In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte desired to take the title of Emperor in order to possess a great Western empire, just as his idol Charles the Great. However, like his famous predecessor, he was to be crowned by Pope that was believed by hundreds of millions of people, including the French.
At the same time his pride, military might and distrust of the Pope prevented the desire to possess a crown.
Bonaparte had a real-life problem that was based on a collision of two opposite desires: to be or not to be crowned.
Napoleon resolved this contradiction with his usual genius: