Obviously, one of the greatest military geniuses of all time--he gets five stars for that--but, to put it mildly, there was a bit of disillusionment in Europe when it turned out that the liberty, equality and fraternity that he professed to bring was somewhat secondary to his lust for power and domination. Remember that if WE live in interesting times, there have been times in world history that were even more interesting. Beethoven allegedly dedicated his Eroica symphony (No. 3, the Heroic) to Napoleon, but tore up the title page in frustration when he heard of the most recent behavior of Napoleon and the French armies--and then dedicated it to an anonymous hero instead. The phrase Adlai Stevenson used to describe communism--a corruption of a dream of justice--could also be used to describe the short man from Corsica.
