Dying Soliloquy

N APOLEO N ’ S D Y YI NG SOLI LOQU , A N D QB t h e r 13 0 2 111 5 . B Y T H O M S W A S T E A R T . ’ — L homme cs ! n é i bre e t a rt o ut l l e st d a n s le s fe rs . J . J . RO USSEAU . l , p LONDON JAMES RI DGWAY AN S S P D ON , ICCADILLY. M DC C C X X XI V. P R E F A C E . NO a ccurate estimate of the character of Napoleon has be e n attempted to ha ve been formed in the subsequent Poem . It is the a a n d position of the f llen fettered monarch , like fEsch lus that of Prometheus in the tragedy of y , e e that has been mbodied with s ntiment, by the n . imagi ation of the poet Sublime , although may be the idea of the pe rson ifica tion of the son ' of a of I petus and Clymene , that Lucifer Grecian r W fable , glo ying in his mighty deeds , hile writhing under the wrath of an avenging Jove ; yet not of n less grand were the representation Napoleo , (if depicted by abler hands than mine) pourtrayed as prouder than the son of the Titans disdaining t o give vent to his sufferings ; whilst he expires i n of an ex le , abando ed , the Ariadne his empires , on — lor a desert isle . Behind him his g y should 0 i v tower like a pyramid ; so lofty that even those Who saw it reared , could hardly follow with their eyes the progress of the rising pile . Hurled down its from pinnacle , to beneath the base of the fi rst- fa bric he himself had built , lies this born of ’ He fire s Cybele s race . has been blasted by the of of Heaven , yet upward turns a gaze proud d e fia n ce upon the hand that smote him . He confesses hi s glorious guilt ; revolts from peni tence ; a n d scoffs at pardon . H e contemplates . H e futurity with awe , yet not with fear gazes upon death with steadfast eye ; dwells upon its from horrors , yet shrinks not them then calmly bares his intrepid bosom to the inevitable dart . H e is depicted a s expiring friendless ; for a l though the object of the tenderest regard , and on most anxious solicitude the part of others , he n ot o ff w feels that recipr city of a ection , ithout which friendship cannot exist For let it be re m d so re fin e d me bered , there are min s of highly a temperament , that they are doomed , in their - t o fa r painful pre eminence , soar beyond all " . s s human sympathy There are men , who e geniu is too expansive to be con fin e d within those nar row m b and social li its , y which ordinary passions and interests are blended and bo unded in the f o . e e common tenor existence Exclud d , as gr at a be a talent must lmost always , from all comm nion of feeling , it recoils upon itself, and is com e lle d a p to create some ide l object , on which it its i ts f may expend energies , repose a fections ; whereon it may expatiate , wherewith it may com bine . Such is the hypothesis , whereby I should be tempted to explain the formation of the uni fin i e l . i n t verse Such , although in an y lower of degree , is the solution of all the problems human ambition . Napoleon must have been his either the friend or the rival , had they been o f l ae o r contemporaries, Alexander , Syl a , C sar , of Con stantine . The union of any two such minds would probably have effected the total extinction of the liberties of mankind , while their B ut collision must have convulsed the world . a ole on n N p k ew no equal , and consequently could have no friend . All allusion to the empress ; or to the offspring vi of the expiring hero, has been purposely avoided . or in the following soliloquy Conjugal , even a re paternal tenderness , seldom feelings predo minant in the breasts of those who have expended e xistence on the stern pursuits of philosophy or ambition . It i s in the common tenor of life that a a n d those ami ble weaknesses usurp , in some No r measure supply the place of exalted virtues . is the absence of such passions from the deathbed . of or Napoleon improbable , at least without pre ha s a s cedent . Plato represented Socrates men t i on i n d e v g , only to esire the r mo al of Xantippe and her son from his dying presence . a It is probable , that , when the gradual p proach of death allows of some space for re fle c t o d i n , the bias which has inclined our min s in d e the game of life , will yet irect their ne rgie s d o f uring the last struggles existence . Yet some b e ma an d casual o stacl y obstruct its progress , the ball may diverge from its common centre . What ever then might have been the passion that still reigned in the breast of Napoleon at the hour of his decease ; or whatever the moralist may W l Sh vii that it should have been ; the poet is not re strained by any improbability from imagining the e strongest passion to have been r venge . And h 1 8 only wit in the limits of probabili ty , poetry , h e rson ifie s a s Whic p either character , action , or p con fin e d . e t sion , imperatively L , therefore , the expiring warrior anticipate the lapse of years ; the judgment of heaven ; and the vengeance of mankind . Let him behold the nations a rou sed from the torpor of their ignominious sloth . Let ' him behold the sceptre wrenched from the e fie minate grasp of enervated despotism exulting that his chains shall be fast rivetted upon his Oppressors ; or cast as a legitimate inheritance upon their proscribed and unpitied race . Audi am e t b ie c mane s v e n ie t mihi ama su im ; f b os . If ! be , alas he cannot po urtrayed as sy mpa thisin e fo r e g with thos who , struggling fr edom , i e advocate the proudest r ghts of r ason , and con sequently the most noble and inalienable posses n ; e be sions of manki d still , how ver , he cannot , 1n o m e n t ima in e d to for a , g have entertained any z other feelings t han those of con te mpt for the im be cility of puny despotism . His absolute empire wa s effected by gigantic conquest ; and sustained by fa scin a ting glory while the dominion of most of ho those monarchs w preceded him , and whose ha s him n sway survived , origi ated in the bar a n n b rous ig ora ce , and is maintained by the brutal of . degradation , mankind In o rder to complete the elucidation of the o following Poem , it nly remains that some few observations should be subjoined with regard to fo r i n the religion of Napoleon . Unhappily the t e re sts o f u tr th , hypocrisy may always be tendered to the world instead of its prototype ; and will a readily be accepted as a leg l payment , and per haps may often pass a s the most current coin . difficult It becomes therefore , although necessary , t o distinguish the profession of a faith grounded of su e rficia l on motives policy, from a p conviction ’ of n its truth , which puts the believer s si cerity to n o very trying test . Napoleon professe d himself t o be a Christian ; he re -established Christi a nity his it s to in dominions , and called upon ministers i ratify , and sanct on by their authority and their ix r presence, seve al of the most important actions of r his his life . Fo whatever might have been phi loso h sa crifice d . p y, it was at the shrine of power Frederick II . of Prussia , would , most probably , never have legally recalled the worship of the true a d i t f ith , had he foun , like Napoleon , banished from his empire disregarded by the mass of the nation ; scoffed at by the ribald ry o f the mob ; n e glected by the indifference of the great ; while it was scorned and undermined by the cru de Opinions of an overwhelming maj ority of those who enjoyed of a . the reputation learning and t lent Yet, when such wa s the state of feeling that pe rv aded his ff empire , the victor of Marengo o ered incense on o St . the altars f Christ . Genevieve wa s reinstated a s in the protectress of her country , the temples of St . the capital ; while Napoleon was , with sur re titious . p piety, introduced into the calendar t But it is implici ly to be believed , that the recep tion of the saint in heaven was more flattering his .

Load more