the crowd-第24节

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he　great　personages　around　him；　and　among　whom　figured　some　of　those　celebrated　men　of　the　Convention　of　whom　Europe　had　stood　in　dread。　　The　gossip　of　the　period　abounds　in　illustrations　of　this　fact。　　One　day；　in　the　midst　of　a　Council　of　State；　Napoleon　grossly　insults　Beugnot；　treating　him　as　one　might　an　unmannerly　valet。　　The　effect　produced；　he　goes　up　to　him　and　says；　〃Well；　stupid；　have　you　found　your　head　again？〃　　Whereupon　Beugnot；　tall　as　a　drum…major；　bows　very　low；　and　the　little　man　raising　his　hand；　takes　the　tall　one　by　the　ear；　〃an　intoxicating　sign　of　favour；〃　writes　Beugnot；　〃the　familiar　gesture　of　the　master　who　waxes　gracious。〃　　Such　examples　give　a　clear　idea　of　the　degree　of　base　platitude　that　prestige　can　provoke。　　They　enable　us　to　understand　the　immense　contempt　of　the　great　despot　for　the　men　surrounding　himmen　whom　he　merely　looked　upon　as　〃food　for　powder。〃



Davoust　used　to　say；　talking　of　Maret's　devotion　and　of　his　own：　〃Had　the　Emperor　said　to　us；　‘It　is　important　in　the　interest　of　my　policy　that　Paris　should　be　destroyed　without　a　single　person　leaving　it　or　escaping；'　Maret　I　am　sure　would　have　kept　the　secret；　but　he　could　not　have　abstained　from　compromising　himself　by　seeing　that　his　family　got　clear　of　the　city。　　On　the　other　hand；　I；　for　fear　of　letting　the　truth　leak　out；　would　have　let　my　wife　and　children　stay。〃

It　is　necessary　to　bear　in　mind　the　astounding　power　exerted　by　fascination　of　this　order　to　understand　that　marvellous　return　from　the　Isle　of　Elba；　that　lightning…like　conquest　of　France　by　an　isolated　man　confronted　by　all　the　organised　forces　of　a　great　country　that　might　have　been　supposed　weary　of　his　tyranny。　　He　had　merely　to　cast　a　look　at　the　generals　sent　to　lay　hands　on　him；　and　who　had　sworn　to　accomplish　their　mission。　　All　of　them　submitted　without　discussion。


〃Napoleon；〃　writes　the　English　General　Wolseley；　〃lands　in　France　almost　alone；　a　fugitive　from　the　small　island　of　Elba　which　was　his　kingdom；　and　succeeded　in　a　few　weeks；　without　bloodshed；　in　upsetting　all　organised　authority　in　France　under　its　legitimate　king；　is　it　possible　for　the　personal　ascendency　of　a　man　to　affirm　itself　in　a　more　astonishing　manner？　　But　from　the　beginning　to　the　end　of　this　campaign；　which　was　his　last；　how　remarkable　too　is　the　ascendency　he　exercised　over　the　Allies；　obliging　them　to　follow　his　initiative；　and　how　near　he　came　to　crushing　them！〃


His　prestige　outlived　him　and　continued　to　grow。　　It　is　his　prestige　that　made　an　emperor　of　his　obscure　nephew。　　How　powerful　is　his　memory　still　is　seen　in　the　resurrection　of　his　legend　in　progress　at　the　present　day。　　Ill…treat　men　as　you　will；　massacre　them　by　millions；　be　the　cause　of　invasion　upon　invasion；　all　is　permitted　you　if　you　possess　prestige　in　a　sufficient　degree　and　the　talent　necessary　to　uphold　it。

I　have　invoked；　no　doubt；　in　this　case　a　quite　exceptional　example　of　prestige；　but　one　it　was　useful　to　cite　to　make　clear　the　genesis　of　great　religions；　great　doctrines；　and　great　empires。　　Were　it　not　for　the　power　exerted　on　the　crowd　by　prestige；　such　growths　would　be　incomprehensible。

Prestige；　however；　is　not　based　solely　on　personal　ascendency；　military　glory；　and　religious　terror；　it　may　have　a　more　modest　origin　and　still　be　considerable。　　Our　century　furnishes　several　examples。　　One　of　the　most　striking　ones　that　posterity　will　recall　from　age　to　age　will　be　supplied　by　the　history　of　the　illustrious　man　who　modified　the　face　of　the　globe　and　the　commercial　relations　of　the　nations　by　separating　two　continents。　He　succeeded　in　his　enterprise　owing　to　his　immense　strength　of　will；　but　also　owing　to　the　fascination　he　exercised　on　those　surrounding　him。　　To　overcome　the　unanimous　opposition　he　met　with；　he　had　only　to　show　himself。　　He　would　speak　briefly；　and　in　face　of　the　charm　he　exerted　his　opponents　became　his　friends。　The　English　in　particular　strenuously　opposed　his　scheme；　he　had　only　to　put　in　an　appearance　in　England　to　rally　all　suffrages。　In　later　years；　when　he　passed　Southampton；　the　bells　were　rung　on　his　passage；　and　at　the　present　day　a　movement　is　on　foot　in　England　to　raise　a　statue　in　his　honour。

