...a carelessly impressive career. To lose one's way near Toulouse may lead one on a trek to Lourdes, the House of Lords, or even to municipal solvency.
A gulf or two may now exist between Napoleon and Josephine, but overly ambitious romantics should always bear in mind that future generations may not always be generous. John Jervis, known to posterity as Earl St Vincent, is surprised he is not a household name, even in Adelaide, unlike a certain Bonaparte personage.
Do you know anyone with a debt to history,
or is history - or a lack of
awareness of history - the cause of debt?
The 21st century Enlightenment is now sweeping the globe. Its major theme is justice rather than progress. Its main centre of intellectual and cultural activity is Adelaide in Australia rather than France or Monticello. Napoleon is very pleased. You may be aware, dear reader, that his main ambition has always been to see Australia.
Les Invalides is not a suitable place for someone of his status to be commemorated, so he believes. He would much rather have a memorial in Hurtle Square in Adelaide, especially as he wishes to hurtle around the world again in search of personal and political glory. He would even like to take the political stage in Canberra from time to time. Napoleon and Australia
Many persons hurtle about nowadays in an assortment of uncivilized contraptions, often in search of nothing in particular, even when quite far away from Hurtle Square. The same sorts of persons frequently also fail to understand the purpose of historical awareness.
If you are an enlightened person yourself, dear reader, you will know that the purpose of historical awareness is to identify and examine examples of justice and injustice. You will know how useful it can be to compare and contrast beliefs, actions and their geographical and temporal contexts.
You will know how to explore the universal characteristics of human possibilities, making the distinction between the particular peculiarities of times, places and personages, on the one hand, and timeless psychological, social and philosophical phenomena, on the other.
Napoleon was a very silly emperor, as was his nephew. No empire ever becomes too big to fail, whether as a consequence of military over-ambition or financial folly. An enlightened person in the 21st century would never respect anyone who wants to be an emperor, of any description, whether in Dover, Deauville, Dover Gardens, or Detroit.
Josephine and I enjoyed a quiet paddle in the sea after a cup of tea at Deauville this morning. I especially find it nice to get away from the company of earls and ex-emperors for a while, and it can be quite pleasant to be able to impress an ex-empress.
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