Book Description

Excerpt from History of the Consulate and the Empire of France Under Napoleon, Vol. 1: Forming a Sequel to "the History of the French Revolution" I use the word here in its ordinary acceptation, and, apply ing it to subjects most diverse, will endeavour to make my meaning plain. One often observes in a child, a workman, or a statesman, something which one does not at once qualify by the name of wit, because it is devoid of brilliance, but which one calls intelligence, because the person endowed with it is able at once to grasp the meaning of what is said to him; sees, understands with half a word, if a child, what is being taught him - if a workman, the work given him to execute if a statesman, events, their causes and consequences; reads character, the proclivities of the men he has to deal with, the conduct to be expected from them, and is neither surprised nor embarrassed by what may take place, although it may cause him sorrow. This is what is understood by intelligence, and for all practical purposes this simple quality, which makes no show, is of greater utility in life than all the gifts of mind, genius excepted, which, after all, is but intelligence with the addition of brilliancy, power, breadth, and readiness. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.