The humiliation to
Austria was accentuated by the fact that her armies were nearly twice
that of France. They were also in good condition, while the French
armies were ragged and half starved. With this inferior equipment
Bonaparte humbled the most haughty nation in Europe in the space of a
year. He defeated them again in 1800, at Marengo, and was at all times
their arch-enemy.
All this happened some years before the period of which we are writing.
Beethoven regarded Napoleon as a liberator, a savior, on account of his
success in restoring order out of chaos in France. It showed
considerable moral courage on his part to come out so plainly for
Napoleon. A broader question than patriotism, however, was here
involved. Patriotism seeks the good of a small section. Altruism
embraces the good of all, thus including patriotism.
The idea of writing the symphony to Napoleon may have been suggested to
Beethoven by General Bernadotte, who was then the Ambassador of the
French at Vienna. He and Count Moritz Lichnowsky were intimate friends
and saw a good deal of Beethoven at that time.
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