The Bonaparte family is a very traditional Corsican family. This also meant that in their house, women were not very much in charge. Letizia was a good wife, a good mother, and always bore up quietly, even when times were tough. But she was also a very traditional Corsican woman who would not speak up when she needed to make a decision.
So after Carlo's death, almost all the decisions in the family were made by Joseph. When the siblings asked their mother about something, she would always say, "Ask your brother and see what he says. Just as she used to say to the children when Carole was still alive, "Ask your father.
So Joseph was immediately busy, first with his father's funeral arrangements, then with his estate and debts. The good thing is that there is an uncle to help with these things, and the presence of Bishop Minnie Mourning also makes people who want to take advantage of the family without adult men have a lot more to worry about. So these things went very smoothly.
By the third day after the funeral, all the things left behind were basically finished. That night, Joseph called his mother, uncle, and several brothers and sisters together.
"Mother, uncle, and siblings. The funeral of my father and all the related matters are almost finished today," Joseph said. Joseph began, "After the loss of my father, our family's situation has changed a lot. Our old way of life will certainly change a lot as well. We have to adapt to this change and prepare for it. Now, let me tell you about the possible changes in our family.
Everyone listened quietly to Joseph's words.
"When my father died, his wages naturally went away. As you know, our family has very little land, and our production is very limited. Without my father's salary from the governor's office, our family's income would be reduced to one-third of what it was before, just by the production of our remaining land. This means that our income is only enough to make ends meet. Brothers and sisters, your pocket money and even your education will be in trouble. Napoleon, you are in military school and will naturally graduate to serve in the army. It doesn't cost anything to go to military school. But I'm afraid the allowance for you will have to be canceled.
"That's fine," Napoleon said.
"I've seen your grades over the years," Joseph said. Joseph continued, "Your math, geography, and history are all very good. But I'm disappointed in your language skills.
"Math, geography, and history were all useful in the war. Language ．．．．．．" Napoleon was not convinced
"My stupid brother, language is also a tool of warfare! Josephus glanced at Napoleon and said, "You don't know how Octavian defeated Brush too? The ability to use language has been indispensable to a good general since ancient times.
Hearing Josephus uses the example of Emperor Octavian, Napoleon stopped refuting.
But Joseph was not willing to let Napoleon go, he continued to stare at Napoleon and said: "For example, now our family is temporarily in trouble. In order to earn more money to support the other brothers in their studies, we must have someone to take over from our father. As you know, I have one more year to graduate. But now, we are in trouble. If I drop out of school now, I can also find something to do, of course, the income will be much lower than my father's. If we can continue to persist for a year until I graduate and then find a job, the income can probably double, of course, it is still not as much as when my father was still. Of course, this is still not as much as when my father was still alive, but this figure is barely enough to support the family's life. Obviously, in the long run, now dropping out of school either for me or for the family is not the best choice. But the immediate life we can not ignore. So I have a workaround plan. I have a classmate named Amand, he is the nephew of Mr. Lavoisier. Napoleon, I mentioned this guy in my letter to you. He has a lot of translations of scripts and poems that he can pass on to me. This way, while I continue my studies, I can also have some income, plus my classmate Lucian can also lend me some money, so if my family is frugal, it should not be a problem to support me for a year. Of course if Napoleon your language score is a little better, maybe you can join in and do something that you can do, it is also considered to help the family to help, and it can also be a little bit easier. The first thing I want to do is to get a good idea of what you're doing, but I wouldn't dare leave it to you.
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"I know, I'll work on it in the future." Napoleon bowed his head.
Then Joseph turned to his other brothers.
"Lucian, although you are still young. But you must know that you are also the man of the family, and you must study hard. Although our family has the name of nobility, it is not the French nobility who can do nothing and eat. The men of our family must-have skills. Do you know, Lucian, where the great men got their skills? It comes from learning, from overcoming difficulties. You are now at an age where you should get some education. I will try to make sure that your education is not affected by financial hardship, but you must also make an effort yourself.
Louis, you do the same. Wait until next year, when I graduate and find a good job. If possible, I will bring both you and Lucien to Paris to get an education. Paris is, after all, much better than Corsica in terms of education."
"Joseph, I'm graduating at the end of the year. But now I have a chance to be selected for the Paris Military Academy, from where I can get a higher position and better development. I don't know ．．．．．．" Napoleon opened his mouth.
"My stupid brother. What is there to hesitate in such matters? Do you doubt your brother's ability to provide for his family on the basis of your meager intelligence? Just go to the Ecole Militaire in Paris and leave the present to me," Joseph replied. Joseph replied.
"Joseph, where am I stupid? I'm just ．．．．．．" Napoleon, for the first time, protested against the "stupidity" that Joseph had given him.
"Oh?" Josephus immediately said, "Napoleon, your geometry is the most outstanding of all subjects. Would you like me to give you a question to help you understand yourself correctly?
Napoleon was stunned, and only after a moment did he say resentfully, "Joseph, you are not a good man.
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After spending a few days arranging things at home, he left for Paris again. During these days, and on the way, whenever he had time, even if it was only about ten minutes, Joseph took the time to translate the things in his hand, and when he arrived in Paris the next morning, Joseph first went to the school to cancel his leave, and then found Amand and handed him a volume of the manuscript.
This is the translation of "Tamen of Athens". Joseph said to Amand.
"Joseph, how quickly did you get this out?" Amand was surprised and said, "With me, it wouldn't have been possible for more than six months.
"You're slow because you're so careful. I'm fast, but I'm a lot cruder," Joseph said. Joseph said.
"Joseph, I like what you're saying. But I know for myself that I am slow not because I am careful, but because I am lazy and do not want to do things, like the lazy kings of the seventh century, the series of kings of the Franks who did not care about their country. You, on the other hand, are a diligent person. And when translating a literary work, it is best to do it in one breath. That way the emotion and momentum can be maintained. Well, I'll take a look at it when I have time. As for the fee, I'll give it to you in a few days.
He said he would pay the fee in a few days, so Joseph was ready to wait for half a month. However, to his surprise, only three days later, Amand handed Joseph the commission for the translation of the work - a total of fifty francs.
"Joseph, the quality of the manuscript is good. If you can keep up this quality and speed, you'll be earning 600 francs a year. With your scholarship, by the way, how many brothers do you have?"
"Four, three of whom are of educational age. But the oldest one is in military school and, like me, doesn't need to spend money," Joseph replied. Joseph replied.
"Ah, so only two brothers need your money. ．．．．．．" Amand calculated in his mind, "Oh, this is not enough money at all. This money, Joseph you can no longer drink beer, as for the foie gras, you have to see them again. Even the bread you eat can not be buttered, you can only eat a lamb chop a month, this lamb chop you have to eat three days, the first day you eat the meat on the lamb chop, the second day you eat the fat of the lamb chop, the third day you gnaw the bones. When you are working, you can not smoke to refresh, nor can you use black tea to refresh, you can only use the lowest grade of coffee, and the portion must also be limited ．．．．．． God, can't you have one less brother?
Joseph replied, "In Corsica, we have a saying: 'When it comes to the fox, we know that there are too few hounds; when it comes to the enemy, we know that there are too few brothers. So we Corsicans never complain that we have too many brothers, never that we have too many friends.
"That's an interesting statement." It's just that it's so long-winded, it could have been a little more refined. Ah, perhaps the taste has changed since you translated it from Corsican to French. I think your translation is like this, although it's very precise, it's a bit wordy in many places. If it were me, I would translate this sentence like this. We have a saying in Corsica: "When the dog is ready, it's time to use it.