〃Having　vanquished　whatever　there　is　to　vanquish；　men　and　things；　marshes；　rocks；　and　sandy　wastes；〃　he　had　ceased　to　believe　in　obstacles；　and　wished　to　begin　Suez　over　again　at　Panama。　　He　began　again　with　the　same　methods　as　of　old；　but　he　had　aged；　and；　besides；　the　faith　that　moves　mountains　does　not　move　them　if　they　are　too　lofty。　　The　mountains　resisted；　and　the　catastrophe　that　ensued　destroyed　the　glittering　aureole　of　glory　that　enveloped　the　hero。　　His　life　teaches　how　prestige　can　grow　and　how　it　can　vanish。　　After　rivalling　in　greatness　the　most　famous　heroes　of　history；　he　was　lowered　by　the　magistrates　of　his　country　to　the　ranks　of　the　vilest　criminals。　　When　he　died　his　coffin；　unattended；　traversed　an　indifferent　crowd。　　Foreign　sovereigns　are　alone　in　rendering　homage　to　his　memory　as　to　that　of　one　of　the　greatest　men　that　history　has　known。＇20＇


＇20＇　An　Austrian　paper；　the　Neue　Freie　Presse；　of　Vienna；　has　indulged　on　the　subject　of　the　destiny　of　de　Lesseps　in　reflections　marked　by　a　most　judicious　psychological　insight。　　I　therefore　reproduce　them　here：

〃After　the　condemnation　of　Ferdinand　de　Lesseps　one　has　no　longer　the　right　to　be　astonished　at　the　sad　end　of　Christopher　Columbus。　　If　Ferdinand　de　Lesseps　were　a　rogue　every　noble　illusion　is　a　crime。　　Antiquity　would　have　crowned　the　memory　of　de　Lesseps　with　an　aureole　of　glory；　and　would　have　made　him　drink　from　the　bowl　of　nectar　in　the　midst　of　Olympus；　for　he　has　altered　the　face　of　the　earth　and　accomplished　works　which　make　the　creation　more　perfect。　　The　President　of　the　Court　of　Appeal　has　immortalised　himself　by　condemning　Ferdinand　de　Lesseps；　for　the　nations　will　always　demand　the　name　of　the　man　who　was　not　afraid　to　debase　his　century　by　investing　with　the　convict's　cap　an　aged　man；　whose　life　redounded　to　the　glory　of　his　contemporaries。

〃Let　there　be　no　more　talk　in　the　future　of　inflexible　justice；　there　where　reigns　a　bureaucratic　hatred　of　audacious　feats。　　The　nations　have　need　of　audacious　men　who　believe　in　themselves　and　overcome　every　obstacle　without　concern　for　their　personal　safety。　　Genius　cannot　be　prudent；　by　dint　of　prudence　it　could　never　enlarge　the　sphere　of　human　activity。

〃。　。　。　Ferdinand　de　Lesseps　has　known　the　intoxication　of　triumph　and　the　bitterness　of　disappointmentSuez　and　Panama。　　At　this　point　the　heart　revolts　at　the　morality　of　success。　　When　de　Lesseps　had　succeeded　in　joining　two　seas　princes　and　nations　rendered　him　their　homage；　to…day；　when　he　meets　with　failure　among　the　rocks　of　the　Cordilleras；　he　is　nothing　but　a　vulgar　rogue。　。　。　。　　In　this　result　we　see　a　war　between　the　classes　of　society；　the　discontent　of　bureaucrats　and　employes；　who　take　their　revenge　with　the　aid　of　the　criminal　code　on　those　who　would　raise　themselves　above　their　fellows。　。　。　。　　Modern　legislators　are　filled　with　embarrassment　when　confronted　by　the　lofty　ideas　due　to　human　genius；　the　public　comprehends　such　ideas　still　less；　and　it　is　easy　for　an　advocate…general　to　prove　that　Stanley　is　a　murderer　and　de　Lesseps　a　deceiver。〃



Still；　the　various　examples　that　have　just　been　cited　represent　extreme　cases。　　To　fix　in　detail　the　psychology　of　prestige；　it　would　be　necessary　to　place　them　at　the　extremity　of　a　series；　which　would　range　from　the　founders　of　religions　and　empires　to　the　private　individual　who　endeavours　to　dazzle　his　neighbours　by　a　new　coat　or　a　decoration。

Between　the　extreme　limits　of　this　series　would　find　a　place　all　the　forms　of　prestige　resulting　from　the　different　elements　composing　a　civilisationsciences；　arts；　literature；　&c。and　it　would　be　seen　that　prestige　constitutes　the　fundamental　element　of　persuasion。　　Consciously　or　not；　the　being；　the　idea；　or　the　thing　possessing　prestige　is　immediately　imitated　in　consequence　of　contagion；　and　forces　an　entire　generation　to　adopt　certain　modes　of　feeling　and　of　giving　expression　to　its　thought。　　This　imitation；　moreover；　is；　as　a　rule；　unconscious；　which　accounts　for　the　fact　that　it　is　perfect。　　The　modern　painters　who　copy　the　pale　colouring　and　the　stiff　attitudes　of　some　of　the　Primitives　are　scarcely　alive　to　the　source　of　their　inspiration。　They　believe　in　their　own　sincerity；　whereas；　if　an　eminent　master　had　not　revived　this　form　of　art；　people　would　have　continued　blind　to　all　but　its　naive　and　inferior　sides。　　Those　artists　who；　after　the　manner　of　another　illustrious　master；　inundate　their　canvasses　with　violet　shades　do　not　see　in　nature　more　violet　than　was　detected　there　fifty　years　ago；　but　they　are　influenced；　〃suggestioned；〃　by　the　personal　and　special　impressions　of　a　painter　who；　in　spite　of　this　eccentricity；　was　successful　in　acquiring　great　prestige。　　Similar　examples　might　be　brought　forward　in　connection　with　all　the　elements　of　civilisation。

It　is　seen　from　what　precedes　that　a　number　of　factors　may　be　concerned　in　the　genesis　of　prestige；　among　them　success　was　always　one　of　the　most　important。　　Every　successful　man；　every　idea　that　forces　itself　int