized power through the coup of 18 Brumaire [9 November 1799], Bonaparte—now First Consul—set out to win public support for yet another new government. His first public pronouncement was the proclamation reprinted below, in which he claims he had acted to defend liberty and the republic against internal enemies. The proclamation, accompanied by similar proclamations from all the new ministers of the government, elaborated Napoleon’s vaguer but more oft–cited statement to his fellow citizens that "reduced to the principles on which it had been started, the French Revolution is over!"
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
461
Title
A name given to the resource
Brumaire: Bonaparte’s Justification
Relation
A related resource
https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/461/
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
November 10, 1799
Napoleon Bonaparte
Text
-
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document
<p>10 November 1799</p><p>To the French People</p><p>Frenchmen!</p> <p>Once more the Republic has just escaped the violence of rebels, and your faithful representatives have shattered the dagger in those parricidal hands; but, after having averted the attacks with which you were immediately threatened, they felt that such eternal agitations ought finally to be prevented forever; and, acting only on their duty and their courage, they dare to say that they have shown themselves worthy of you.</p> <p>Frenchmen, your liberty, completely rent asunder and still bleeding from the attacks of the revolutionary government, has just sought refuge in the arms of a constitution which promises it at least some repose. The need of such repose was generally felt at the time: a profound terror of the crises which you barely escaped remained in every mind; your military glory could efface the most colossal memories of the past. With astonishment and admiration, the peoples of Europe trembled at your glory, and secretly blessed the aim of your exploits; finally, your enemies asked for peace; everything, in a word, seemed to unite to assure you finally of the peaceful enjoyment of liberty and happiness; happiness, and liberty which alone can guarantee it, seemed finally ready to reward so many generous efforts in a fitting manner.</p> <p>But seditious men ceaselessly attacked with audacity the weak parts of your constitution; they skillfully seized upon those parts which might provoke new disorders; the constitutional regime was soon only a succession of revolutions in every sense, in which the different parties successively gained power; even those who most sincerely desired the maintenance of that constitution were forced to violate it constantly in order to preserve it. From such a state of instability in legislation; and the most sacred rights of social man have been exposed to all the caprices of factions and events.</p> <p>It is time to put an end to these disorders; it is time to give substantial guarantees to the liberty of citizens to the sovereignty of the people, to the independence of the constitutional powers, and, finally, to the Republic, whose name has served only too often to sanction the violation of all principles. It is time that this great nation had a government worthy of it, a firm and wise government, which could give you a prompt and enduring peace, and enable you to enjoy real happiness.</p> <p>Frenchmen, such are the views which have dictated the vigorous decisions of the Legislative Body.</p> <p>In order to arrive more promptly at a definitive and complete reorganization of public institutions, a provisional government has been established. It is invested with power sufficient to have the laws respected, to protect peaceful citizens, and to suppress all conspirators and malevolent persons.</p> <p>Royalism shall not raise its head again; the hideous traces of the revolutionary government are erased; the Republic and liberty will cease to be vain names; a new era is about to begin.</p> <p>Frenchmen, rally round your magistrates; the zeal of those who have dared conceive such fine and lofty hopes for you will never slacken; all success now depends upon your confidence, your unity, your wisdom.</p> <p>Soldiers of liberty, you will close your ears to every perfidious insinuation; you will pursue the course of your victories; you will achieve the conquest of peace in order soon to return to the midst of your brothers to enjoy all the benefits which you have assured them, and to receive from public recognition the honors and rewards which have been reserved for your glorious work.</p> <p>Long live the Republic!</p>
Sortable Date
1799-11-10
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
John Hall Stewart, <i>A Documentary Survey of the French Revolution</i> (New York: Macmillan, 1951), 765–67.
Description
An account of the resource
The Council of Five–Hundred, the lower house of the legislature under the Directory’s constitution, put up only token resistance to the coup of 18 Brumaire [9 November 1799]. By the following day, this body—in principle, made up of the representatives of the French people and the central institution of republican government—had concurred completely in Bonaparte’s revision to the constitution and issued this proclamation, which described the coup to be a victory for "the Republic and liberty" against royalism. Yet again, a regime had come to power claiming to be initiating a "new era" for "the peoples of Europe."
