II.
In the plenitude of his resources every obstacle seemed to vanish. “There[1] shall be no Alps,” he said; and he built his perfect roads[2], climbing[3] by graded galleries their steepest precipices, until Italy was[4] as open to Paris as any town[5] in France. Having (S. 55, N. 1) decided what was to be done, he did that with[6] might and main. He[7] put out all his strength. He risked everything, and spared[8] nothing; neither ammunition, nor money, nor[9] troops, nor generals, nor[10] himself. If fighting[11] be the best mode of adjusting national differences (as[12] large majorities of men seem to agree), certainly Bonaparte was right in making it thorough[13].
He fought[14] sixty battles. He had never enough. Each victory was a new weapon. “My power would fall[15], were I not to support it by new achievements. Conquest has[16] made me what I am, and conquest must maintain me.”
Before[17] he fought a battle, Bonaparte thought[18] little about what he should do in[18] case of success, but a great deal about what he should do in case of a reverse of fortune. The same prudence and good sense marked[19] all his behaviour[20]. His instructions[21] to his secretary at the palace are worth[22] remembering. He said: “During the night enter my chamber as seldom as possible. Do not awake me when you have any good news to communicate[23]; with[24] that there is no hurry; but when you have bad news, rouse me instantly, for then there is not a moment to be lost.” His[25] achievement of business was immense, and[26] enlarges the known power of man. There have been (S. 82, N. 7) many working kings, from Ulysses to[27] William of Orange[28], but[29] none who accomplished a tithe of this man’s performance.—EMERSON.
[1] +Es soll keine Alpen mehr geben.+
[2] perfect roads, +Kunststraßen+.
[3] Say ‘through which he by means of winding, (+sich schlängeln+) _and_ gradually rising passes climbed the steepest precipices (+Abhang+, m.) of the Alps’.
[4] was = stood; to Paris = to the Parisians. =The suffix +er+ is used to form names of male persons and of the inhabitants of countries and places; as=—+der Italiener+, the Italian, from +Italien+; +der Hamburger+, the inhabitants of Hamburgh.
[5] town in France = French (S. 101, N. 1) town.
[6] with — main, +aus Leibeskräften+.
[7] +Er setzte seine ganze Stärke daran.+
[8] +schonen.+
[9] nor = neither.
[10] +und auch sich selbst nicht.+
[11] = war; be = is; mode, +Art und Weise+.
[12] Say ‘as the majority of men seem (S. 107, N. 13) to think (S. 64, N. 11)’.
[13] to make (do) a thing thorough(ly), +etwas gründlich betreiben+.
[14] to fight battles, +Schlachten liefern+.
[15] = sink.
[16] = Conquests have; he has made me what I am, +er hat mich zu dem gemacht, was ich bin+.
[17] +Ehe+, adv.
[18] to think about a thing, +über etwas nach´denken+, read S. 87, N. 6; in — success, +im Glücksfalle+; in — fortune, +im Unglücksfalle+.
[19] +aus´zeichnen.+
[20] +Handlungsweise.+ _All his_ happiness, +sein ganzes Glück+; _all our_ family, +~unsere ganze~ Familie+.
[21] +Verhaltungsbefehl+, m., directions for conduct; to, +an+.
[22] This is not worth remembering, +dies ist nicht der Beachtung wert+.
[23] +melden+.
[24] Say literally ‘these have no haste’.
[25] His — business, +Seine Arbeitskraft+.
[26] +und erweitert unsere bisherigen Vorstellungen von den im Menschen wohnenden Kräften.+
[27] +bis auf.+
[28] +Oranien.+ Commence this period with: ‘From Ulysses’.
[29] +doch keinen, der auch nur ein zehntel von den Thaten dieses Mannes vollbracht hätte+ (App. § 33).
_Section 158._
THE WARLIKE CHARACTER OF THE GERMANS.
The Germans fight as _a_ nation. Whatever[1] their birth[2] or (S. 10, N. 9) profession, all are trained[3] soldiers. The nation is the army; the army is the nation. Hence[4] they cannot be moved save at the bidding of some grand principle, and the stirring[5] of some soul-penetrating[6] _and_ elevating sentiment; and yet they are as sensible[7] as any nation that they abandon comfort[8], domestic ease, monetary independence, everything[9] which (S. 3, N. 7) men (= man) love and live for, in[10] order to identify the nation and the army. But they are willing to pay the price. They count[11] hardihood of body and trained[12] courage of heart the noblest riches of a nation. They reckon[11] _that_ national independence and national greatness _are a_ thousand times more precious than gold and silver, and[13] that to die on the field of battle is better and happier than to rot[14] and crumble away in sybaritic ease. They[15] hold, too, that[16] the cause of liberty, and the free noble spirit engendered by the brotherhood of a nationality which affirms its oneness by noble acts[17], is blessed by God, and that He will give[18] victory to the armies who go forth to battle in (S. 3, N. 2) trust in[19] His name. No wonder[20] they fight and triumph[21].—ADMIRAL GARBETT.
