Ancient Topics in Napoleon’s Proclamations to the army
Ancient Topics in Napoleon’s Proclamations to the army

Summary/Abstract: The present paper analyses the ancient topics and elements of rhetoric in Napoleon Bonaparte’s proclamations to the army, as they come down to our times in his correspondence and memoirs. The main focus is on the exhortations issued during the early campaigns in Italy and Egypt, since they employ this kind of imagery to the greatest extent. The aim of the paper is to show that the content of these short proclamations, which had obvious propagandistic meaning, was deeply rooted in the Classical education, as well as in the French republican imagery, and also art and literature of the period, all together which shaped the early years of the prospective Emperor.

• Details
• Contents