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
462
Title
A name given to the resource
The Council of Five–Hundred Concurs
Relation
A related resource
https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/462/
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
November 10, 1799
Napoleon Bonaparte
Text
-
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document
The 17th Prairial (5 June 1796) Bonaparte arrived at Brescia . . . I found myself in his presence a few moments after he had alighted. I was strangely surprised at his appearance. Nothing could be farther from the picture which I had formed of him. I saw, in the midst of a numerous staff, a man below the medium height and extremely thin. His powdered hair, which was cut in a peculiar, square fashion below the ears, fell down to his shoulders. he had on a straight coat, closely buttoned up, decorated with a very narrow gold embroidery, and wore a tri-colored plume in his hat. At first glance the face did not seem to me a fine one, but the striking features, a quick and searching eye, and abrupt, animated gestures, proclaimed an ardent soul, while the broad, serious forehead showed a deep thinker. He had me sit down by him and we talked about Italy. Hs speech was quick and at this time very incorrect.
On the 13th of Prairial (June 1st), I found Bonaparte at the magnificent residence of Montebello, in the midst of a brilliant court rather than the headquarters of an army. Severe etiquette was already maintained in his presence. His aides-de-camp and officers were no longer received at his table and he exercised great care in the choice of those whom he did admit, so that to sit down with him was considered a rare honor, to be obtained only with difficulty. He dined so to speak in public, and during the meal the inhabitants of the country were admitted to the dining room and allowed to feast their eyes upon him. He showed himself, however, in no way embarrassed or confused by this exhibition of esteem, and received them as if he had always been accustomed to such tributes. His salons and a great canopy which he had had raised in front of the palace toward the gardens, were constantly filled with a throng of generals, officials, and purveyors, as well as the highest nobility and the most distinguished men of Italy who came to solicit the favor of a glance or a moment's conversation. . . . Bonaparte took us for a walk in the extensive gardens of his beautiful residence. The promenade lasted toward two hours, during which the general talked almost continuously. . . . “What I have done so far is nothing,” he said to us; “I am but at the opening of the career I am to run. Do you suppose that I have gained my victories in Italy in order to advance the lawyers of the Directory, the Carnots and the Barras? Do you think, either, that my object is to establish a Republic? What a notion! A Republic of thirty million people, with our morals and vices! How could that ever be? It is a chimera with which the French are infatuated but which will pass away in time like all the others. What they want is glory and the gratification of their vanity; as for liberty, of that they have no conception. Look at the army! The victories which we have just gained have given the French soldier his true character. I am everything to him. Let the Directory attempt to deprive me of my command and they will see who is master. The nation must have a head, a head rendered illustrious by glory and not by theories of government, fine phrases, or the talk of idealists, of which the French understand not a whit. Let them have their toys and they will be satisfied. They will amuse themselves and allow themselves to be led, provided the goal is cleverly disguised.”
Sortable Date
1796-06-05
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
James H. Robinson, ed., <i>Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, vol II, no. 2: The Napoleonic Period</i> (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1902), pp. 1-3.
Description
An account of the resource
In his memoirs, André François Miot de Melito, a special minister from the French government to Piedmont, tells of his first impressions of the young Napoleon Bonaparte, who was only twenty-seven but already an important general because of his victories in the Italian campaign. Bonaparte held court in Italy like a ruler. According to Miot, Bonaparte had already formed a plan to take absolute power for himself.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
501
Title
A name given to the resource
Napoleon as an Ambitious Young General in 1796–97
Relation
A related resource
https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/501/
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
June 5, 1796
Napoleon Bonaparte
Text
-
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document
<p>On my return to Paris [from Egypt] I found division among all authorities, and agreement upon only one point, namely, that the Constitution was half destroyed and was unable to save liberty. </p><p> All parties came to me, confided to me their designs, disclosed their secrets, and requested my support; I refused to be the man of a party. </p><p> The Council of Elders summoned me; I answered its appeal. A plan of general restoration had been devised by men whom the nation has been accustomed to regard as the defenders of liberty, equality, and property; this plan required an examination, calm, free, exempt from all influence and all fear. Accordingly, the Council of Elders resolved upon the removal of the legislative Body to Saint-Cloud; it gave me the responsibility of disposing the force necessary for its independence. I believe it my duty to my fellow citizens, to the soldiers perishing in our armies, to the national glory acquired at the cost of their blood, to accept the command. </p><p> The Councils assembled at Saint-Cloud; republican troops guaranteed their security from without, but assassins created terror within. Several deputies of the Council of Five Hundred, armed with stilettos and firearms, circulated threats of death around them. </p><p> The plans which ought to have been developed were withheld, the majority disorganized, the