English Caricature and Satire on Napoleon I. Volume 1 (of 2)Ashton, John
History
English Caricature and Satire on Napoleon I. Volume 1 (of 2)
Ashton, John
Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821 -- Caricatures and cartoons
They put his name into Greek, and tortured it thus:--
Napoleon, Apoleon, Poleon, Oleon, Leon, Eon, On,
Ναπολεων, Απολεων, Πολεων, Ολεων, Λεων, Εων, Ων,
which sentence will translate, ‘Napoleon, being the lion of the
nations, went about destroying cities.’
In the ‘Journal des Débats,’ 8 Avril, 1814, although not an English
satire on his name, it is gravely stated that he was baptised by
the name of Nicholas, and that he assumed the name of Napoleon as an
uncommon one; but this name, Nicholas, which was applied to him so
freely in France, was but a cant term for a stupid blockhead. Whilst
on this subject, however, I cannot refrain from quoting a passage from
a French book: ‘I do not know what fellow has held that _Napolione_
was a demon, who in bygone times, amused himself by tormenting a poor
imbecile. The fellow can not have read the life of the Saints: he would
then have learned that St. Napolione, whose name is given at length
in the legend, is as good a patron as any other; that he performed
seven miracles during his life, and twenty-two and a half after his
death--for he had not time to finish the twenty-third; it was an
unfortunate tiler who, in falling from a roof, broke both his legs. St.
Napoleon had already set one, when an unlucky doctor prescribed some
medicine to the sick man which carried him off to the other world.’[9]
There is an extremely forcible acrostic in Latin on his name, which
deserves reproduction:--
N ationibus[10]
A uctoritatem
P rincipibus
O bedientiam
L ibertatem
E cclesiæ
O mni modo
N egans
B ona
U surpavit
O mnium
N eutrorum
A urum
P opulorum
A nimas
R evera
T yrannus
E xecrandus.
But not only was his name thus made a vehicle for political purposes,
but the expounders of prophecy got hold of it, and found out, to their
great delight, that at last they had got that theological bugbear,
_the Apocalyptic beast_. Nothing could be clearer. It could be proved
to demonstration, most simply and clearly. Every one had been in error
about the Church of Rome; at last there could be no doubt about it, it
was NAPOLEON. Take the following handbill as a sample of one out of
many:--
A PROPHECY
(_From the 13th Chapter of Revelations_)
ALLUDING TO
BUONAPARTE.
_Verse 1st._
‘And a Beast rose out of the Sea, having ten crowns on his
head,’ &c.
This Beast is supposed to mean Buonaparte, he being born in _Corsica_,
which is an island, and having conquered ten kingdoms.
_Verse 5th._
‘And a mouth was given him speaking blasphemies; and power
given him upon the earth, forty and two months.’
Buonaparte was crowned in December, 1804; it is therefore supposed the
_extent_ of his assumed power upon earth will now be limited, this
present month (_June_) 1808, being exactly the forty-second month of
his reign.
_Verse 16th._
‘And he caused all to receive a mark in their hands, and no one
could buy or sell, save those that had the mark of the Beast.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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