Excerpt from History of Europe From the Commencement of the French Revolution in 1789 to the Restoration of the Bourbons in 1815, Vol. 4 of 4
Weakness of the Empire, notwithstanding these immense Physical Resources.
The Russian Empire, which had thus repelled the most formidable armament slow but ever arrayed against the liberties steady growth of mankind, and defeated the whole of Russian forces of Western Europe, led by Empire, the most consummate commander of modern times, is a state of such vast strength and boundless resources, that it is obviously destined to make a great and lasting impression on human affairs. Its progress has been slow, but it is only on that account the more likely to be durable. It has not suddenly risen to greatness - like the empires of Alexander in ancient, or Napoleon in modern times - from the force of individual genius, or the accident of casual fortune; but has slowly advanced, and been firmly consolidated during a succession of ages, from the combined influence of ambition skilfully directed, and energy perseveringly applied. It received its greatest development from the French Revolution - the experience acquired, and the spirit called forth during the contest for its existence, doubled its power; and the cloud which had hitherto overshadowed in obscure and gloomy grandeur the North of Europe, now emerged, like the genie in the Eastern fable, an armed giant, from the stroke of Napoleon.
There is no example in the annals of the world of an empire thus slowly and in steadily advancing to greatness, which has not long endured, left indelible traces of its power on the monuments of history. The probable length of life may be anticipated with tolerable certainty to national, not less than individual existence; it is in the duration of growth and adolescence that the measure of future maturity and decay is to be found. Experience proves that this is not a mere fanciful analogy, suggested by the obvious resemblance of the growth of communities to that of single men, but a fixed law of nature - a part of that mysterious unity of design which runs through every part of creation, and blends together the minutest object in the material, with the sublimest combinations in the moral world.
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. Это и многое другое вы найдете в книге History of Europe From the Commencement of the French Revolution in 1789 to the Restoration of the Bourbons in 1815, Vol. 4 of 4 (Classic Reprint)