HEROIC ELOQUENCE. 455 



of battles to the crucible of a conscientious analysis ; 

 believe me, that even if you make an equitable partition 

 by chance (a sort of ally for whom one always makes 

 allowance, as being dumb), many pretended heroes will 

 appear to you very unworthy of that pompous title. 



If it were found requisite, I would not recoil from 

 a detailed examination ; I, who in a purely academic 

 career, can have had but little opportunity of collecting 

 correct documents on such a subject, I could, for exam- 

 ple, cite in our own annals a recent battle, a battle gained, 

 the official report of which describes it as having been 

 foreseen and calmly prepared, with the most consummate 

 ability ; but which, in reality, was the result of a sudden 

 rush on the part of the soldiers, without any order from 

 the Commander-in- Chief to whom the honour was as- 

 signed, without his having been there, without his having 

 known of it ! 



To escape from the commonplace reproach of incom- 

 petence, I will call on some military men themselves to 

 aid in supporting the philosophic thesis which I maintain. 

 It will be seen what enthusiastic and enlightened appre- 

 ciators they were of intellectual labours ; it will be seen 

 that in their inner mind, these never held a second rank. 

 Obliged to restrict myself, I will try to make high re- 

 nown supply the deficiency of number and novelty : I 

 will cite Alexander, Pompey, Cassar, and Napoleon ! 



The Macedonian conqueror's admiration of Homer is 

 historical. Aristotle at his desire undertook the task of 

 revising the text of the Iliad. That corrected copy be- 

 came a cherished book ; and when, in the centre of Asia, 

 amidst the spoils of Darius, a magnificent casket was 

 found, enriched with gold, pearls, and precious stones, 

 which seemed to excite the covetousness of his highest 



