Page:Conventional Lies of our Civilization.djvu/88

74 time to forget their unpaid bills and their boots run down at the heel. The fact that the Bonapartes were not satisfied with being the absolute rulers of France, but insisted upon a grand, religious coronation ceremony before the altar of Notre Dame, was their great political blunder. The 18. Brumaire and the 2d of December made the religious coronation superfluous. The dove of the Holy Ghost ought not to have been associated with the imperial eagle.

If it is possible for a dictator to dispense with Religion, this is far from being the case with a legitimate monarchy. Religion is its natural and indispensable foundation. In the majority of cases, the monarch is endowed with rather less than more than the average of human, natural gifts. Very rarely do we find a prince who is what would be called in every-day life a capable man, and only once in centuries does a dynasty produce a man of commanding talents or of genius. Among the reigning princes of civilized countries there are some who lay claim to being great generals, others to being authors, painters, musicians, scientists or legal authorities. They take great pains to master the special branches of learning or art, to which they are most attached, and their productions in this line can be looked upon as tests of their ability. But what is the result? If we examine these productions, not from the point of view of a court hanger-on, but as an impartial critic, we are obliged to come to the conclusion that unsupported by the prestige of royalty, they would never have attained to even a moderate rank in the departments they have chosen. This prince who pretends to be such a fine soldier, would never have received promotion for his military talents; this one who is coquetting with jurisprudence, would not have been able to win many suits; this other, the would-be astronomer,