It must be conceded that
these are half-views of half-men. The world still wants its
poet-priest, a reconciler, who shall not trifle with Shakspeare the
player, nor shall grope in graves with Swedenborg the mourner; but who
shall see, speak, and act, with equal inspiration. For knowledge will
brighten the sunshine; right is more beautiful than private affection;
and love is compatible with universal wisdom.
VI. NAPOLEON; OR, THE MAN OF THE WORLD.
Among the eminent persons of the nineteenth century, Bonaparte is far
the best known, and the most powerful; and owes his predominance to
the fidelity with which he expresses the tone of thought and belief,
the aims of the masses of active and cultivated men. It is Swedenborg's
theory, that every organ is made up of homogeneous particles; or, as
it is sometimes expressed, every whole is made of similars; that is,
the lungs are composed of infinitely small lungs; the liver, of
infinitely small livers; the kidney, of little kidneys, etc. Following
this analogy, if any man is found to carry with him the power and
affections of vast numbers, if Napoleon is France, if Napoleon is
Europe, it is because the people whom he sways are little Napoleons.
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