gether; from this date onward, says
an eye-witness,[3355] and, during one quarter of a century, "for most
Frenchmen and in whatever class," the object of life is displaced; each
has put it outside of himself; from now on, the essential thing for
everybody is "to have lived," or "to have died for something," for
an idea. A man becomes the slave of his idea, gives himself up to it;
consequently, he has experienced the intense satisfaction of considering
himself a noble being, of superior essence, foremost among the first,
and of seeing himself regarded in that light and proclaimed and
glorified as such.--This keen, profound and intense pleasure was first
enjoyed by the French on listening to the Declaration of the Rights
of Man; from then, and in good faith, they felt themselves citizens,
philosophers, the destroyers of prejudices and wrongs, zealots in behalf
of truth, liberty and equality, and then, when the war of 1792 came, the
defenders of the country, missionaries and propagators of every grand
principle.[3356]--Towards 1796, principles began to recede in the
background;[3357] in the ideal portrait which man makes of himself the
liberator and benefactor of mankind gradually gives way to the admirable
and admired hero capable of great achievements. This inner portrait of
himself suffices for his happiness for some years to come: vanity[3358]
properly so called and a calculating ambition are not the incentives
of action; if he obtains promotion it is without asking for it; his
aspiration is simply to display himself, to be lavish of himself and
live or die courageously and gaily[3359] along with his comrade; to be
considered, outside the service, the equal, friend and brother of his
subordinates and of his chiefs.[3360] Pillage, nevertheless, has begun;
for, a long continuance of war depraves the conqueror; brutality,
indifference to property and to life grows on him; if callous, or he
wishes to become so, he eats, drinks and enjoys the passing hour;
if provident and wary, he scrapes together what he can or levies
contributions and hoards money.--Under the Empire, and especially
towards 1808 and 1809, the ideal figure degenerates still more; from now
on, it is the successful or the coming officer, with his rank and its
accouterments, his gold-embroidered uniform and badges, exercising
authority over so many hundreds and thousands of men and enjoying a
certain notable sum of regular salaries, besides other gratifications