It was this kind of an
army which Napoleon Bonaparte took over and which had earned for him
his first spectacular successes. He certainly tried to preserve its
Revolutionary enthusiasm throughout his career. He talked much of its
"mission" and its "destiny," of liberty, equality, and fraternity, and
he kept alive its traditions of heroism and duty. He even improved its
discipline, its material well-being, and its honor. But gradually,
almost imperceptibly, the altruistic ideals of the Revolution gave way
in the French army to the more selfish and more Napoleonic ideal of
glamour and glory. And as years passed by and the deadly campaigns
repeated themselves and the number of patriotic volunteers lessened,
Napoleon resorted more and more to conscription--forcibly taking away
thousands of young Frenchmen from peaceful and productive pursuits at
home and strewing their bones throughout the length and breadth of the
Continent.
[Sidenote: 3. Reaction of Nationalism]
Nor did Napoleon's army remain homogeneous.
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