This code sprang directly from the Napoleon's exposure to Enlightenment philosophy, whose central premise was that reason alone should dictate the rule of man. In his code, Napoleon attempted to create a rule of law dictated entirely by his principle that government should be nothing more than "the application of common sense" (Schom 290). The code spelled out rights to personal safety and property, contract procedures and obligations, even the legal process of marriage. Such a detailed and unprejudiced code of law ensured the peaceful administration of daily life, and served as the basis for most 19th century European civil codes. Though Napoleon would eventually end his days with both military and political humiliation, the reforms that...

This modern Europe would see its share of chaos and conflict, but thanks to Napoleon's insightful theory of government never again would it see the catastrophic breakdown of government and ensuing atrocities brought about by the French Revolution.
Works Cited

Englund, Steven. Napoleon: A Political Life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005. Print.

Grab, Alexander I. Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2003. Print.

"Napoleon I." Encyclopaedia Britannica, Academic Edition. Web. 17 June 2010.

Schom, Alan. Napoleon Bonaparte. New York:…