r us the first and most sacred of
principles. Some have their idol in Rome and the Vatican; others in
Westminster and the English Parliament; meanwhile, what becomes of poor
France, which is neither Roman nor English, and which does not wish to
be either?

"No, without doubt, all is not perfect. Let us accept it on the
condition of correcting and improving it. Examine the character,
original and altogether modern, of this new Empire, which sincerely has
no desire to repress liberty, which has acquired glory, and in which the
august chain of tradition is already renewed. What a _role_ does it
offer to young and intelligent minds, to generous minds, which, putting
apart secondary questions and disengaging themselves from formulas,
should be willing to seize and comprehend their entire epoch, accepting
all that it contains! What a problem in politics, in public economy, in
popular utility, that of seeking and aiding to prepare the way for such
a future as is possible for France, as is now grandly opening before
her, with a chief who has in his hand the power of Louis XIV., and in
his heart the democratic principles of the Revolution,--for he has them,
and his race is bound to have them!"

This, it will be perceived, is an application of the ideas of Mr.
Carlyle, modified by the special views and characteristics of the
writer, and adapted to the circumstances and necessities of the
particular case. It has far less similarity with the doctrines so
pompously announced, so vaguely applied, in the _Vie de Jules Cesar_. It
does not lie open to the criticism which that clumsy and feeble apology
seemed intended to provoke, and which it had received at the competent
hands of M. Scherer. We have here no mysterious revelations of the
designs of Providence, no intimations that the world was created as a
theatre for the exaltation of certain godlike individuals. The question,
as presented by M. Sainte-Beuve, is a practical one, and as such we
accept it. We believe with him in the necessity for great men, in the
guidance of heroes. We believe with M. Scherer in the animating forces
of liberty, in its activity and power as an essential principle of
progress and civilization. That the combination may exist is attested by
such examples as William of Orange, Count Cavour, Abraham Lincoln.

It all comes, therefore, to this single inquiry: Is the present ruler of
France a great man, a hero? Is he the enlightened leader whom a nation
may an