If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, the
possibility of life is destroyed.
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Chapter II
If we assume as the historians do that great men lead humanity to the attainment of certain endsthe greatness of
Russia or of France, the balance of power in Europe, the
diffusion of the ideas of the Revolution general progress
or anything elsethen it is impossible to explain the facts of
history without introducing the conceptions of chance and
genius.
If the aim of the European wars at the beginning of the
nineteenth century had been the aggrandizement of Russia, that aim might have been accomplished without all the
preceding wars and without the invasion. If the aim wag
the aggrandizement of France, that might have been attained without the Revolution and without the Empire. If
the aim was the dissemination of ideas, the printing press
could have accomplished that much better than warfare. If
the aim was the progress of civilization, it is easy to see that
there are other ways of diffusing civilization more expedient than by the destruction of wealth and of human lives.
Why did it happen in this and not in some other way?
Because it happened so! ‘Chance created the situation;
genius utilized it,’ says history.
But what is chance? What is genius?
The words chance and genius do not denote any really
existing thing and therefore cannot be defined. Those words
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only denote a certain stage of understanding of phenomena. I do not know why a certain event occurs; I think that I
cannot know it; so I do not try to know it and I talk about
chance. I see a force producing effects beyond the scope of
ordinary human agencies; I do not understand why this occurs and I talk of genius.
To a herd of rams, the ram the herdsman drives each evening into a special enclosure to feed and that becomes twice
as fat as the others must seem to be a genius. And it must
appear an astonishing conjunction of genius with a whole
series of extraordinary chances that this ram, who instead
of getting into the general fold every evening goes into a
special enclosure where there are oatsthat this very ram,
swelling with fat, is killed for meat.
But the rams need only cease to suppose that all that
happens to them happens solely for the attainment of their
sheepish aims; they need only admit that what happens to
them may also have purposes beyond their ken, and they
will at once perceive a unity and coherence in what happened to the ram that was fattened. Even if they do not
know for what purpose they are fattened, they will at least
know that all that happened to the ram did not happen accidentally, and will no longer need the conceptions of chance
or genius.
Only by renouncing our claim to discern a purpose immediately intelligible to us, and admitting the ultimate
purpose to be beyond our ken, may we discern the sequence
of experiences in the lives of historic characters and perceive
the cause of the effect they produce (incommensurable with
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ordinary human capabilities), and then the words chance
and genius become superfluous.
We need only confess that we do not know the purpose
of the European convulsions and that we know only the
factsthat is, the murders, first in France, then in Italy, in Africa, in Prussia, in Austria, in Spain, and in Russiaand that
the movements from the west to the east and from the east
to the west form the essence and purpose of these events,
and not only shall we have no need to see exceptional ability and genius in Napoleon and Alexander, but we shall be
unable to consider them to be anything but like other men,
and we shall not be obliged to have recourse to chance for
an explanation of those small events which made these people what they were, but it will be clear that all those small
events were inevitable.
By discarding a claim to knowledge of the ultimate
purpose, we shall clearly perceive that just as one cannot
imagine a blossom or seed for any single plant better suited
to it than those it produces, so it is impossible to imagine
any two people more completely adapted down to the smallest detail for the purpose they had to fulfill, than Napoleon
and Alexander with all their antecedents.
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Chapter III
The fundamental and essential significance of the European events of the beginning of the nineteenth century lies
in the movement of the mass of the European peoples from
west to east and afterwards from east to west. The commencement of that movement was the movement from west
to east. For the peoples of the west to be able to make their
warlike movement to Moscow it was necessary: (1) that they
should form themselves into a military group of a size able
to endure a collision with the warlike military group of the
east, (2) that they should abandon all established traditions
and customs, and (3) that during their military movement
they should have at their head a man who could justify to
himself and to them the deceptions, robberies, and murders
which would have to be committed during that movement.
And beginning with the French Revolution the old inadequately large group was destroyed, as well as the old habits
and traditions, and step by step a group was formed of larger dimensions with new customs and traditions, and a man
was produced who would stand at the head of the coming
movement and bear the responsibility for all that had to be
done.
