461. To His Brothers in Arms (May 1796)
Original French
461 — A SES FRÈRES D’ARMES.
Quartier général, Milan, 1er prairial an IV (20 mai 1796).
Soldats,
Vous vous êtes précipités comme un torrent du haut de l’Apennin; vous avez culbuté, dispersé, éparpillé tout ce qui s’opposait à votre marche.
Le Piémont, délivré de la tyrannie autrichienne, s’est livré à ses sentiments naturels de paix et d’amitié pour la France.
Milan est à vous, et le pavillon républicain flotte dans toute la Lombardie.
Les ducs de Parme et de Modène ne doivent leur existence politique qu’à votre générosité.
L’armée qui vous menaçait avec tant d’orgueil ne trouve plus de barrière qui la rassure contre votre courage.
Le Pô, le Tessin, l’Adda n’ont pu vous arrêter un seul jour; ces boulevards vantés de l’Italie ont été insuffisants, vous les avez franchis aussi rapidement que l’Apennin.
Tant de succès ont porté la joie dans le sein de la patrie; vos représentants ont ordonné une fête dédiée à vos victoires, célébrée dans toutes les communes de la République. Là, vos pères, vos mères, vos épouses, vos sœurs, vos amantes se réjouissent de vos succès et se vantent avec orgueil de vous appartenir.
Oui, soldats, vous avez beaucoup fait; mais ne vous reste-t-il donc plus rien à faire? Dira-t-on de nous que nous avons su vaincre, mais que nous n’avons pas su profiter de la victoire? La postérité nous reprochera-t-elle d’avoir trouvé Capoue dans la Lombardie? Mais je vous vois déjà courir aux armes: un lâche repos vous fatigue; les journées perdues pour la gloire le sont pour votre bonheur. Eh bien, partons! nous avons encore des marches forcées à faire, des ennemis à soumettre, des lauriers à cueillir, des injures à venger.
Que ceux qui ont aiguisé les poignards de la guerre civile en France, qui ont lâchement assassiné nos ministres, incendié nos vaisseaux à Toulon tremblent; l’heure de la vengeance a sonné.
Mais que les peuples soient sans inquiétude; nous sommes amis de tous les peuples, et plus particulièrement des descendants des Brutus, des Scipion et des grands hommes que nous avons pris pour modèles. Rétablir le Capitole, y placer avec honneur les statues des héros qui se rendirent célèbres, réveiller le peuple romain engourdi par plusieurs siècles d’esclavage, tel sera le fruit de vos victoires. Elles feront époque dans la postérité. Vous aurez la gloire immortelle de changer la face de la plus belle partie de l’Europe.
Le peuple français, libre, respecté du monde entier, donnera à l’Europe une paix glorieuse qui l’indemnisera des sacrifices de toute espèce qu’il a faits depuis six ans. Vous rentrerez alors dans vos foyers, et vos concitoyens diront en vous montrant: « Il était de l’armée d’Italie! »
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.
TO HIS BROTHERS IN ARMS.
Headquarters, Milan, 1 Prairial, Year IV (May 20, 1796).
Soldiers,
You have rushed down from the heights of the Apennines like a torrent; you have overthrown, dispersed, and scattered everything that stood in the way of your advance.
Piedmont, freed from Austrian tyranny, has given itself over to its natural feelings of peace and friendship toward France.
Milan is yours, and the republican flag flies throughout Lombardy.
The dukes of Parma and Modena owe their political existence solely to your generosity.
The army that threatened you so proudly can no longer find a barrier to reassure it against your courage.
The Po, the Ticino, and the Adda could not stop you for a single day; these vaunted bulwarks of Italy proved unequal to the task, and you crossed them as swiftly as the Apennines.
So many successes have brought joy to the heart of the fatherland; your representatives have decreed a festival dedicated to your victories, celebrated in every commune of the Republic. There your fathers, mothers, wives, sisters, and lovers rejoice in your successes and boast proudly of belonging to you.
Yes, soldiers, you have done much; but is there nothing left for you to do? Will it be said of us that we knew how to conquer, but not how to profit from victory? Will posterity reproach us for having found Capua in Lombardy? But I already see you rushing to arms: a cowardly rest wearies you; days lost to glory are lost to your happiness. Well then, let us set out! We still have forced marches to make, enemies to subdue, laurels to gather, wrongs to avenge.
Let those who sharpened the daggers of civil war in France, who cowardly murdered our ministers and burned our ships at Toulon, tremble; the hour of vengeance has struck.
But let the peoples have no fear; we are friends of all peoples, and especially of the descendants of the Brutuses, the Scipios, and the great men we have taken as our models. To restore the Capitol, to place there with honor the statues of the heroes who made themselves famous, to awaken the Roman people, numbed by several centuries of slavery—such will be the fruit of your victories. They will mark an epoch for posterity. You will have the immortal glory of changing the face of the fairest part of Europe.
The French people, free and respected by the whole world, will give Europe a glorious peace that will compensate them for the sacrifices of every kind they have made these six years. Then you will return to your homes, and your fellow citizens will point to you and say: “He was with the Army of Italy!”
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.
To His Brothers in Arms
Headquarters, Milan, 1 Prairial, Year IV (May 20, 1796).
Soldiers,
You came rushing down from the Apennines like a flood. You overturned, dispersed, and scattered everything that stood in the path of your advance.
Once freed from Austrian tyranny, Piedmont gave way to its natural sentiments of peace and friendship for France.
Milan belongs to you, and the republican flag flies throughout Lombardy.
Only your generosity allows the dukes of Parma and Modena to retain their political existence.
The army that threatened you with such pride can no longer find any barrier behind which it feels safe from your courage.
Neither the Po nor the Ticino nor the Adda could hold you back for one day. These much-praised defenses of Italy were not enough. You crossed them as quickly as you crossed the Apennines.
All these successes have brought joy to our homeland. Your representatives have decreed a festival dedicated to your victories, celebrated in every commune of the Republic. There your fathers, mothers, wives, sisters, and sweethearts rejoice in what you have achieved and proudly boast that they belong to you.
Yes, soldiers, your achievements are great; yet have you nothing more to accomplish? Will people say that we knew how to win but not how to make use of victory? Will future generations reproach us for finding Capua in Lombardy? But already I see you running for your weapons. You are weary of cowardly rest; days lost to glory are lost to your happiness as well. So let us go! We still have forced marches ahead, enemies to subdue, laurels to gather, and wrongs to avenge.
Those who sharpened civil war's daggers in France, who cowardly murdered our ministers and set our ships ablaze at Toulon, must tremble. The hour of vengeance has struck.
But let the peoples have no fear. We are friends of every people, and above all of those descended from the Brutuses, the Scipios, and the great men we have chosen as our models. Your victories will restore the Capitol, give the statues of heroes who won fame a place of honor there, and awaken the Roman people, numbed by several centuries of slavery. Those victories will mark an era for posterity. By transforming the face of Europe's most beautiful region, you will win undying glory.
Free and respected throughout the world, the French people will bring Europe a glorious peace. It will make up for all the sacrifices of every kind they have made over the past six years. You will then return home, and your fellow citizens will point you out and say, “He served in the army of Italy!”
BONAPARTE.
About this section
461. To His Brothers in Arms (May 1796) is part of To His Brothers in Arms at Milan 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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