Thursday, January 26:
R. reports that Trochu has resigned the high command, and nobody is prepared to take over the wartime government! So it will be dissolved. Garibaldi's success at Dijon has unfortunately been confirmed; as for the rest, it is still conquer or die!
R. has added two verses to his poem. He reads it over family lunch, and, since I advise him not to have it published in a newspaper but rather to send it to Count Bismarck, he asks me to arrange this through Councilor Bucher. This brings the conversation to the people who have accomplished these deeds, and R. says:
"There are individuals who stand above Fate and literally direct it themselves; these are the very rare geniuses like Frederick the Great. Then there are others who, though less talented, possess certain qualities which the Universal Spirit needs in order to achieve great things. Such a one is King Wilhelm, whose decency and trustworthiness are just what were required to bring about the downfall of the French."
"Where viability still exists, Nature literally clings to us, brings forth wonders, but, when there are organic defects, she gives up entirely; that is why there are now no men left in France. I expect much from the new empire; it is wonderful that a form arising from the nature of things, like the imperial status of Germany, whose previous downfall was due to its mildness and not to its power, the tactics of all foreign countries having been directed solely toward thwarting the Emperor, it is wonderful that this should now rise up again, of its own accord, and should be recognized as legitimate, thus raising a barrier against the centralized state."
Visit from Count B. Jules Favre has brought peace proposals, but they have not been accepted. In the evening Gibbon.