C itie s (I llus tra

ted)

C itie s o f I ta
ly
I tr
n odu c tion t o th e S t u d y of B rown i ng

P la
ys , A c ti n g a
n d M us ic

Th e R o m a nti c M o v e m en t E ngli sh
Po e try
Sp ir itua
l A d ven tur e s
S tu die s in P r o se a
nd V r e se

S tud ie s in S e ve n A rt s

m B la
W illi a ke
Fi g u r es of Se v e r al C en u t r ie s
C ol ou r S tu die s in P ai s r (I llustra
ted)

b
T he Sym oli s t M o v e m e n t in Lite ra
t ur e
(Revis ed a
nd E n larg ed E di tion)
 T HE

S Y M B O L IS T M O VE M E N T
I N L IT E R AT U RE

BY

A RT H U R S YM ON S
AU T H O R OF

f I ta P la y s A cti n g a T he R oma
“ “
nd M u s i c
” ”
Ci ti es o ly , , . n ti c
M ovemen t i n E n g li s h L i tera
t

” “
tu r e S tud i es i n S even
ai s
,
‘ !
Colou r S tud i es i n P r , etc .

RE VI S E D A N D E N L A RGE D E D I TI ON

N E W Y O RK

E P . . DUTTON CO MP AN Y
6 8 1 F I F T H AV E N U E
 C O P YR I GHT , 1 9 1 9

BY E P DUT T O N
. . CO M PA N Y

A ll Ri g hts R es er ve d

P rin te d in th e a
Unite d S t te: f A me rica
o
 CO N T E N T S

IN T R O D U CTI O N
B A LZA C
PR O S P E R M ERI M EE
G ERAR D D E N E RV A L
T H EO P H I LE GA U TI E R
G U S TA V E F LA U B E R T
C H ARL E S B A UD E L A I R E
ED M O N D AND JU L E s DE G O N O O U RT
VI L L I ERs DE L
’
I S LE AD A M
-

LE O C
N LA D E L

A NO T E ON Z oL A
’
s M E TH O D
S TEP H A N E M AL L A R M E
PA U L V E RLA I N E
JO RI s K ARL H U Y S M AN S
-

A R T HU R R I M B A UD
J U L E s LA F O R G U E
M A E T E RL I N C K A S A M Y S TI C
C O N CL U S I O N

B I B LI O G RA P H Y AN D NO T ES

TR AN S L A TI O N S
T HE S Y M B O L IS T M OVE ME N T

I N T R O D U CT I O N
“
It is in a
nd th r
ou gh y a a
S mb ols t h t m n , c ons ciousl or y
un co ns c ious l y wr liv es , o a a
k s , n d h s h is b e ing : th os e ges , a
r r a a td w
,

mo eov e re c cou n e t h e n obles t h ic h c an th e b es t

r ymb li al w rth nd p riz e it h igh es t

,

e co gn is e s o c o , a .
”

C A RLY L E

W IT H O U T symbolism th er e can b e no lit

er a tu r e ; ind e e d not e v e n languag e , Wh at .

ar e words th e ms e lv e s but symbols almost as ,

arbitrary as th e l e tt ers which compos e th em ,

m er e sounds of th e voic e to which we hav e

agr ee d to giv e c ertain signifi c a tion s as we hav e ,

agr ee d to translat e th es e sounds by thos e com

b in ation s of l e tt ers ? S ymbolism b e gan with
th e first words utt er e d by th e first man as h e ,

nam e d e v ery living thing ; or b e for e th em in ,

h e av e n wh e n Go d nam e d th e world into b eing

,
.

A n d w e s e e in th es e b e ginnings pr e cis ely what

, ,

S ymbolism in lit eratur e r e ally is : aform of

2 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

e xpr ession; at th e b est but approximat e ess en ,

ti ally but arbitrary until it has obtain e d th e

,

forc e of a conv e ntion for an uns e en r eality a

, p
pr eh end e d by th e consciousn ess It is som e .

tim es p ermitt e d to us to hop e that our c onven

tion is ind ee d th e r efl e ction rath er than m er ely
th e sign of that uns ee n r e ality W e hav e don e.

much if we hav e found a r e cognisabl e sign .

X
‘
A symbol ”
says C,
omt e G obl e t d Alv i ella ’
,

in his boo k on The M i gra ti on of S ymbols ,

“
might b e d efin e d as a r epr es entation which
”
do e s not aim at b eing a r eproduction O rig .

in a lly as h e points out us e d by th e Gr eeks to

, ,
“
d enot e th e two halv es of th e tabl e t th e y
divid e d b etw e en th ems elv e s as a pl e dg e of
”
hospitality it cam e to b e us e d of e v ery sign
, ,

formula or rit e by which thos e initiat e d in

,

any myst ery mad e th ems elv es s e cr etly known

to on e anoth er Gradually th e word ex
.

t end e d its m eaning until it cam e to d enot e

,

e v e ry conv e ntional r epr e s e ntation of id ea by

“
form of th e uns een by th e visibl e
,
In a .

S ymbol says C arlyl e th er e is conc e alm ent

, ,

and yet r ev elation : h enc e th er efor e by S il enc e

, ,

and by Sp e e ch acting tog e th er com es a doubl e ,

”
significanc e A n d in that fi ne chapt er of
.
,
 INTROD UCTI O N 3

r tor Res a
Sa r tu s , h e go es furth er vindicating ,

for th e word its full valu e : I n the Symbol

prop er what w e can call a S ymbol th er e is
, ,

e v er mor e or l e ss distinctly and dir e ctly som e

, ,

e mbodim ent and r e v elation of th e Infinit e ;

th e Infinit e is mad e to bl e nd its elf with th e

F init e to stand visibl e and as it w er e attain
, , ,
”
abl e th er e .

It is in such a s ens e as this that the word

Symbolism has b een us e d to d es crib e a mov e
m ent which during th e last g e n eration has
, ,

profoundly influ e nc e d th e cours e of F r ench

lit eratur e All such words us e d of anything
.
,

so living variabl e and irr esponsibl e as lit era

, ,

tur e a,
r e as symbols th e ms elv e s must so oft e n
,

b e m er e compromis es m er e indications S ym
, ,
.

b olis m as s e e n in th e writ ers of our day would

, ,

hav e no valu e if it w er e not s ee n also und er ,

o n e disguis e or anoth er in e v ery gr e at imagi ,

nativ e wr it er What distinguish es th e Symbol

.

ism of our day from th e S ymbolism of th e past

is that it has now b e com e conscious of its elf in
a s ens e in which i t was unconscious ev e n in
Gé rard d e N e rval to whom I trac e th e p a
, rticu

lar origin of th e lit erat ur e which I call Sym

b olis t . T h e forc e s which mould th e thought of
4 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

men chan g e or m e n s r e sistanc e to th e m slack

,
’

e ns ; with th e chang e of m e n s thought com e s ’

a chang e of lit eratur e alik e in its inmost

,

e ss e nc e and in its outward form : aft er th e

world has starv e d its soul long e nough in th e
cont emplation and th e r e arrang em e nt of ma-

t eria l things com e s th e turn of th e soul ; a

,
nd

with it com es th e lit eratur e of whi ch I writ e in

this volum e a lit eratur e in which th e visibl e
,

world is no long er a r e ality and th e uns ee n ,

world no long er a dr ea mJ
T h e gr e at e poch in F r e nch lit eratur e whi c h
pr e c e d e d this epoch was that of th e o ffshoot
of R omanticism which produc e d B aud elair e ,

