In 1793 European
sovereigns had banded together to invade France, to restore the divine-
right monarchy of the Bourbons and the traditional rights of the
privileged classes, and to stamp out the embryonic principles of
liberty, equality, and fraternity. The most noteworthy significance of
the Era of Napoleon was the simple fact that now in 1814 the monarchs
of Europe, at last in possession of France, had no serious thought of
restoring social or political conditions just as they had been prior to
the Revolution. Their major quarrel was not with principles but with a
man. The Tsar Alexander, to whom more than to any other one person, was
due the triumph of the allies, was a benevolent prince, well-versed in
the revolutionary philosophy, considerate of popular wishes, and
anxious to promote a lasting peace. Talleyrand, the man of the hour
among Frenchmen, who himself had played no mean role throughout the
Revolution and under Napoleon, combined with a desire to preserve the
frontiers of his country a firm conviction that the bulk of his
countrymen would not revert to absolute monarchy.
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