431 
Historical Particulars of Napoleon. [Dec. 1, 
To accuse the Directory of having 
conceived the project of conquering 
Egypt, for the purpose of sending me 
thither, and by that means getting rid 
of me, is a calumny. The project was 
mine, and mine alone. It is possible 
that in giving its consent, the Directory 
cherished the hope that I should return 
no more ; but that is only a supposition, 
and in similar matters, positive proofs 
are necessary. 
The regeneration of the people of 
Egypt would have done me much ho¬ 
nour; but it was impossible. That 
people, with’some few exceptions, are 
generally besotted by despotism : too 
stupidly organised to be revenged, they 
take a delight in it, mechanically. 
Mortals, degraded from all generous 
sentiments they are morally and phy¬ 
sically incapable of appreciating the 
benefits of European civilization, and 
of blessing the hand of the legislator 
who wished to restore them to the dig¬ 
nity of other nations. I have been 
more than once tempted to imitate 
Omar and Mahomet, but in another 
sense: viz. to invite, sword in hand, 
the people of Egypt to the enjoyment of 
all their rights ; but more personal in- 
teiests claimed all my attention. 
The French admiral improperly 
wished to fight against Nelson, and our 
fleet was destroyed at Aboukir; Brueix, 
it is true, died gloriously on board. His 
death expiated his fault, but did not 
repair it. I say his fault, for it was 
his own. Five or six days previous, 
Rapp or Junot, my Aides-de-camp, 
had carried him an order to retire to 
Cadiz. 
An army transported to another he¬ 
misphere, being deprived of the corres¬ 
pondence with the mother-country, can 
no longer be supplied with provisions, 
and is. an army two thirds lost. It was 
even a miracle that the French were 
able to do so much in Egypt. 
I was ignorant of every thing pass¬ 
ing iu France: Kleber could replace 
me in Egypt, where sooner or later it 
was necessary to finish the campaign 
by a capitulation. I put all in order, 
embarked, and arrived safely at Fre- 
jus. 
I was overwhelmed with grief at find¬ 
ing France so different from what I had 
made it before my departure for Egypt. 
My conquests were lost, the armies 
were discouraged and suffering and 
the interior was torn by factions. There 
needed got so much to excite my in¬ 
dignation against the Directory, the 
cause of all the evil, and principally 
against Barras, whom I knew to have 
more especially conducted affairs and 
taken the lead. 
The encouraging reception I met 
with from Frejus to Paris, and that 
which I afterwards received in the 
capital, proved that the French placed 
great hopes in me. 
Menaced from without, torn by 
factions in the interior, France requir¬ 
ed a good head and a firm hand to 
draw it from the precipice. I believed 
myself reserved for the honour of ren¬ 
dering it this service. General Moreau 
might, it is true, have the same pre¬ 
tensions ; but he did himself justice in 
believing he had no genius blit in the 
day of battle: he thought wisely, for 
he would have failed. 
However, when it became a ques¬ 
tion between myself and my friends of 
both councils, of dissolving that of the 
Five Hundred, I was for a moment 
terrified with the means which it was 
necessary to put in hand to effect this 
dissolution. It required nothing short 
of the dangers of the country to de¬ 
cide my giving orders, sword in hand, 
to men st 11 decorated with the title of 
legislators. The die was* at last cast; 
the government was destroyed, and 
succeeded by three consuls, of whom I 
was the first. 
From the point whence I set out to that 
in which I now found myself, the tran¬ 
sition was not made without affording 
me much cause for reflection. I saw 
myself launched forth, but I could not 
tell when or where I should stop. I 
never liked uncertainty; I cut the knot, 
and decided in secret for the supreme 
rank. This acknowledgment is so 
much the more a matter of fact, as I 
had never had the slightest idea of that 
great ambition. 
The consulate for life was given to 
me. It was a grand step made, but it 
was still only a precarious state for the 
people and for myself. A great nation 
requires a fixed government, which the 
death of one man may not overthrow. 
If I prepared for war, tile same cannon 
ball might kill the first consul and the 
consular government. The factions 
although extinguished, might rise again 
from their ashes, and plunge France 
once more into the abyss from which 
I had saved her. This was felt by all 
and by myself still more. 
The victory of Marengo, in de¬ 
ciding the fate b£ Austria, placed 
France at the head of the first states of 
Europe. 