F laub ert th e G on c ourts Tain e Zola Le cont e

, , , ,

d e Lisl e . Tain e was th e philosoph er both

of what had gon e b e for e him and of what
cam e imm e diat ely aft er ; so that h e s ee ms to
e xplain at onc e F laub ert and Zola It was .

th e a g e of S ci e nc e t h e,
ag e of mat e rial things ;
and words with that facil e e lasticity whi c h
,

th er e is in th em did mi racl es in th e e xact

,

r epr e s e ntation of ev erything that visibly ex

iste d exactly as it e xist e d
,
Ev e n B aud el a
. ir e ,

in whom th e spirit is always an un e asy gu est

a t th e orgi e of lif e had a c ertain th e o ry of
,
 INTROD UC TI O N 5

R e alism which tortur es many of his po ems into

strang e m e tallic sh a
,
p es and fills th e m with ,

i mitativ e odours and di sturbs th e m with a too

,

d elib erat e rh e toric of th e fl esh F laub ert th e .

,

o n e imp e ccabl e nov elist who has e v e r liv e d ,

was r esolut e to b e th e nov elist of a world in

which art formal art was th e only e scap e
, ,

from th e burd e n of r e ality and in which th e ,

soul was of u se mainly as th e ag ent of fi n e

lit erature T h e G on cour ts caught at I mpr e s
.

s io nis m to r e nd e r th e fugitiv e asp e cts of a

world which e xist e d only as a thing of flat

spac es and angl e s and colour e d mov em e nt
, , ,

in which sun and shadow w er e the artists ;

as moods no l ess flitting w er e th e artists of
, ,

th e m e r e ly r e c eptiv e consciousn e ss e s of me n
and wome n Z ol ahas tri e d to build in brick
.

and mortar insid e the cov e rs of a book ; h e is

q uit e sur e that th e soul is a n e rvous fluid ,

whi c h h e is quit e sur e som e man of sci enc e is

about to cat c h for us as a m a n of sci e nc e has
,

bottl e d th e air a pre tty blu e li quid Le cont e

, ,
.

d e L isl e turn e d th e world to ston e but saw , ,

b eyond th e world onl y a paus e from mis ery

,

in a N irvana n e v e r subtilis e d to th e E ast ern

e cstasy . A n d with all th e s e writ ers form
, ,
6 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

aim e d abov e all things at b eing pr e cis e at ,

saying rath er than sugg e sting at saying what ,

th e y had to say so compl e t ely that nothing

r e main e d ov er whi ch it might b e th e busin ess
,

of th e r ead er to divin e A n d so th ey hav e .

e xpr ess e d , finally a c ertain asp e ct of th e

,

world ; and som e of th em hav e carri e d styl e

to a point b eyond which th e styl e that says ,

rath er than sugg ests cannot go T h e whol e of

,
.

that mov e m ent com es to a spl endid fun e ral

in M d e H er e dia s sonn ets in which th e lit er
.
’
,

atur e of form says its last word and di es ,

.

M e anwhil e som e thing w hi ch is vagu ely

,

call e d D e cad e nc e had com e into b eing That .

nam e rar ely us e d with any pr e cis e m eaning

, ,

was usually e ith er hurl e d as a r eproach or

hurl e d back as a d efianc e I t pl eas e d som e .

young m en in various countri es to call th em

s elv es D ecad ents with all th e thrill of u ns a
,
tis
fi e d virtu e mas qu erading as uncompr eh end e d
vic e A s a matt er of f a
. ct th e t erm is in its
,

plac e only wh e n appli e d to styl e ; to that in

g e n i o u s d e formation of t h e languag e in M al ,

larm e for instanc e which can b e compar e d

,

w ith what w e a r e accustom e d to call th e G r eek

and L atin of th e D e cad e nc e N o doubt p er .

8 I T
T H E S YM B OL S M OVEM ENT

and l eads to oth er e nds Th er e is such a

.

thing as p erfe cting form that form may b e

annihilat e d All th e art of V erlain e is in
.

’
bringing v ers e to a bird s song th e art of ,

M allarm e in bringing v ers e to th e song of an

orch e str a! I n V illi ers d e l Isle A dam drama
’
-

b e com e s an e mbodim ent of spiritual forc e s ,

in M a e t erlinck not e v e n th eir e mbodim ent ,

but th e r emot e sound of th eir voic es It

is all an att e mpt to spiritualis e lit eratur e to ,

e vad e th e old bondag e of rh e tori c th e old ,

bondag e of e xt eriority D escription is b a

. n

is h e d that b e autiful things may b e e vok e d ,

magically ; th e r e gular b e at of v ers e is brok e n

in ord e r that words may fly upon subtl er ,

wings M yst ery is no long er f e are d as th e

.
,

gr e at myst ery in whos e mi dst we a r e island e d

was f e ar e d by thos e to whom that unknown

s e awas only a gr e at void We a r e coming
.

clos er to natur e as we s ee m to shrink from it

,

with som ething of horror disdaining to cata

,

logu e th e tr ees of th e forest A nd as w e brush

.

a sid e th e a ccid e nts of daily lif e in whi c h ,

men a nd wom en imagin e that th ey a re

a lon e touching r eality we com e clos er to

,

h umanity to e v erything in humanity that

,
 INTRO DU C TI O N 9

may hav e b e gun b efor e th e world and may

outlast it .

H er e th en in this r e volt against e xt eriority

, , ,

against rh e toric against a mat erialistic tra

,

dition ; in this e nd e avour to di s e ngag e th e ulti

mat e ess enc e th e soul of what e v e r e xists and
, ,

can b e r ealiz e d by th e consciousn ess ; in this

dutiful waiting upon e v ery symbol by which
th e soul of things can b e mad e visibl e ; lit er
atur e bow e d down by so many burd e ns may
, ,

at last attain lib erty and its auth entic sp ee ch

,
.

I n attaining this lib erty it acc epts a h e avi er

,

burd e n ; for in sp e aking to us so intimat ely so ,

sol e mnly as only r eligion h a

,
d hith e rto spok e n
to us it b e com e s its elf a kind of r eligion with
, ,

all th e duti e s and r e sponsibiliti e s of th e s acr e d

ritual .
 B ALZA C

THE fi rst
man who has compl et ely und er
stood B alzac is R odin and it has tak e n R odin
,

t e n y e ars to r e alis e his own conc e ption F ranc e

.

has r efus e d th e statu e in which a nov elist is

r epr es e nt e d as a dr e am er , to whom P aris is
“
not so much P aris as P atmo s th e most
”
P arisian of our nov elists F r enchm e n assur e
,

you It is mor e than a hundr e d y e ars sinc e

.

B alzac was born : a hundr e d y e ars is a long

tim e in which to b e misund erstood with a dmir
ation .

