"Napoleon regarded this as
precisely the most striking proof of the divinity of Jesus[1]--namely, his power
over men's hearts. The once well nigh all-powerful Corsican, in the solitude of
his last days, called up before his imagination all the heroic figures and
master minds of the world, and measured them by his own gigantic greatness. But
all of them combined, and he himself as well, vanished like empty shadows
before the person of Jesus Christ:
Napoleon: "What a conqueror!
--a conqueror who controls humanity at will, and wins to himself not only one
nation, but the whole human race. What a marvel! He attaches to himself the
human soul with all its energies. And how? By a miracle which surpasses all
others. He claims the love of men--that is to say, the most difficult thing in
the world to obtain; that which the wisest of men cannot froce from his truest
friend, that which no father can compel from his children, no wife from her
husband, no brother from his brother--the heart. He claims it; he requires it
absolutely and undividedly, and he obtains it instantly.
Alexander, Caesar, Hannibal,
Louis XIV strove in vain to secure this. They conquered the world, yet they had
not a single friend, or at all events, they have none any more. Christ speaks,
however, and from that moment all generations belong to him; and they are
joined to him much more closely than by any ties of blood and by a much more
intimate, sacred and powerful communion. He kindles the flame of love which
causes one's self-love to die, and triumphs over every other love. Why should
we not recognize in this miracle of love the eternal Word which created the
world? The other founders of religions had not the least conception of this
mystic love which forms the essence of Christianity.
I have filled multitudes with
such passionate devotion that they went to death for me. But God forbid that I
should compare the enthusiasm of my soldiers with Christian love. They are as
unlike as their causes. In my case, my presence was always necessary, the
electric effect of my glance, my voice, my words, to kindle fire in their
hearts. And I certainly posses personally the secret of that magic power of
taking by storm the sentiments of men; but I was not able to communicate that
power to anyone. None of my generals ever learned it from me or found it out.
Moreover, I myself do not possess the secret of perpetuating my name and a love
for me in their hearts forever, and to work miracles in them without material
means.
Now that I languish here at St
Helena, chained upon this rock, who fights, who conquers empires for me? Who
still even thinks of me? Who interests himself for me in Europe? Who has
remained true to me? That is the fate of all great men. It was the fate of Alexander
and Caesar, as it is my own. We are forgotten, and the names of the mightiest
conquerors and most illustrious emperors are soon only the subject of a
schoolboy's tasks. Our exploits come under the rod of a pedantic schoolmaster,
who praises or condemns us as he likes.
What an abyss exists between my
profound misery and the eternal reign of Christ, who is preached, loved, and
worshipped, and live on throughout the entire world. Is this to die? Is it not
rather to live eternally? The death of Christ! It is the death of a God."
(Quoted in Hilarin Felder, Christ
and the Critics, vol. 2, pp. 216-17)
[1]To me, there is no great
proof than that his disciples followed His Way after His death knowing they
would die painful death with no possible promise of earthly riches or
importance. They clearly had
certain knowledge of His divinity, His resurrection.
