The French peasant believes
that he had a guiding star; that he was advised and directed by a
familiar spirit in the shape of a "Red Man"; and that he was saved from
dangers and death by virtue of a secret compact with the Supreme Being.
The Russian peasant asserts that he was created by the Devil, and that
God, after having given him a soul by accident, first used him as a
means of punishing the Russian people for their sins, and then made him
really a man by inspiring him with the human feelings of sympathy and
compassion. In the French story Napoleon appears as a great military
leader, whose life and career reflect honor and glory upon France. In
the Russian story he is merely the leading actor in a sort of moral
drama, or historical mystery-play, intended to show the divine nature of
sympathy and compassion, the immorality of war, and the essential
solidarity and brotherhood of all mankind.
GEORGE KENNAN.
* * * * *
NAPOLEONDER[1]
[Footnote 1: The Russian peasant's name for Napoleon Bonaparte.
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