I n choosing th e nam e of the H uma n Comedy

for a s eri es of nov e ls in which as h e says th er e

, ,

“
is at onc e th e history and th e criticism of
soci e ty th e analysis of its e vils and th e dis
, ,
”
c u ssi on of its principl e s B alzac propos e d to
,

do for th e mod ern world what D ant e in his ,

Di vi ne Comedy had don e for th e world of th e

,

M iddl e A g e s C ond emn ed to writ e in pros e

.
,

10
 Z
B AL A C 11

and fi nding his opportunity in that re striction ,

h e cr e a t e d for hims elf aform which is p erhaps

th e n e ar e st e quival e nt for th e e pic or th e po e tic
drama and the only form in which at all
, ,

e v e nts ,
th e e p ic is now possibl e . T h e world
of D ant e was mat e rially simpl e compare d with
“
th e world of th e nin e t e e nth c e ntury ; th e vis
” “ ”
ibl e world had not ye t b e gun to exist in ,

its tyranni c al mod ern s e ns e ; th e compli c ations

of th e soul int er e st e d only th e S choolm e n ,

and w er e a p a rt of th e ology ; po e try could still

r e pr e s e nt an a g e and y e t b e po e try .B ut

to d a
-
y po e try can no long e r r e pr e s e nt mor e

th a n th e soul of things ; it had tak e n r efug e

from th e t erribl e improv em e nts of civilisation
in a divin e s e clusion wh er e it sings d isr e
, ,

garding th e many voic e s of th e str e e t P ros e .

com e s o ff e ring its infinit e cap a city for d etail ;

and it is by th e infinity of its d e tail that th e
nov el as B alzac cr eat e d it has b e com e the
, ,

mod ern epic .

Th er e had b een gr e at nov els ind eed b efore

, ,

B alz a c but no gr e at nov elist ; and th e nov els

,

th ems elv e s a re sc a rc ely what we should to day -

call by that nam e T h e int erminabl e A s tr ee

’

and its companions form alink b e tw ee n th e

12 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT
'

f a
bli a
u x and novel and from th em d ev el
th e ,

op e d th e char a ct e ristic e ight ee nth c entury -

c on te in narrativ e
, l e tt e rs or di alogu e as we
, , ,

s ee it in M arivaux Laclos C reb illon fi ls , , .

C reb illo n s long e r works including L e S op ha

’
, ,

with th e ir conv e ntional par a ph ernalia of E ast

e rn fabl e a r e e xtr e m e ly t e dious ;
, but in tw o
short pi e c es L aN u i t et le M omen t and L e
,

Ha sa rd da Coi n daF en h e cr e at ed a mod el of ,

witty naughty d eplorably natural com e dy

, , ,

which to this day is one of the most charact er

is tic Fr ench forms of fi ction P rop erly how .
,

e v e r it is a form of th e drama rath er than of

,

th e nov e l L aclos in L es Li a
. i s ons D a
,nger

eu ses ,
a mast erpi e c e which scandalis e d th e
soci e ty that ador e d Creb illon b ecaus e its ,

na k e d human truth l e ft no room for s enti

m ental excus es com e s much n e ar er to p refi gu r
,
,

ing th e nov el (as S t endhal for instanc e is , ,

aft erward to conc eiv e it ) but still pr e s erve s ,

th e awkward traditional form of l ett ers M a ir .

vaux had ind ee d alr e ady s eem ed to sugge st the

nov el of analysis but in a styl e which has ,

christ en e d a whol e mann er of writing that pre

c is ely which is l e ast suit e d to th e writing of

fi ction V oltaire s contes La Reli gi euse of

.
’
,
 B AL AC Z 13

D id e rot , a
r e tracts or satir e s in which th e story

is only an excus e for th e purpos e R ouss e au .

,

too has his purpos e e v e n in L aN ou velle

, ,

H eloi s e but it is a humanising purpos e ; and

,

with that book th e nov el of p a ssion com e s into

e xist e nc e and along with it the d e scriptiv e
,

nov el Y e t with R ouss e au this r e sult is an

.

accid e nt of g enius ; w e c a nnot call him a

nov e list ; and w e find him a bandoning th e
form h e has found for anoth er mor e clos ely , ,

p ersonal which suits him b e tt er R e stif d e

,
.

la B r e tonn e who follow e d R ouss e au at a dis

,

tanc e not a,
ltog e th e r wis ely d e ve lop e d th e ,

form of half imagin a -

ry autobiography in M on
s i eu r N i colas a book of which t h e most s ig nifi
,

ca nt part may b e compar e d with H a z li tt s

’

Li ber A mor i s M orbi d and e v e n mawkish a

. s

it is it has a c ert a
,
in un e asy unwhol e som e ,

humanity in its conf e ssions which may s e e m ,

to hav e se t a fashi on only too scrupulously fol

low e d by mod ern F r e nch nov elists M e a n .

whil e th e A bb é P r evost s o ne gr e at story

,
’
,

Ma n on L es cau t had brought for onc e a pur e ly

,

obj e ctiv e study of an incomparabl e simplicity

, ,

into the midst of th e s e analys e s of di ffi c ult

s ouls ; and th en we r e turn to th e conf e ssion ,
14 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

in th e works of oth ers not nov elists : B enj amin

C onst a nt M me d e S ta el C h a
, t eaubriand in
.
, ,

A d olp he Cori nn e Ren e A t onc e we a r e in

’

, ,
.

th e R omantic mov em ent a mov em ent which ,

b egins lyrically among po ets and at first with ,

a cur ious di sr egard of th e mor e human part of

humanity .

B alzac wor k e d cont e mporan e ously with th e

R omantic mov em e n t b u t h e work e d outsid e it , ,

and its infl u en ce up on him is f e lt only in a

‘

o ccasional ps e udo romanticism lik e th e episod e

-
,

of th e pirat e in L aF emme d e T rente A ns His .

vision of humanity was ess entially a po etic

vision but h e w a
,
s a po e t whos e dr e ams w e r e

facts Knowing th a
. t as M m e N e c k e r has ,
.

sa id th e nov e l should b e th e b e tt er world

,
”
,

h e kn e w a
“
lso that th e nov e l would b e nothing
if in that august lie it w er e not tru e in d e
, ,

ta A n d in th e H u ma
”
ils. n Comedy h e pro

p os e d to hims e lf to do for soci ety mor e th a n

B u ff on had don e for th e animal world .

“ ”
Th er e is but on e animal h e d e clar es in , ,

his A va n t P mp os with a confid enc e which

-
,

D arwin has not ye t com e to j ustify B ut .

“
th er e exists th er e will always exist so cial
, ,

sp e ci e s as th er e a
,
re z oological sp e ci e s ”
.
16 T HE S Y M B O L S I T M O VEM ENT

or a social zon e or a district of Franc e or

, ,

anything p ertaining to childhood old a g e or , ,

maturity politics j ustic e or war having

, , , ,

b ee n forgott e n .

“
That laid down th e history of the human,

h e art trac e d link by link th e history of soci e ty ,

mad e in all its d etails we hav e th e bas e ,

“
Th en th e s e cond stag e is th e Etu des p hi
,

los op hi qu es for aft er th e effects com e th e ca

,
u s es .

In th e Etu des des M ceu rs I shall hav e paint e d

th e s e ntim e nts and th e ir action lif e and th e ,

fashion of life In th e Etu des p hi losop hi qu es

.

