Ambitious and
successful in the arts of peace, he would be more ambitious and more
successful in the science of war. The empire, therefore, meant war
quite as clearly as the Consulate meant peace. To speculate upon what
Napoleon might have accomplished for France had he restrained his
ambition and continued to apply his talents entirely to the less
sensational triumphs of peace, is idle, because Napoleon was not that
type of man. He lived for and by selfish ambition.
[Sidenote: The Empire Military]
The ten years of the empire (1804-1814) were attended by continuous
warfare. Into the intricacies of the campaigns it is neither possible
nor expedient in the compass of this chapter to enter. It is aimed,
rather, to present only such features of the long struggle as are
significant in the general history of Europe, for the wars of Napoleon
served a purpose which their prime mover only incidentally had at
heart--the transmission of the revolutionary heritage to Europe.
[Sidenote: Renewal of War between France and Great Britain]
When the empire was established, war between France and Great Britain,
interrupted by the truce of Amiens, had already broken forth afresh.
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