boldest orators disconcerted, and the futility of every wise proposition was evident. </p><p> I took my indignation and grief to the Council of Elders. I besought it to assure the execution of its generous designs; I directed its attention to the evils of the <i>Patrie</i> [Fatherland] . . . ; it concurred with me by new evidence of its steadfast will. <br /> I presented myself at the Council of Five Hundred, alone, unarmed, my head uncovered, just as the Elders had received and applauded me; I came to remind the majority of its wishes, and to assure it of its power. </p><p> The stilettos which menaced the deputies were instantly raised against their liberator; twenty assassins threw themselves upon me and aimed at my breast. The grenadiers of the Legislative Body whom I had left at the door of the hall ran forward, placed themselves between the assassins and myself. One of these brave grenadiers had his clothes pierced by a stiletto. They bore me out. </p><p> At the same moment cries of “Outlaw” were raised against the defender of the law. It was the fierce cry of assassins against the power destined to repress them. </p><p> They crowded around the president, uttering threats, arms in their hands they commanded him to outlaw me; I was informed of this: I ordered him to be rescued from their fury, and six grenadiers of the Legislative Body secured him. Immediately afterwards some grenadiers of the legislative body charged into the hall and cleared it. </p><p> The factions, intimidated, dispersed and fled. The majority, freed from their attacks, returned freely and peaceably into the meeting hall, listened to the proposals on behalf of public safety, deliberated, and prepared the salutary resolution which is to become the new and provisional law of the Republic. </p><p> Frenchmen, you will doubtless recognize in this conduct the zeal of a soldier of liberty, a citizen devoted to the Republic. Conservative, tutelary, and liberal ideas have been restored to their rights through the dispersal of the rebels who oppressed the Councils. </p>
Sortable Date
1799-11-10
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
John Hall Stewart, ed., A Documentary Survey of the French Revolution (New York: Macmillan, 1951), pp. 763-765.
Description
An account of the resource
Napoleon glosses over the conspiracy to overthrow the Constitution of 1795 and the duly elected legislature. This conspiracy was organized in part by his younger brother Lucien. He does, however, admit that some of the deputies opposed his endeavor and tried to arrest him. At this moment, Napoleon portrays himself as a simple “soldier of liberty, a citizen devoted to the Republic.”
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
502
Title
A name given to the resource
Napoleon’s Own Account of His Coup d’Etat (10 November 1799)
Relation
A related resource
https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/502/
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
November 10, 1799
Napoleon Bonaparte
Public Opinion
Text
-
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Sortable Date
1800-00-00
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Martyn Lyons, <i>Napoleon Bonaparte and the Legacy of the French Revolution</i> (London, Macmillan, 1994), p. 70.
Description
An account of the resource
Naming his brother Lucien to the key post of minister of the interior, Bonaparte quickly moved to establish his political control over the country. He set up “prefects” for every administrative region known as a department; these appointees had final say in such important matters as finances, politics, and the conscription of troops.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
503
Title
A name given to the resource
Establishing a New Administrative Order (1800–1801)
Relation
A related resource
https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/503/
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1800
Napoleon Bonaparte
Provinces
Text
-
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document
<p>The government of the French Republic recognizes that the Roman, catholic and apostolic religion is the religion of the great majority of French citizens.</p><p> His Holiness likewise recognizes that this same religion has derived and in this moment again expects the greatest benefit and grandeur from the establishment of catholic worship in France and from the personal profession of it which the Consuls of the Republic make. </p><p> In consequence, after this mutual recognition, as well for the benefit of religion as for the maintenance of internal tranquility, they have agreed as follows: </p><p>1. The catholic, apostolic and Roman religion shall be freely exercised in France: its worship shall be public, and in conformity with the police regulations which the government shall deem necessary for the public tranquility. . . . </p><p>4. The First Consul of the Republic shall make appointments, within the three months which shall follow the publication of the bull of His Holiness to the archbishoprics and bishoprics of the new circumscription. His Holiness shall confer the canonical institution, following the forms established in relation to France before the change of government. . . . </p><p>6. Before entering upon their functions, the bishops shall take directly, at the hands of the First Consul, the oath of fidelity which was in use before the change of government, expressed in the following terms: </p><p> “I swear and promise to God, upon the holy scriptures, to remain in obedience and fidelity to the government established by the constitution of the French Republic. I also promise not to have any intercourse, nor to assist by any council, nor to support any league, either within or without, which is inimical to the public tranquility; and if, within my diocese or elsewhere, I learn that anything to the prejudice of the state is being contrived, I will make it known to the government.” </p>
Sortable Date
1801-00-00
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Frank M. Anderson, ed., The Constitutions and Other Illustrative Documents of the History of France, 2nd ed., revised (New York: Russell and Russell, 1908), pp. 296-297.