I shall say why the s enti ments on wha t the ,

Th en aft er th e efi ects and the ca

,
u s es ,

com e th e Etu des a na lyti qu es to which th e ,

P hys i ologi c du ma
ri ag e b e longs for aft e r t h e , ,

effects and th e ca u ses o n e should s e e k th e,

p r i n ci p l
es .

“
A ft er h a
don e th e po etry the d emon
ving ,

s tr a
ti on of a whol e syst e m I shall do th e
, ,

sci enc e in th e E ssai s u r les f or ces huma

a
i nes .

A n d on th e bas e s of this pal c e I shall hav e

,

trac e d th e imm e ns e arab es qu e of the Cen t

Con tes drola
ti qu es !

Q uit e all that ,

a
s we know was not carri ed
,
 Z
B A L AC 17

out ; but th er e in its int e ntion is th e plan ;

, ,

and aft er tw enty y e ars work th e main part ’

of it c ertainly was carri e d out S tat e d with

, ,
.

this pr e cis e d e tail it has som ething of a s ei e n

,

tifi c air as of a too d elib erat e att e mpt upon

,

th e sourc e s of lif e by on e of thos e syst e matic

F r e nch minds which a r e so much mor e logical

than facts B u t th er e is o n e littl e phras e to

.

b e not e d : La passion est tout e l h u ma n i té

” ’
.

A ll B alz a c is in that phras e .

A n oth er F r en c h nov e list following as h e , ,

thought th e exampl e of th e H u ma
,
n Com
edy ,
has e nd e avour e d to build up a history
of his own tim e with e v e n gr e at er minut e
n ess B u t L es Rou gon M a
. cqu ar t is no mor e
-

than syst e m ; Zola h a s n e v e r und e rstood th a t

d e tail without life is th e wardrob e without
th e man Trying to outdo B a
. lzac on his
own ground h e h a s mad e th e f a
,
tal mistak e
of taking him only on his syst e matic sid e ,

which in B alzac is subordinat e to a gr e at cr e a

tiv e int ell e ct an inc e ssant burning thought
, ,

about m e n and wom e n a passionat e human ,

curiosity for which e v e n his own syst e m has

T h e misfortun es of th e B i r ottea
“
no limits . us ,
”
th e pri e st and th e p e rfum e r h e says in his , ,
18 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VE M ENT

a
a
Av nt P -
taking an e xampl e at random
r op os , ,

”
r e for m e thos e of humanity
, ,
To B alzac .

m ann ers a r e but th e v e stm e nt of lif e ; it is

life that h e s e e ks ; and lif e to him (it is his ,

own word ) is but th e v estm ent of thought .

Thought is at th e root of all his work a ,

whol e syst e m of thought in which philosophy ,

is but anoth er form of po e try ; and it is from

this root of id e a that th e H uma n Comedy

springs .

T he two books into which B alzac has put

his d eep est thought th e two books which h e
,

hims elf car e d for th e most a S er a p ta

hi
’

re ,

and L oui s L a mber t O f L oui s L a

. mber t h e
said : “
I writ e it for mys elf and a few
oth ers of S érap hi ta :
“
M y lif e is in it ”
.

“
O n e could writ e Gori ot any day h e adds ; ,

S er a hi a only onc in a lif tim I hav

’

p t e e e e .

n e v e r b e en abl e to f eel that S er a h i a is

’

p t
altog eth er a succ ess I t lacks th e br eadth
.

of lif e ; it is glacial Tru e h e aim e d at pro

.
,

d u c in g v ery much such an eff e ct ; and it is ,

ind e e d full of a strang e glitt ering b e auty

, , ,
 B AL A CZ 19

th e b e auty of its own snows B ut I find in .

it at th e sam e tim e som e thing a littl e facti

tious a sort of roman e s qu e not altog eth e r
, ,

unlik e th e s entim e ntal roman e s qu e of N ovalis ;

it has not don e th e impossibl e in h uma n is
,

ing abstract sp e culation in fusing mysticism

,

a n d th e nov e l . B u t for th e stud e nt of B alzac

it h a s e xtraordinary int e r e st ; for it is at onc e

th e bas e and th e summit of th e H u ma n Com

edy. I n a l ett er to M me d e H a . nska writt e n ,

in 1 83 7 four y e ars aft er S era p hi tahad b e e n

’

b egun h e writ e s :
,
“
I am not orthodox and I ,

do not b eli ev e in the R oman C hurch S we .

d e n b or g i an is m , which is but a r e p e tition in ,

th e C hristi a n s e ns e of anci e nt id e as is my
, ,

religion with this addition : that I b eli e v e in

,

S er a
”
th e incompr e h e nsibility of Go d
’

p hi ta is a pros e po e m in which t h e most

abstract part of that mystical syst e m which ,

S w e d e nborg p erhaps mat erialis e d too crud e ly ,

is pre s e nt e d in a whit e light und e r a singl e

, ,

sup erhum a n imag e . I n L oui s L a mber t th e

sam e fundam e ntal conc e ptions a re work e d
out in th e study of a p erf e ctly human int e l
l ec t
,
“
a n int e llig e nt gulf
”
as h e truly calls
,

it ; a sob er and concis e history of id e as in th eir

 T HE S Y M B O L S I T M O VEM ENT

d e vouring action upon a f ee bl e physical natur e .

In th e s e two books we s ee dir e ctly and not ,

through th e colour e d v e il of human life th e ,

mind in th e abstract of a think e r whos e pow e r

ov er humanity was th e pow er of abstra c t
thought Th ey show this nov e list who has
.
,

inv e nt e d th e d escription of soci e ty by whom ,

th e visibl e world has b e e n mor e pow e rfully

f elt than by any oth er nov elist striving to ,

p en etrat e th e corr e spond enc e s which exist

b e tw ee n th e human and th e c el e stial exist
e nc e. H e would pursu e th e soul to its last
r e sting plac e b e fore it tak e s flight from th e
-

body ; furth er on its dis e mbodi e d flight ; h e

,

would find out G o d as h e com e s n e arer and

,

nea r er to finding out th e s ecr e t of life A n d .

r e alising as h e do e s so profoundly that th er e

, ,

is but o ne substanc e but on e ev er changing

,
-

“
principl e of life o n e v e g e tabl e
, on e animal , ,

but a continual int e rcours e th e world is

,

aliv e with m e aning for him a mor e intimat e ,

mea ning than it has for oth ers “

T h e l e ast
.

flow er is a thought a life which corr esponds

,

to som e lin e am e nts of th e gr e at whol e of which ,

”
h e has th e constant intuition A n d so in
.
,

his conc erns with th e world h e will find spirit

,
 B AL A C Z 21

e v erywh ere ; nothing for him will be in ert

matt e r e v erything will have its particl e
,

of th e universal life O ne of thos e divin e

.

spi e s for whom the world has no s ecre ts he

, ,

will b e n eith e r p e ssimist nor op tlmi st ; he will

acc ept the world as a man acc epts th e woman
whom he lov es as much for h er d efe cts as for
,

her virtu e s . Loving th e world for its own

sak e h e will fi nd it a lways b eautiful e qually
, ,

b eautiful in all its parts N o w le t us loo k at .

th e programm e which h e trac e d for th e

H u ma n Comedy le t us r e alis e it in the light
,

of this philosophy and w e a r e at th e b e gin

,

ning of a conc eption of what th e H uma n

Comedy r e ally is .

This visionary th en who had appreh e nd e d

, ,

for hims e lf an id e a of G od s et hims elf to ,

int e rpr e t human life mor e e laborat ely than

a ny o n e e ls e H e has b e e n prais e d for his
.

pati ent obs e rvation ; p e opl e hav e thought

th ey prais e d him in c a lling him a r ealist ;
it has b ee n discuss e d how far his imitation of
life was th e lit eral truth of th e photograph .
 T H E S YM B O L S I T M O V E M E NT

B ut to B alzac the word r eali sm was an insult .

Writing his nov e ls at th e r a t e of eight e en hours

a day in a f ev erish solitud e h e n ev er had th e
, ,

tim e to obs erv e pati e ntly It is humanity .

s een in a mirror th e humanity which com e s

,

to the gr eat dre am ers th e gre at po ets human

, ,

ity as Shak esp e ar e saw it A n d so in him .

,

as in all the gr e at artists th er e is som ething

,

mor e than natur e a divin e exc ess This

,
.

som ething more than natur e should b e th e aim

of th e artist not m er ely th e accid e nt which
,

happ ens to him against his will W e r equire .

of him a world lik e our own but a world ,

in fi nit ely mor e vigorous int er esting profound ;

, ,

mor e b eautiful with that kind of b e auty

which natur e finds of its elf for art It is th e .

q uality of gr e at cr e ativ e art to giv e us so

much life that we a r e almost ov e rpow e r e d by

it as by an air almost too vigorous to br eath e :

,

th e exub eranc e of cr e ation which mak es th e

S ibyl of M ich elang elo som e thing mor e than
human which mak e s Le ar som e thing mor e
,

than human in one kind or anoth er of divinity

,
.

B alzac s nov els a r e full of strang e probl e ms

’

and gr e at passions H e turn e d asid e from

.

nothing which pr es ent e d its elf in natur e ; and

24 T H E SYM BO L S I T M OVEM ENT

that in th e mod ern world th e ps eudonym of

n e c essity is mon ey M on ey and th e passions
.

rul e the world of his H uma n Comedy .

A n d at th e root of th e passions d et ermi ning

, ,

th eir action h e saw thos e n e rvous fluids or

, ,

that u nknown substanc e which in d efault of ,

”
anoth er t erm w e must call th e will
, No .

word r e turns oft en er to hi s p e n F or him .

th e probl e m is invariabl e Ma .n has a giv e n

uantity of n rgy ach man a d ifi uan

’

q e e ; e e r e n t q
tity : how will h e sp end it ? A nov el is th e
d e t ermination in action of that probl em A n d .

h e is e qually int er e st e d in e v ery form of e n ergy ,

in e v ery e goism so long as it is fi erc ely its elf

, .

This pro occupation with th e forc e rath er

-
,

than with any of its manife stations giv es him ,

his singular impartiality his absolut e lack of

,

pr ej udic e ; for it giv e s him th e advantag e of

an abstract point of vi ew th e unchanging ful
,

crum for a l e v e r which turns in e v ery dir e ction ;

and a s nothing onc e se t vividly in motion by

any form of human activity is without int er est

for him he mak e s ev ery point of his vast chron
,

i ol e of human a ffairs equally int er esting to his

r e ad ers
.

B aud elair e has obs erv e d profoundly that

 BA L A C Z 25

e v ery charact er in th e H u ma n Comedy has

som ething of B alzac has g eni us To him ,

.

s elf his own g e nius was entir ely ex press e d in

,
“
that word will It r e curs constantly in his
l e tt ers M en of will a
. r e rar e '”
h e cri e s .

A n d at a tim e wh e n h e had turn e d night into

,
“
day for his labour : I ris e e v ery night with a
” “
k een er will than that of y e st erday N oth .

” “
ing w e ari es me h e says n eith er waiting nor, ,

”
happin ess H e e xhausts th e print ers whos e
.
,

fing ers can hardly k ee p pac e with his brain ;

“
th ey call him h e r e ports proudly ,
a man ,
” “
slayer A n d h e tri e s to e xpr ess hims elf :
. I
hav e always had in m e som ething I know not ,

what which mad e m e do di ffere ntly from

,

oth ers ; and with m e fi d elity is p erhaps no

, ,

mor e than prid e Having only mys elf to r ely .

upon I hav e had to str e ngth en to build up

, ,

that s elf ”
Th er e is a sc en e in L aCou si ne
.

B ette which giv e s pr e cis ely B alzac s own s en ’

timent of th e supr e m e valu e of e n ergy T he .

B aron Hulot ruin e d on e v e ry sid e and by

, ,

his own fault go es to J oséph aa mistr ess who

, ,

had cast him off in th e tim e of his prosp erity and ,

asks h er to lodg e him for a fe w days in a garr e t .

Sh e laughs piti es and th e n qu es t ions him

, , .
26 T H E S YM B O L S I T M O VE M E NT

vrai vi eux r eprit ell e qu e tu a

E s t-c e , ,
’
s -
,
‘

tu é ton fr er e e t ton oncl e ruin é ta famill e , ,

s ur hyp oth é qué la maison d e t es e nfants e t

mang é la gr enouill e d u gouv ern em ent en

Afri qu e av e c la princ e ss e ? ’

“
Le B aron in c lina trist e m e nt la tete .

E h bi e n j aim e c el a ! s eoria J os éph aqui

“ ‘ ’ ’ ’
, ,

se l e va pl ein e d e n th ou si as me C e st un br il
’ ‘ ’
.

la général ! c st a a a a c st grand
’
d l ! !
’
ge e s r n p e e

c est compl e t ! On est un e canaill e mais on a

’
,

du
T he cry is B alz ac s and it is a charact eristic
’
,

par t of his g e nius to hav e giv en it that ironical

forc e by utt ering it through th e mouth of a
J oséph a T h e j oy of th e human organism at
.

its high e st point of activity : that is what

int er ests him supr em ely How passionat e .
,

how moving h e b e com es wh en ev er h e h a s to

sp e ak of a r e al passion a mania wh eth er of a, ,

lov er for his mistr ess of a philosoph er for his

,

id e a of a mis e r for his gold of a J ew d e al er

, ,

for mas te rpi e c e s ! His styl e clar ifi es his words ,

b e com e fl e sh and blood ; h e is th e lyr ic po et .

A n d for him e v ery id e alism is equal : th e gour

ma n dis e of P ons is not l e ss s erious nor l ess ,

sympath etic not l e ss p e rf e ctly r e alis e d than

, ,
 Z
B AL AC 27

th e s earch of C lae s aft er th e A bsolut e T he .

gr e at and t erribl e clamour of e goism is th e

“
voic e to which h e is always att entiv e ; thos e
e lo qu e nt fac e s proclaiming a soul abandon e d
,

to an id e a as to a r e mors e a re th e fac e s with

,

whos e history h e conc e rns hims elf H e drags .

to light th e hidd e n j oys of the a ma teur and

‘

with e sp e cia l d elight thos e that a re hidd e n

d eep e st und er the most d ec eptive cov erings

,
.

