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A Defence of Napoleon . To the Editor . Sir , In the Monthly Repository for May , p 339 , are Remarks on my Defence of Napoleon , which I have just read with « some surprise , " though not with " indignation " When I drew up that defence I certainly expected a reply , but , at the same time , I expected one worthy of the subject . I am disappointed ; and if I am not mistaken , Dr . Channing and his admirers will have little cause to be proud of their champion .
I pass over the insinuations which are thrown out respecting myself , as they are not worthy of my notice . " Every common dauber writes rascal or villain under his pictures , because the pictures themselves have neither character nor resemblance ; " and I should be as weak and as ignorant as " A Lover of Truth aud Freedom" supposes , were I to suffer myself to be drawn away from the grand question by His uncalled-for inueudoes .
I am not au advocate for war , and I deny that Napoleon ever made a " selfish and tyraunical use" of it . He was never the aggressor ; and I am ready to maintain that so long as society remains what it is , defensive war is justifiable . Doubtless a time will arrive , and I rejoice in the certain anticipation of it , when war will be no more , and when mankind
will be brethren from pole to pole ; but at present it is not so , and that man must be a simpleton iudeed , who will allow others to invade his rights with impunity , and to rob him of all which is held most dear , without opposing an honourable resistance . I am charged with the greatest of sophistry for asserting that as war exists , it is right in the Divine plan . \ f « ' A Lover of Truth and Freedom" will seriously consider the
argumeuts of Dr . Priestley iu his controversy with Dr . Price upon Liberty and Necessity , he will probably lower his tone and change his opinion i but if those masterl y arguments do not carry conviction to his min *! , I shall at least have the satisfaction of knowing that I am supported ia my " sophistry" by one of whom the \ voj * ld was npt worthy , and one who , as a . philosopher , a patriot , a divine , and q pious Christian , was certainly not inferior to Dr . Channing .
As it regards the author of the Anatysis , I have nothing to do with his mo - r qualities and private character . I trust that in these respects he ja as excellent as he is represented . His theological productions are generally good ,
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though some of them are tinctured with a degree of mysticism which is more allied to the writings of Thomas a Kenipis than those which we might expect , in the present day , from the pen of an enlightened and able divine . I confine myself to his Analysis ; and having deliberately examined that work , I solemnly declare it abounds with untruths and
unjustifiable calumnies of the illustrious dead . These assertions are strong , but I have weighed them well , and am fullyprepared to prove their accuracy . If Dr . Channing , or any other writer , capable of discussing the subject , will fairly cotne
forwards , I engage to meet him ou proper ground , and to do justice to the character and actions of Napoleon ; but as for " A Lover of Truth and Freedom , " he must either shew greater powers , and produce better arguments thau his " Remarks" contain , or decline the contest .
If I have said any thing unfavourable to the character of the American people , the responsibility rests with their eulogist , Dr . Channing . Had he not boasted of them as being all heart , I should uot have alluded to their conduct in several battles . There are times ,
certainly , when the brave become cowards , and the cowards brave ; but the Americans were not all heart , either as soldiers or patriots , during the struggle for independence : they were a divided people , nor could they have " secured their freedom" without the causes which I
mentioned in my preceding letter . The assistance of the French , the divisions of the English , and the immense distance which separated the latter from their resources , are represented as ** fortuitous circumstances" ! Upon this principle of reasoning , if reasoning it may be termed , every thing is fortuitous , and , little is left to human skill , courage , and
energy . The portrait which is given of the American people is a very fine one , but observe the reverse of the picture . With the exception of Pennsylvania , every iuqh pf ground in North America lias been obtained from the natives of the soil by violence apd force of arms , yet the Americans are " a moral and enlightened nation ; " slavery has existed for above a century iu some of the states ,
but the Americans are " a moral and enlightened nation j" the property of the poor Indians , the real owners of the country , is frequently invaded and seized upon , notwithstanding repeated treaties to the contrary , and from thirteen states there are now twenty , obtained either \> Y craft or violence , and yet the Americans are " a moral and enlightened nation j "
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Miscellaneous Correspondence . 435
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1829, page 435, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2573/page/67/
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