Let us refrain, in spite of all, from casting the stone at poor Le Coz. If his recantations appear somewhat comical, we must not forget that he was going through a difficult period, in which great soldiers, although bravery was their trade, showed the same weaknesses.
His mistake, and that of most of his contemporaries, was to have allowed himself to be dominated by events, to have yielded to the demands of everyday life. Long spoilt by fortune, believing the fine weather to be eternal, that generation collapsed suddenly under the storm. Having regard to recent examples, is it for our generation to judge it?
One man did so, the only one that had the right: "There are vices and virtues of circumstances', asserts Napoleon in his Memorial. 'Our last trials were beyond all human strength! And then I was deserted rather than betrayed; there was more weakness than perfidy round me: it was the denial of Saint Peter.
"Repentance and tears may be at the gate"