H e d e ifi es th e m for th e ir e n ergy h e fashions ,

t he world of his H u ma n Comedy in th e ir

s ervic e as th e r eal world e xists all but

, ,

passiv e to b e the pastur e of th es e supr em e

,

e goists .

In all that he writ es of life B alzac s eeks th e ,

s oul ,
but it is the soul as n ervous fluid th e ,

e x e cutiv e soul not the cont e mplativ e soul

, ,

th a t with rare exc eptions h e s e eks H e would

, ,
.

surpris e th e motiv e forc e of life : that is his

h e figur e s it to hims elf
’
rec her c he de l A bs olu ;

as almost a substanc e and h e is the alch emist

,

Ca
“
on its track . n man by thinking find out
”
G od ? Or lif e h e would hav e add e d ; and
,
 I
T H E S Y M B OL S T M OVEM E NT
he would hav e answ e re d the qu estion with at
l e ast a P e rhaps .

A n d of this vision ary this abstract think er

, ,

it must be said that hi s thought translat es .

its elf always into t e rms of life P os e b efor e .

him a pur ely m ental probl em and he will ,

r e solv e it by a sc e n e in which th e probl e m

lit erally works its elf out It is the quality
.

prop er to th e nov elist but no nov eli st ev er

,

e mploy e d this quality with such p ersist e nt

activity and at the sam e tim e subordinat e d

,

action so constantly to the id e a With him .

action has always a m e ntal basis is n ev er suf ,

f e re d to intrud e for its own sak e H e pr ef ers

.

that an e pisod e should s eem in its elf t edious

rath e r than it should hav e an illogical int er est .

It may b e for h e is a F r enchman that his

, ,

e pisod e s a re som e tim es too logical Th e re a re

.

mome nts wh e n he b e com es unre al b e caus e h e

wish e s to b e too syst ematic that is to b e r e a
, l ,

by m e asur e H e would n eve r hav e und e r

.

s tood th e m e thod o f Tolstoi a v ery st e althy

,

m e thod of surprising life To Tolstoi life is

.

always th e cunning enemy whom on e must lull

asl eep or noos e by an un exp e ct e d lasso H e
,
.

brings in littl e d e t ail aft e r littl e d e tail s e e ming ,

 B AL A C Z 29

to insist on th e insignifi c a n ce of e ach in ord e r ,

that it may pass almost unobs erve d and ,

b e r ealis e d only aft e r it has pass e d It is his .

way of disarming th e suspiciousn ess of life .

B ut B alzac will mak e no circuit aims at an ,

op en and an unconditional triumph ov e r

natur e Thus wh en h e triumphs h e triumphs
.
, ,

signally ; and action in his books is p erp e t

, ,

ua lly crystallising into som e phras e lik e th e ,

singl e lin e s of D ant e or some bri ef sc en e in

, ,

which a whol e e ntangl e m e nt com e s sharply

and sudd enly to a lu minous point I will giv e .

no instanc e for I should hav e to quot e from

,

e v e ry volum e I wish rath e r to r e mind mys elf

.

that th ere a re tim e s wh e n th e last fi n e shad e o f

a situation s eems to hav e e scap e d E v e n .

th e n th e failur e is oft e n more appare nt than

,

r e al a slight bungling in th e machin ery of

,

illusion Loo k through the phras e and you

.
,

will find th e truth th er e p erfe ctly explicit on ,

th e oth e r sid e of it .

F or it can not b e d eni e d B alzac s styl e as

’
, ,

styl e is imp erf e ct It has lif e and it has an

,
.
,

i d ea and it has vari e ty ; th e r e a

,
re mom e nts

wh e n it attains a rar e and p erfe ctly individ

ual b eauty ; a s wh e n in L e Cou si n P ons we
, ,
30 T H E S YM B O L S I T M O VE M E NT

r ead of c e tt e pred isp o sition aux r e ch erch e s

q u i fait fair e u an savant g ermani qu e c ent
li eu es dans ses gu étres pour trouv er u ne
v é rit é qui le r egard en riant assis e la marg e
,
a
d u puits sous le j asmin d e la cour
, B ut I
.

am far l e ss sure that a stud ent of B alzac would

r e cognis e him in this s ent e nc e than that h e
“
would r ecognis e th e writ er of this oth er D es
:

l arm es d e pud eur qui r oulerent e ntr e les b e aux

,

cils d e M adam e Hulot a rr étere n t n e t le gard e

,
”
national . It is in such passag e s that th e
failur e in styl e is e quival ent to a failur e in
psychology That his styl e should lack sym
.

m e try subordination th e formal virtu e s of

, ,

form is in my ey e s a l e ss s erious fault I

, , ,
.

hav e oft en consid er e d wh e th er in the nov el

, ,

p erfe ct form is a good or e v e n a possibl e thing

, ,

if th e nov el is to b e what B alzac mad e it his ,

tory add ed to po etry A nov elist with styl e

.

will not loo k at lif e with an e ntir ely nak e d

vision H e s e es through colour e d glass es
. .

Human life and human mann ers a r e too various ,

too moving to b e brought into th e fi x ity of a

,

q uit e formal ord e r Th

. e r e will com e a mo
m ent constantly wh en styl e must suff er or
, , ,

t h e clos en e ss and cl e arn e ss of narration must

32 T HE S Y M B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

I cannot h elp f e eling assure d that th e lat e st

nov elists without a story what ev er oth er ,

m erits th ey c ertainly hav e a r e lacking in th e

,

pow er to cr e at e charact ers to expr e ss a philos

,

o ph y in action ; and that th e form which th e y

hav e found how ev e r valuabl e it may b e is

, ,

th e r e sult of this failur e and not eith er a,

gr e at r efusal or a n ew vision .

T henov el as B alzac conc eiv e d it has cr e at e d

th e mod ern nov el but no mod ern nov elist
,

has follow e d for non e has b een abl e to follow

, ,

B alzac on his own lin e s E v e n thos e who hav e

.

tri e d to follow him most clos ely hav e soon er ,

or lat er branch e d off in one dir e ction or

,

anoth er most in the dir e ction indicat e d by

,

S t endhal S t e ndhal has writt en on e book

.

which is a mast erpi e c e uni qu e in its kind

, ,

L e Rouge et te N oi r ; a s e cond which is ,

full of admirabl e things L e Cha r tr eu s e de

,

Pa rme a book of profound criticism Ra

‘

,
ci n e ,

et S ha k s p ea
re; and a cold and p e n etrating
study of th e physiology of lov e De l A mour ,
’
,

by the sid e of whi c h B alzac s P hysi ologi c da ’

 B AL A CZ 33

ri a
Ma is a m r j es p r i t H e d is c o v
’
ge e e eu d .

r d for hims elf and for oth ers aft er him

e e , ,

a m e thod of un emotional minut e slightly , ,

ironical analysis which has fascinat e d mod ern

,

minds partly b e caus e it has s e em e d to dis

,

p ens e with thos e di ffi culti e s of cr e ation of ,

cr e ation in th e block which th e triumphs of

,

B alzac hav e only acc entuat e d G oriot V a .

,

lérie M arn eff e P ons G rand e t M adam e d e

, , ,

M or t s au f ev en ar e call e d up b e for e us aft e r

,

th e sam e mann e r as O th ello or D on Quixot e ;

th e ir actions expr ess th e m so significantly that
th ey s e e m to b e ind e p end e nt of th eir cr eator ;
B alzac stak e s all upon e ach cr e ation and ,

l eav e s us no choic e but to acc ept or r e j e ct e ach

as a whol e pr e cis ely as w e should a human
,

b eing. W e do not know all th e s e cr e ts of

th e ir consciousn ess any mor e than we know
,

all th e s e cr ets of th e consciousn ess of our

fri ends B u t we hav e only so say V a
.
“
lérie !
”

and th e woman is b efor e us S t endhal on .

,

th e contrary undr e ss e s Juli e n s soul in public

’
,

with a d elib erat e and fascinating efi ron tery

'

Th er e is not a v e in of which h e do es not trac e

th e cours e not a wrinkl e to which h e do e s not
,

point not a n erv e whi c h h e do es not touch to

,
34 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

th e quick . W e know v erything that pass e d

e

through his mind to r esult probably in som e

,

significant inaction A n d at th e e n d of th e
.

book we know as much about that particular

int ellig e nc e as th e anatomist knows about
th e bo dy which h e has diss e ct e d B u t m e an.

whil e th e lif e has gon e out of th e body ; and

hav e w e aft er all
,
captur e d a living
,

soul ?
I should b e th e last to say that Juli en S or el
is not a cr e ation but h e is not a cr e ation aft er
,

th e ord e r of B alzac ; it is a di ff e r enc e of kind ;

and if w e look care fully at F r é d é ric M or e au ,

and M adam e Gerva is ais and th e A bb é M our e t

, ,

w e shall s ee that th e s e also profoundly di ff er

,

e n t as F laub ert and G oncourt and Zola a re

from S t endhal a re ye t mor e profoun dly mor e

, ,

radically di ff er e nt from th e cr e ations of B a

,
l
z ac B alzac tak e s a primary passion puts ,

it into a h uman body and s ets it to work,

its elf out in visibl e action B u t sinc e S t endhal

.
,

nov elists hav e p ersuad e d th e ms elv e s that th e

primary passions a r e a littl e common or noisy , ,

or a littl e h e avy to handl e and th ey hav e ,

conc ern e d th e ms elv e s with passions t emp er e d

by r efl ection and th e s e nsations of elaborat e
,
 B AL A C Z 35

brains It was S t endhal who substitut e d

.

th e brain for th e h e art as th e battl e plac e of ,

-

th e nov el ; not th e brain as B alzac conc eiv e d

it a motiv e forc e of action th e mainspring
,
-
,

of passion th e forc e by which a natur e dir e cts

,

its accumulat e d en ergy ; but a st eril e sort

of brain s et at a gr e at distanc e from the h eart
, ,

whos e rhythm is too faint to disturb it W e .

hav e b ee n int ell e ctualising upon S t endhal

e v e r sinc e until th e p ersons of th e mod ern
,

nov el hav e com e to r es embl e thos e diaphanous

j elly fi sh with balloon lik e h e ads and th e
-
,
-

m er est tufts of bodi es which float up and down

,

in th e A quarium at N apl e s .

Thus coming clos er as it s ee ms to what is

, , ,

call e d r eality in this banishm e nt of gr e at

,

e motions and this att ention upon th e s ensa

,

tions mod ern analytic nov elists a

,
r e r e ally

g e tting furth er and furth er from that life

which is th e one c ertain thing in th e world .

B alzac employs all his d etail to call up a

tangibl e world about his men and wom en ,

not p erhaps und erstanding th e full pow er of

, ,

d e tail as psychology as Flaub ert is to und er

,

stand it ; but aft er all his d etail is only th e

, ,

background of th e pictur e ; and th er e st ep ,

36 I T
T H E S YM B O L S M OVEM ENT

ping out of th e canvas as th e sombr e p e opl e

,

of V elaz qu e z st ep out of th eir canvas e s at th e

P rado is th e living fi gur e looking into your
, ,

e y e s with e y e s that r e spond to you lik e a

mirror .

T h e nov els of B al z ac are full of e l e ctric fluid .

To tak e up on e of th e m is to f eel th e shock

of life as one f eels it on touc hi ng c ertain mag
,

n e tic hands To turn ov e r volum e aft er vol

.

u m e is lik e wand ering through th e str e e ts of a

gr e at city at that hour of the night wh e n

,

human activity is at its full Th er e is a par

.

tic ula r kind of excit em ent inh er e nt in th e v e ry

asp e ct of a mod ern city of London or P aris ;

,

in th e m ere s e nsation of b eing in its midst ,

in th e sight of all thos e activ e and fatigu e d

fac es which pass so rapidly ; of thos e long and
e ndl e ss str e e ts full of hous e s e ach of which is
, ,

lik e th e body of a multiform soul looking out ,

through th e e y es of many windows Th er e .

is som ethi ng intoxicating in th e lights th e ,

mov em ent of sh adows und er the li ghts th e ,

vast and billowy sound of that shadowy

mov e m e nt An d th ere is som e thing mor e than
.

this m er e unconscious action upon th e n e rv e s .

E v ery st ep in a gr e at city is a st ep into an

 BAL AC Z 37

unknown world A new future is possibl e

.

at e v ery str ee t c orn er I n e v e r know wh e n

.
,

I go out into one of thos e c rowd e d str e ets ,

but that the whole cours e of my life may b e

change d b ef ore I re turn to th e hous e I hav e
q uitt e d.

I am writing th e s e lin e s in M adrid to which ,

I hav e com e sudd e nly aft er a long qui e t in

,

A ndalusia ; and I f eel a lr e ady a n ew puls e in

my blood a k ee n er cons c iousn ess of lif e a
, nd a ,

sharp er human curiosity E v e n in S evill e I .

kn ew that I should s e e to morrow in th e -

,

sam e str e e ts hardly chang e d sinc e th e M iddl e

,

A g e s th e s a
,
m e p e opl e that I h a d s ee n to day -
.

B ut h er e th er e a r e n e w possibiliti e s all th e ,

e xciting accid e nts of th e mod e rn world of a ,

population always changing of a city into ,

which civilisation has brought all its unre st .

A n d as I walk in th e s e broad windy str ee ts ,

and s ee th e s e p e opl e whom I h a

,
rdly r e cog
nis e for S pani a rds so a ,
wak e and so hybrid
a r e th e y I hav e f e lt th e s e ns e of B alz a
, c com
ing back into my v e ins A t C ordova h e w a . s

unthinkabl e ; at C adiz I c ould r e a lis e only

his larg e univ e rsal outlin e s v a
,
gu e a , s th e
murmur of th e s e a ; h e r e I f e e l him h e sp e aks
,
38 T H E S Y M B OL ST I M OVEM ENT

th e languag e I am tal king h e sums up the lif e

,

in whos e midst I find mys elf .

F or B alzac is th e e quival ent of gr e at citi e s .

