Great Men

I'm sure its more complicated than that, but I have a dim memory of a Sophomore year English class teacher who said that Leo Tolstoy thought that the tide of history and other external factors were far more important than the deeds of people such as Napoleon.  This was in reference to Tolstoy's book War and Peace that we somehow had to read during the ten-week academic quarter.

I see little reason to deny that people are influenced by their times.  On the other hand, there are some people who are far more capable than most others in altering the direction of history significantly.  Culture, technology, all the rest of the package they might use or resist on their road to greatness because they can, while the rest of us cannot or do not.

What brings this to mind are two fairly recent biographies written by Andrew Roberts.  One is about Napoleon, the other deals with Churchill.

Note that I didn't write "Napoleon Bonaparte" and "Winston Churchill" in the previous sentence.  That's because I assume most readers know exactly who I'm referring to.  That's because they were great men.  One doesn't need to approve of what they did to agree that in several respects they were superior to most of their contemporaries.

Napoleon is generally acknowledged as being a military genius, though he eventually began making military mistakes.  He had the sense to understand the political situation in France as the Revolution faded and was able to seize power while still a young man.  He also was an intellectual, widely read and interested in a variety of fields.  He didn't have to bring scholars along when he invaded Egypt, but did so.  One result of that was the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and the recognition of its importance.  Then there is the Code Napoleon, the basis for law in many parts of Europe.

Churchill's accomplishments were less wide-ranging than Napoleon's.  His greatest deed was altering the course of World War 2 by not seeking peace with Hitler after France fell, while shoring up the morale of the British public.  Otherwise, he was a prolific writer, a fearless soldier who killed men in battle, an adventurer newspaper correspondent, and a politician who held many of the most important British government positions at one time or another.

How many of us have anything near Napoleon's and Churchill's skill-sets?