Description
An account of the resource
One of Napoleon’s first priorities was to reestablish good relations with the papacy, which had fought the revolutionary church settlement tooth and nail. Napoleon gained everything he desired in the Concordat: he appointed the bishops and archbishops of the French church, and all bishops had to swear an oath of fidelity to the French Republic.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
504
Title
A name given to the resource
Making Peace with the Catholic Church, 1801–2
Relation
A related resource
https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/504/
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1801
Laws
Napoleon Bonaparte
Religion
Text
-
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document
<p>Napoleon was not irreligious in the ordinary sense of the word. He would not admit that there had ever existed a genuine atheist; he condemned Deism as the result of rash speculation. A Christian and a Catholic, he recognized in religion alone the right to govern human societies. He looked on Christianity as the basis of all real civilization; and considered Catholicism as the form of worship most favorable to the maintenance of order and the true tranquility of the moral world; Protestantism as a source of trouble and disagreements. Personally indifferent to religious practices, he respected them too much to permit the slightest ridicule of those who followed them. It is possible that religion was, with him, more the result of an enlightened policy than an affair of sentiment; but whatever might have been the secret of his heart, he took care never to betray it. His opinions of men were concentrated in one idea which, unhappily for him, had in his mind gained the force of an axiom. He was persuaded that no man, called to appear in public life, or even only engaged in the active pursuits of life, was guided or could be guided by an other motive than that of interest. He did not deny the existence of virtue and honor; but he maintained that neither of these sentiments had ever been the chief guide of any but those whom he called dreamers, and to whom, by this title, he, in his own mind, denied the existence of the requisite faculty for taking a successful part in the affairs of society. . . . </p><p> Whilst in his conceptions all was clear and precise, in what required action he knew neither difficulty nor uncertainty. Ordinary rules did not embarrass him at all. In practice, as in discussion, he went straight to the end in view without being delayed by considerations which he treated as secondary, and of which he perhaps too often disdained the importance. The most direct line to the object he desired to reach was that which he chose by preference, and which he followed to the end, while nothing could entice him to deviate from it; but then, being no slave to his plans, he knew how to give them up or modify them the moment that his point of view changed, or new combinations gave him the means of attaining it more effectually by a different path. . . . </p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Clemens Lothar Wenzel, FŸrst von Metternich-Winneburg, Memoirs of Prince Metternich, 1773-1815, ed. Prince Richard Metternich, tr. Mrs. Alexander Napier, 5 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1880-1882), I: pp. 272-273.
Description
An account of the resource
Klemens von Metternich, head of the Austrian government and therefore a sharp critic of Napoleon, reported that Napoleon viewed Catholicism in largely utilitarian, even cynical terms.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
505
Title
A name given to the resource
Napoleon’s Personal Feelings about Religion
Relation
A related resource
https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/505/
Napoleon Bonaparte
Religion
Text
-
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Sortable Date
1803-00-00
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Martyn Lyons, <i>Napoleon Bonaparte and the Legacy of the French Revolution</i> (London, Macmillan, 1994), p. 90.
Description
An account of the resource
Despite the official settlement with the papacy, some priests refused to bury those who had supported the pro–revolutionary wing of the church in the 1790s and others preached royalism from the pulpit. These excerpts come from a report made to the Minister of Police in 1803.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
506
Title
A name given to the resource
Religious Conflicts after the Concordat (1803)
Relation
A related resource
https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/506/
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1803
Napoleon Bonaparte
Public Opinion
Text
-
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document
<p>“I swear to maintain the constitution, to respect liberty of conscience, to oppose a return to feudal institutions, never to make war except for the defense and glory of the Republic, and to employ the authority with which I shall be invested only for the good of the people, from whom and for whom I shall have received it.”</p>
Sortable Date
1802-08-04
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Frank M. Anderson, ed., The Constitutions and Other Illustrative Documents of the History of France, 2nd ed., revised (New York: Russell and Russell, 1908), p. 331.
Description
An account of the resource
The oath that Bonaparte took on becoming consul for life gives a good idea of the image that he tried to project: protector of the gains of the Revolution and insurer of order. In retrospect, his claims about not wishing to make war ring hollow.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
507
Title
A name given to the resource
Oath as Consul for Life (4 August 1802)
Relation
A related resource
https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/507/
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
August 4, 1802
Napoleon Bonaparte
Text