A man without convictions, without habits, without
traditions, without a name, and not even a Frenchman,
emergesby what seem the strangest chancesfrom among all
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the seething French parties, and without joining any one of
them is borne forward to a prominent position.
The ignorance of his colleagues, the weakness and insignificance of his opponents, the frankness of his falsehoods,
and the dazzling and self-confident limitations of this man
raise him to the head of the army. The brilliant qualities of the
soldiers of the army sent to Italy, his opponents’ reluctance
to fight, and his own childish audacity and self-confidence
secure him military fame. Innumerable so called chances
accompany him everywhere. The disfavor into which he
falls with the rulers of France turns to his advantage. His
attempts to avoid his predestined path are unsuccessful: he
is not received into the Russian service, and the appointment he seeks in Turkey comes to nothing. During the war
in Italy he is several times on the verge of destruction and
each time is saved in an unexpected manner. Owing to various diplomatic considerations the Russian armiesjust those
which might have destroyed his prestigedo not appear upon
the scene till he is no longer there.
On his return from Italy he finds the government in Paris in a process of dissolution in which all those who are in
it are inevitably wiped out and destroyed. And by chance
an escape from this dangerous position presents itself in
the form of an aimless and senseless expedition to Africa.
Again so-called chance accompanies him. Impregnable
Malta surrenders without a shot; his most reckless schemes
are crowned with success. The enemy’s fleet, which subsequently did not let a single boat pass, allows his entire army
to elude it. In Africa a whole series of outrages are commit
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ted against the almost unarmed inhabitants. And the men
who commit these crimes, especially their leader, assure
themselves that this is admirable, this is gloryit resembles
Caesar and Alexander the Great and is therefore good.
This ideal of glory and grandeurwhich consists not
merely in considering nothing wrong that one does but in
priding oneself on every crime one commits, ascribing to
it an incomprehensible supernatural significancethat ideal,
destined to guide this man and his associates, had scope for
its development in Africa. Whatever he does succeeds. The
plague does not touch him. The cruelty of murdering prisoners is not imputed to him as a fault. His childishly rash,
uncalled-for, and ignoble departure from Africa, leaving
his comrades in distress, is set down to his credit, and again
the enemy’s fleet twice lets him slip past. When, intoxicated
by the crimes he has committed so successfully, he reaches
Paris, the dissolution of the republican government, which
a year earlier might have ruined him, has reached its extreme limit, and his presence there now as a newcomer free
from party entanglements can only serve to exalt himand
though he himself has no plan, he is quite ready for his new
role.
He had no plan, he was afraid of everything, but the parties snatched at him and demanded his participation.
He alonewith his ideal of glory and grandeur developed
in Italy and Egypt, his insane self-adulation, his boldness
in crime and frankness in lyinghe alone could justify what
had to be done.
He is needed for the place that awaits him, and so almost
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apart from his will and despite his indecision, his lack of
a plan, and all his mistakes, he is drawn into a conspiracy
that aims at seizing power and the conspiracy is crowned
with success.
He is pushed into a meeting of the legislature. In alarm
he wishes to flee, considering himself lost. He pretends
to fall into a swoon and says senseless things that should
have ruined him. But the once proud and shrewd rulers of
France, feeling that their part is played out, are even more
bewildered than he, and do not say the words they should
have said to destroy him and retain their power.
Chance, millions of chances, give him power, and all
men as if by agreement co-operate to confirm that power.
Chance forms the characters of the rulers of France, who
submit to him; chance forms the character of Paul I of Russia who recognizes his government; chance contrives a plot
against him which not only fails to harm him but confirms
his power. Chance puts the Duc d’Enghien in his hands and
unexpectedly causes him to kill himthereby convincing the
mob more forcibly than in any other way that he had the
right, since he had the might. Chance contrives that though
he directs all his efforts to prepare an expedition against
England (which would inevitably have ruined him) he never
carries out that intention, but unexpectedly falls upon Mack
and
