With less ability than Iturbide, either of
those princes would have made a better monarch than that adventurer. It
is not so much intellect as influence that makes a sovereign useful, the
man being of far less consequence than the institution. Even the case of
Napoleon I. affords no exception to this rule; for his dynasty and his
empire fell with him, because they lacked the stability which comes from
prescription alone. Had Marlborough and Eugene penetrated to Paris, as
did Wellington and Bluecher a century later, they never would have
thought of subverting the Bourbon line; but the Bonaparte line was cut
off as of course when its chief was defeated. The first king may have
been a fortunate soldier only, but it requires several generations of
royalty to give power to a reigning house, as in old times it required
several descents to give to a man the flavor of genuine nobility. If it
be objected to this, that it is an admission of the power which is
claimed for flunkeyism, we can only meet the charge by saying that there
is much of the flunkey in man, and that whoso shall endeavor to
construct a government without recognizing a truth which is universal,
though not great, will find that his structure can better be compared to
the Syrian flower than to the Syrian cedar.
Pages:
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373