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Toying with ideas and peoples, religions and governments, handling mankind with unparalleled dexterity and brutality, he was a superior artist of seduction and intimidation. Admirable yet terrifying, he appeared like a magnificent wild beast suddenly unleashed upon a tame, grazing herd.
"I saw him for the first time," writes Madame de Staël, "upon his return to France. Once the initial shock of admiration faded, a profound sense of dread took its place." Yet he held no absolute power then; the fear he inspired stemmed solely from the singular effect of his presence. "I soon realized that his character could not be defined by our usual words; he was neither good, nor violent, nor gentle, nor cruel in the way we understand. Such a being, having no equal, could neither feel nor inspire sympathy; he was something more or less than a man; his bearing, his mind, his language bore the mark of an alien nature."
Far from reassuring me, seeing Bonaparte more often only intimidated me further. I vaguely sensed that no heartfelt emotion could reach him. He regards a human being as a fact or a thing, not as a fellow creature. He neither hates nor loves; for him, only he exists; all others are mere ciphers. The force of his will lies in the imperturbable calculation of his egoism; he is a skillful player for whom the human race is merely the opponent he intends to checkmate.
"Every time I heard him speak, I was struck by his superiority... His discourse revealed an instinct for circumstances, like a hunter sensing his prey. I felt within his soul a cold, sharp sword that froze as it wounded; I sensed a deep irony within his mind from which nothing great or beautiful could escape, not even his own glory, for he despised the very nation whose acclaim he sought."
"I saw him for the first time," writes Madame de Staël, "upon his return to France. Once the initial shock of admiration faded, a profound sense of dread took its place." Yet he held no absolute power then; the fear he inspired stemmed solely from the singular effect of his presence. "I soon realized that his character could not be defined by our usual words; he was neither good, nor violent, nor gentle, nor cruel in the way we understand. Such a being, having no equal, could neither feel nor inspire sympathy; he was something more or less than a man; his bearing, his mind, his language bore the mark of an alien nature."
Far from reassuring me, seeing Bonaparte more often only intimidated me further. I vaguely sensed that no heartfelt emotion could reach him. He regards a human being as a fact or a thing, not as a fellow creature. He neither hates nor loves; for him, only he exists; all others are mere ciphers. The force of his will lies in the imperturbable calculation of his egoism; he is a skillful player for whom the human race is merely the opponent he intends to checkmate.
"Every time I heard him speak, I was struck by his superiority... His discourse revealed an instinct for circumstances, like a hunter sensing his prey. I felt within his soul a cold, sharp sword that froze as it wounded; I sensed a deep irony within his mind from which nothing great or beautiful could escape, not even his own glory, for he despised the very nation whose acclaim he sought."
