friends were of the aristocracy.  It was this class which fostered the arts, music in particular.  From the time that Beethoven came to Vienna as a young man, up to the end of his life, he enjoyed one or more pensions given him by members of the upper classes.  But his sympathies were with the people.  By honoring Napoleon with the dedication of the Third Symphony, he would have antagonized the Imperial family, and perhaps many of the aristocracy, but this phase of the question may not have occurred to him, and if it had, it would not have deterred him.

Beethoven’s attitude toward Napoleon could have had no other construction placed upon it than that of strong partisanship, since there was no artistic bond to unite them.  The arch-enemy of Imperialism, as he was considered at this time, the mightiest efforts of the young Corsican had hitherto been directed specially against Austria.  Beethoven did not approve of war; he expressed himself plainly on this point in after years, but at this period considered it justifiable and necessary as a means of abolishing what remained of feudal authority.

Austria had been the first to feel the iron hand of Napoleon.  His first important military achievement, and what is generally conceded to be the greatest in his entire military career, was his campaign against the Austrians in Italy, which took place in the spring of 1796, shortly after his marriage.  His victories over them first gave him fame, not only in France, but throughout Europe.  Within a month from the time that he took command in the Italian campaign, he won six victories over them, giving the French army the command of the whole range of the Alps.  Within a year he had driven the Austrians out of Italy, many thousands of prisoners were taken, ten thousand men had been killed or wounded, fifty-five pieces of cannon had been taken, besides rich provinces, which he looted to enrich France.  He pursued his campaign into Austria, getting to within ninety miles of Vienna with his army, where he dictated terms of peace to the Emperor, which were highly advantageous to France.  Appalled by these catastrophies, the court was even preparing to flee from Vienna and was arranging for the safe carriage of the treasure, when the Emperor accepted Napoleon’s terms.  The humiliation to Austria was accentuated by the fact that her armies were nearly twice that of France.  They were also in good condition, while the French armies were ragged and half starved.  With this inferior equipment Bonaparte humbled the most haughty nation in Europe in the space of a year.  He defeated them again in 1800, at Marengo, and was at all times their arch-enemy.

All this happened some years before the period of which we are writing.  Beethoven regarded Napoleon as a liberator, a savior, on account of his success in restoring order out of chaos in France.  It showed considerable moral courage on his part to come out so plainly for Napoleon.  A broader question than patriotism, however, was here involved.  Patriotism seeks the good of a small section.  Altruism embraces the good of all, thus including patriotism.