Original Article Posted By: Mercedes44, 6/18/2026 7:11:50 AM In October 1806, in the small German university town of Jena, the philosopher G.W.F. Hegel witnessed Napoleon Bonaparte on horseback passing in the street. Napoleon's French armies had just destroyed the Prussian military, and he was on his way to Berlin as conqueror. Hegel said he saw history on horseback.