The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1879-03-04
Stiftt Sturn..
The Dsom Of Claudius andsynlhia.

THE Doom Of Claudius andt,ynlhia.
t7asHaJoQ 4 - .ert, n
1"Mui, j. seus regner par retros."
+ s73S 6H RAUDELAIRE. t'''~i r. 90 +
1t seems impossible to reach the apex
OF tragedy without at last calling on
Death to aid in the work. This is to BE-
explsined, presumably, BY the TACT that
death Is tile covenant of Nature, and Ma
tare is at best tragedy.
But how can we realize this catastro
phei Who shall ever ans wer the awful
questions Possibly, at supreme points,
when the soul, in some neffable exigen-
cF, hovers q moment over the abysm of
iin6nite terrortfne n1t1an miad NAV catch
mere twinkle, so to speak, of the vast
fame Of death; but the descriptive pow
er of our language seems worthless
when it is required to compass the horri
BILE height and breadth and depth of the
mystery Of the final change
One frequently sees the phrase-"idea
OF Death" but it is only now and then
that suddenly. like besom from some
vast charnel-fand, with a voice never he
fore heard, and q sound of destroying
wings, ,rushes upon one the dim, bewilder
ing, appalling phantom OF that idea. NJ
artist ever dared attempt to linn the
monster. No eye has ever studied his
outlines or proportions. So.called phi
losophers aud moralists, it is true, from
The remotest times have felt it their duty
to speak pleasantly, even gaily. of this
last great step in the dark Men have
schooled themselves to meet with visi.
BILE 10y the most revolving forms Of
death, stepping with quick feet and a
clever show of cheerfulness through the
dark gate into. the strange, Beyond But
it has never been demonstrated with Ger
tainty that such JOY and willingness is
more than apparent or deeper than the
face, or that the soul Of the victim is not,
in every case frozen with terror 1t is
clear that death has two forms of fright
| fulness for the humsn-the form OF ulti
mate physical agony. and the form of
doubt in lis awtulest shape The latter
form Is never considered in emergency
1t is the specter Of reflective moments
The former comes involuntarily, at mo-
ments OF infinite peril, and around It
swarm all the regrets, the loves, the as
pifstious and the glories OF this world
Death is, in that case, q suddenly risen
monster with power to excite with q
~ n CO. a., f,>.,,, ~ l;fa ;,,ta an
white foam OF horror:
T No doubt the natural way for death to
come is by the slow process of old age
La gradual wasting Of the body and the
Elise together, until finally, in the mere
Pickering OF the last breath, and the clos.
ing autter Of the pulse, there remains no
Epower, no capacity of suffering.
Some pretend to believe that, after alh
death is more 10 be dreaded as an idea
than as a reality. With this ides We
have to do at present We will regard
tit as great gnost of all horrors. Let
us view it asscoming to the young and
[vigorous--coming slowly at FIRST, creep
ing on before their ey es, irrevocahly then
with great rush plunging upon them
In the highest lift Of Mathematical rea
soning, where the calculus of diffsrentia
ftion takes the mind so far that il hnvers
on the very point Of infinite expression,
where, quick as thought, after stfopg
wrestlea with the vanishing theory, one
lgrasps the Ultimate change and passes to
Ithe limit, is found the best idea Of death
liz one could only clothe II in horror as
lconcentrated and condensed as its logic
But this would only be natural death ~ :!
Death by force has no parallel; ii cannot
be idealized. We desire to understand
Ethe effect Of death coming upon the sane
Eand happy With notice, but without time
for preparation Ii will be rec6llectsd
that De Qaincey has pictured asVision
of Sudden Death.ne, Let aeur picture be
where Death hovers .over or stsads he
fore his victim awhile, with ihideous ar1
adding delay to ,allehis terrers There
must be the element of utter certainty o.
ldoom-no possibility Of escape, mol
even q chance for resistance inDsalt
must come like ages of torture c'.ndens
ed into q few lingering moments Of su
lpreme suspense, with some feints am
horrible dallsing with the catastrophe ~
| In De yQaineey's "Vision ofs Sudden
: Death" the monster swoops rdnwn upnr
two lovers without warning itis 8 mo
ment Of ecstaticl liright--,a su,irlen, whirl
wind ofutter horror But this does no
serve our turn. Our lovers, younger ant
more beautiful that those of The opium
eaters vision, really lived, breathed ant
! suffered Desth came stalking upto hen
: slowly, mercilessly, irfevocably The,
Had time to comprehend him fully, i
, such thing is ever possible They wer
snatched up, too, betwixt the marrisg
p altar and the nup,ial bed and placed con
fronting Death, With all the certainty o
fate In the awful circumstances, AID wit
!. not remote hope Of escape to softe
i. the exigency. - -. -
We shall have to 90 back few hnr
/ dreds of years to a time in the world
K life when tyranny bad nothing to feal
and when death was often as pictureSqu
as it was sevolting and terrible.
IL 1t was in the mid,splendor OF the reig
Of the Emperer Commodus - The rune
was abroad in Rome that on a certai
= night a most startling scene would /
y enacted in the Circus. No one could ga
where this runner had originated, nj
could the precise nature Of the approac,
Ling spectacle be ascertaineda That
would he blood curdling in the last d,
Egree was taken hy every one for granite,
Emissaries of Commodus, had indus,r
: ously sownh about the streels hints to
;. vague to, take definite form, calculated
arouse great interest. The result VS.
OF that on the night in question ,he val
building was crowded at anaearly hour
The Roman Cucns was founded au
? in great par. built b, Tarquihius Priacus
lhut after sbisr time it was added to en-
]. decorated until it became o wonder /
architectural art . 1t toek it's name 1froI
Z the eilipteai form Of it's inclosing wal
and sto.d between the AyeDtine an
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