2710. Proclamation to the Army of the Land (June 1798)
Original French
2710 ANNEXE A LA PIÈCE N° 2708.
PROCLAMATION A L’ARMÉE DE TERRE.
Quartier général, à bord de l’Orient, 4 messidor an VI (22 juin 1798).
Soldats!
Vous allez entreprendre une conquête dont les effets sur la civilisation et le commerce du monde sont incalculables.
Vous porterez à l’Angleterre le coup le plus sûr et le plus sensible, en attendant que vous puissiez lui donner le coup de mort.
Nous ferons quelques marches fatigantes; nous livrerons plusieurs combats; nous réussirons dans toutes nos entreprises; les destins sont pour nous.
Les beys mameluks, qui favorisent exclusivement le commerce anglais, qui ont couvert d’avanies nos négociants et tyrannisent les malheureux habitants du Nil, quelques jours après notre arrivée n’existeront plus.
Les peuples avec lesquels nous allons vivre sont mahométans; leur premier article de foi est celui-ci: « Il n’y a pas d’autre Dieu que Dieu, et Mahomet est son prophète. »
Ne les contredisez pas; agissez avec eux comme nous avons agi avec les juifs, avec les Italiens; ayez des égards pour leurs muftis et leurs imams, comme vous en avez eu pour les rabbins et les évêques.
Ayez pour les cérémonies que prescrit l’Alcoran, pour les mosquées, la même tolérance que vous avez eue pour les couvents, pour les synagogues, pour la religion de Moïse et de Jésus-Christ.
Les légions romaines protégeaient toutes les religions. Vous trouverez ici des usages différents de ceux de l’Europe: il faut vous y accoutumer.
Les peuples chez lesquels nous allons traitent les femmes différemment que nous; mais, dans tous les pays, celui qui viole est un monstre.
Le pillage n’enrichit qu’un petit nombre d’hommes; il nous déshonore, il détruit nos ressources, il nous rend ennemis les peuples qu’il est de notre intérêt d’avoir pour amis.
La première ville que nous allons rencontrer a été bâtie par Alexandre. Nous trouverons à chaque pas des souvenirs dignes d’exciter l’émulation des Français.
BONAPARTE.
Musean translation
Machine-assisted Musean translation directly from the French transcript; source-language model review covered the earlier corpus, with later changes separately checked as documented in corpus/raw/napoleon-proclamations/source-language-review.md.
2710 ANNEX TO ITEM NO. 2708.
PROCLAMATION TO THE ARMY OF THE LAND.
Headquarters, aboard the Orient, 4 Messidor, Year VI (June 22, 1798).
Soldiers!
You are about to undertake a conquest whose effects on the civilization and commerce of the world are incalculable.
You will strike England the surest and most telling blow, until you are able to deliver the deathblow.
We shall make some tiring marches; we shall fight several battles; we shall succeed in all our undertakings; the fates are on our side.
The Mamluk beys, who favor English commerce exclusively, who have subjected our merchants to indignities and tyrannize the unfortunate inhabitants of the Nile, will be no more a few days after our arrival.
The peoples among whom we are going to live are Muslims; their first article of faith is this: “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is his prophet.”
Do not contradict them; act toward them as we have acted toward the Jews and the Italians; show the same regard for their muftis and imams as you have shown for the rabbis and bishops.
Show the ceremonies prescribed by the Quran and the mosques the same tolerance you have shown to the convents, the synagogues, and the religion of Moses and Jesus Christ.
The Roman legions protected all religions. You will find customs here different from those of Europe: you must grow accustomed to them.
The peoples among whom we are going treat women differently from the way we do; but in every country, a man who rapes is a monster.
Pillage enriches only a small number of men; it dishonors us, destroys our resources, and makes enemies of peoples whom it is in our interest to have as friends.
The first city we shall encounter was built by Alexander. At every step we shall find reminders worthy of inspiring the emulation of the French.
BONAPARTE.
Plain English translation
Independently produced machine-assisted Plain translation directly from the same French transcript; source-language model review covered the earlier corpus as documented in corpus/raw/napoleon-proclamations/source-language-review.md.
Appendix to item no. 2708.
Proclamation to the land army.
Headquarters on board the Orient, 4 Messidor, year VI (June 22, 1798).
Soldiers!
You are about to set out on a conquest whose effects on civilization and trade around the world cannot be measured.
You will strike England in the surest and most painful way, until you can deal it a fatal blow.
We will make some tiring marches and fight several battles. We will succeed in everything we undertake. Fate is on our side.
The Mamluk beys favor English trade alone. They have subjected our merchants to abuse and tyrannize the unfortunate people of the Nile. A few days after we arrive, they will be no more.
We are going to live among Muslims. Their first article of faith is: “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is his prophet.”
Do not contradict them. Treat them as we treated the Jews and the Italians. Show respect for their muftis and imams, as you did for the rabbis and bishops.
Be as tolerant of mosques and the ceremonies prescribed by the Quran as you were of convents, synagogues, and the religion of Moses and Jesus Christ.
The Roman legions protected every religion. Here you will find customs different from those of Europe. You must get used to them.
The peoples whose lands we are entering treat women differently than we do. But in every country, anyone who rapes is a monster.
Looting makes only a few men rich. It brings us dishonor, destroys our resources, and turns the peoples it is in our interest to have as friends into our enemies.
The first city we will come to was built by Alexander. At every step we will find reminders worthy of stirring the French to emulation.
Bonaparte.
About this section
2710. Proclamation to the Army of the Land (June 1798) is part of Proclamation to the Army of the Land by Napoléon Bonaparte. This page sets the French original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is part 1 of 1 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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