All 3 Uses
Napoleon Bonaparte
in
Moby Dick
(Edited)
- There is Napoleon; who, upon the top of the column of Vendome, stands with arms folded, some one hundred and fifty feet in the air; careless, now, who rules the decks below; whether Louis Philippe, Louis Blanc, or Louis the Devil.
Chpt 34-36 *Napoleon = French general and emperor who conquered most of continental Europe for a brief time early in the 19th century
- But neither great Washington, nor Napoleon, nor Nelson, will answer a single hail from below, however madly invoked to befriend by their counsels the distracted decks upon which they gaze; however it may be surmised, that their spirits penetrate through the thick haze of the future, and descry what shoals and what rocks must be shunned.
Chpt 34-36
- Among the more curious of such remains is part of a skull, which in the year 1779 was disinterred in the Rue Dauphine in Paris, a short street opening almost directly upon the palace of the Tuileries; and bones disinterred in excavating the great docks of Antwerp, in Napoleon's time.
Chpt 103-105
Definitions:
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(1)
(Napoleon Bonaparte) French general and emperor who ruled (through conquest) most of continental Europe for a brief time (1769-1821)Napoleon rose during the French Revolution, seized power in 1799, and crowned himself emperor in 1804. He expanded French influence through wars across Europe and also passed lasting reforms, especially the Napoleonic Code, which shaped modern civil law in many countries. His failed invasion of Russia (1812) began his decline; he was forced to abdicate, briefly returned to power, and was finally defeated at Waterloo (1815). He died in exile on St. Helena.
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(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Less commonly, napoleon can refer to a pastry, a card game, or to anyone with that name.