Note 6 — Chapter II
Reading edition
À propos of Napoleon, it is strange how great was his fondness for music. A person whose voice flattered his ear rarely displeased him. But, if a name had a harsh sound, he muttered it between his teeth, and never uttered it aloud. Grillparzer says of Napoleon: “Er war zu gross, weil seine Zeit zu klein.” (“He was too great, because the age in which he lived was too little.”) Napoleon imagined that he would have made Corneille a prince if he had lived in his time, but it is more likely that he would have imprisoned him for life.