[1] supply the verb ‘be’.
[2] = station, +Stand+, m.
[3] = practised.
[4] Say ‘Hence they can be moved (+erregen+) only at (+durch+) the bidding (+Gebot+, n.)’.
[5] +Erweckung+, f.
[6] +die Seele ergreifend.+
[7] ‘to be sensible’, here +sich bewußt sein+.
[8] here +die Annehmlichkeiten des Lebens+.
[9] Say ‘in short give up everything’, for the verb ‘abandon’ must be placed at the end of this clause.
[10] Say ‘in order to prove the identity of the nation and the army’.
[11] +halten (für).+
[12] here +gestählt+.
[13] Say ‘and feel that it is better and nobler to die’, etc.
[14] +vermodern+; to crumble away, +verfallen+; ‘ease’, here +Gemächlichkeit+.
[15] +Auch halten sie dafür.+
[16] Construe thus: ‘that God will bless the cause (+Sache+, f.) of liberty’, and use the attributive constr. for the transl. of ‘and the — nationality’. Any other constr. would be much too clumsy.
[17] = deeds.
[18] to give victory, +den Sieg verleihen+; to go forth to battle, +in die Schlacht ziehen+.
[19] +auf.+
[20] Supply ‘then, that’.
[21] = conquer.
_Section 159._
THE[1] WAY TO MASTER THE TEMPER.
A London (S. 157, N. 4) merchant, having[2] a dispute with a Quaker concerning a business account, determined[3] to institute a law-suit against him. Desirous of amicably settling[4] the matter, the Quaker called at the house of the merchant, when[5] the latter became so enraged that he vehemently[6] declared to his servant _that_ he would (App. §§ 28 and 30) not see his opponent. “Well, friend,” said the Quaker quietly, “may[7] God put thee in a better mind.” The merchant was[8] subdued by the kindness of the reply, and, after careful consideration, became convinced that[9] he was wrong. He sent[10] for the Quaker, and[11] after making a humble apology, he asked: “How were you able to bear my abuse[11] with so much patience?” “Friend,” replied the Quaker, “I was naturally[12] as hot[13] and violent as thou _art_, but I knew that[14] to indulge my temper was sinful, and also very foolish. I observed that men in a passion always spoke very loud, and I thought that[15], if I could control my voice, I should keep down my passion. I therefore made[16] it a rule never to let it rise above a certain key; and by _a_ careful observance of this rule I have, with the blessing of God[17], entirely mastered my[18] natural temper.”—ALCOTT.
[1] +Wie man seinen Zorn beherrschen kann.+
[2] Change ‘having’ into ‘had’; the object is best placed after ‘account’.
[3] Supply ‘and’ before ‘determined’; to institute a law-suit against a person, +einen gerichtlich belangen+.
[4] to settle a matter amicably, +eine Sache auf gütliche Weise ordnen+. Comp. S. 30, N. 4, and note that the Present Participle ‘being’ is understood at the commencement of this period.
[5] = whereupon.
[6] = emphatically, +nachdrücklich+.
[7] Say ‘may God alter thy mind (+Gesinnung+, f.)’.
[8] to be subdued, +sich besiegt fühlen+; by, +durch+.
[9] ‘that — wrong’ may be briefly turned by ‘of his wrong’.
[10] to send for a person, +einen zu sich rufen lassen+.
[11] ‘and — asked’. This passage, literally translated, would be inelegant in German, say: ‘humbly begged his pardon, and asked then’. Abuse, +Beleidigung+, f.
[12] +von Natur.+
[13] = passionate.
[14] = that it was sinful, etc.; to indulge one’s temper, +seinem Zorn freien Lauf lassen+.
[15] = that I could (App. § 33) conquer my anger through mastering my voice (+durch Beherrschung meiner Stimme+).
[16] We make it a rule never to let our voices rise beyond a certain key, +wir machen es uns zur Regel, unsere Stimmen nie über eine gewisse Tonstärke hinaus zu erheben+.
[17] = with God’s help.
[18] = my natural inclination to (+zu+) anger (S. 3, N. 2).
_Section 160._
OPINIONS[1] AS TO ENGLISH EDUCATION.