H e is bad r e ading for solitud e for h e fills th e

,

mind with th e nostalgia of citi e s Wh e n a .

man sp e aks to me familiarly of B alzac I know

alr e ady som e thing of th e man with whom I
“
hav e to do . T h e physiognomy of wom e n
do es not b e gin b efor e th e a g e of thirty ”
,
h e

has said ; and p e rhaps b efor e that a g e no o n e

can r e ally und erstand B alzac F e w young .

p e opl e care for him for th er e is nothing in

,

him that a pp e als to th e s ens es exc ept through

th e int e ll e ct
. N o t many wom e n c a re for him
s upr e m e ly
,
for it is part of his m e thod to
e xpr e ss s e ntim e nts through facts and not ,

facts through s e ntim e nts B ut it is natural

.

that h e should b e th e favourit e r e ading of

men of th e world of thos e me n of th e world
,

who hav e th e distinction of th eir kind ; for

h e suppli e s th e k ey of th e e nigma which th ey
a re studying .
 T HE S Y M B O L S I T M OVE M ENT

k ey of his e arthly paradis e It m e ant l e isur e .

to visit th e wom a n whom h e lov e d and a t th e ,

e n d it m eant th e possibility of m a rrying h er .

Th er e w er e only two wom e n in B alzac s lif e ’

on e ,
a woman much old er than hims elf of ,

whom h e wrot e on h er d eath to th e oth er

, ,
“
S h e was a moth er a fri end a family a com
, , ,

panion a couns el sh e mad e th e writ er sh e

, , ,

consol e d th e young man sh e form ed his tast e , ,

sh e w e pt lik e a sist er sh e laugh e d sh e cam e

, ,

e v e ry day lik e a h e aling slumb e r to put s orro w

, ,

to sl ee p T h e oth er was M me d e Hanska

. .
,

whom h e marri e d in 1 8 50 thr ee months b e for e ,

his d eath H e had lov e d h er for tw e nty y e ars ;

.

s h e was marri e d and liv e d in P oland ; it was

,

only at rar e int ervals that h e was abl e to s e e

h er and th e n v ery bri e fly ; but his l e tt ers to
,

h er publish e d sinc e his d e ath a

,
r e a simpl e , ,

p erf e ctly in d ividual daily r e cord of a gr e at

,

passion F or tw e nty y ears h e e xist e d on a

.

divin e c ertainty without a futur e and almost ,

without a pr e s e nt B u t w e s e e th e forc e of
.

that s entim ent passing into his work ; S era

’

p h i ta is its e cstasy e v e rywh er e is its human

,

shadow ; it r e fin e s his str ength it giv e s h im ,

surprising intuitions it giv es him all that wa

,
s
 B AL AC Z 41

wanting to his g e nius M me d e Hanska is . .

th e h e roin e of th e H uma n Comedy as ,

B eatric e is th e h eroin e of th e D i vi ne Com

edy .

A gr e at lover to who m lov e as w ell a

, s ,

e v e ry oth er passio n and th e whol e visibl e

world was an id e a aflaming spiritual p erc ep
, ,

tion B al z ac e nj oy e d th e vast happin ess of th e

,

id e alist C ont ent e dly j oyously h e sa crific e d

.
, ,

e v e ry p e tty e nj oym e nt to th e id e a of lov e th e ,

id e a of fam e and to that n e e d of th e organism

,

to ex er cis e its forc es which is th e only d efi ni ,

tion of g enius I do not know among th e

.
,

liv es of men of l e tt ers a life b e tt er fi ll e d or , ,

mor e appropriat e A young man who for a .

,

“
short tim e was his s e cr e tary d eclare d :
, I ,

would not live your lif e for th e fam e of N apo

l e on and of B yron combin e d ! T h e C omt e
d e Gramont did not r ealis e as th e world in ,

g e n eral do e s not r e alis e that to th e m a n of , ,

cr eat iv e e n ergy cr e ation is at onc e a n e c essi ty

,

and a j oy and to th e lover hop e in abs e nc e is

, ,

th e elixir of life B al z ac tast e d more than all

.

e arthly pl e asur e s as h e sat th e r e in his attic ,

c r e ating th e world ov er again that h e might ,

lay it at the f ee t of a woman C ertainly to .

42 I T
T H E S YM B O L S M O VEM EN T

him th er e was no t e dium in lif e for th er e wa

,
s

no hour without its vivid e mploym ent and no ,

mom ent in which to p e rc eiv e th e most d esolat e

of all c ertainti es that hop e is in th e past His
,
.

d e ath was as fortunat e as his lif e ; h e di e d at

th e h eight of his pow ers at th e h e ight of his
,

fam e at th e mom ent of th e fulfilm ent of his

,

happin ess and p erhaps of th e too sudd en reli ef

,

of that d elicat e burd en .

1 8 99 .
 P R O S P ER M E RI M EE

ST E N D H A L has l eft us a pictur e of M erim ee

a
s
“
a you n g man in a gr e y frock coat v ery -
,

u gly,
and with a turn e d up nos e-
Thi s .

y oung man had som e thing insol e nt and e x

t re mely unpl e asant about him H is e y e s

.
,

s mall and without e xpr es sion had always th e ,

s am e look and this look was ill natur e d

,
-
.

S uch was my fi rst impr e ssion of th e b e st of my

pres ent fri e nds I am not too s ur e of his h e art
.
,

but I am sur e of his tal ents It is M le C omt e

. .

Ga z ul now s o w ell k nown ; a

,
l e tt er from him ,

which came to me last w eek mad e me happy ,

for two days His moth er has a good d eal of

.

F r e nch wit and a sup erior int ellig enc e Li k e .

h er son it seem s to me that sh e might giv e

,
”
way to e motion onc e a y e ar Th er e paint e d
.
,

b y a cl e ar sight e d and disint er e st e d fri end is a

-
,

p ictur e of M erim ee almost from h is own point

43
44 T HE S YM B O L S I T M O VE M ENT

of vi e w or a
, t l east a s h e would hims elf hav e

paint e d the pictur e How far is it in its in .

,

s ist e nc e on th e a ttendri ssement une f oi s p a

r a
n ,

o n th e s ubordination of natural f eelings to a

s om e what disdainful aloofn e ss the r e al M eri ,

mee ?
E arly in lif e M eri m ee adopt e d his th eory
, ,

fi x ed his attitud e and to th e end of his life

,

h e s ee m e d to thos e about him to hav e walk e d

, ,

a long th e path h e had chos en almost without ,

a d eviation H e w ent to England at the a

.
g e

of tw e nty thr ee to S pain four y e ars lat er and

-
, ,

mi ght s eem to hav e b ee n drawn naturally to

thos e two countri es to which h e was to r e turn
,

s o oft e n by natural a ffi niti e s of t emp er and

,

mann er It was th e E n glish mann er that h e

.

lik e d that cam e naturally to him ; the corr e ct

, ,

unmov e d e xt erior which is a kind of positiv e

,

str ength not to b e brok e n by any onslaught

,

of e v ents or e motions ; and in S pain h e found

a n e qually positiv e animal acc eptanc e of thing s

as th e y a r e which satisfi e d his profound r e

, ,

strain e d r e ally P agan senu s a

,
lity P agan in th e ,

hard e ight eenth c entury s ens e From th e

,
- .

b egin ning h e was a stud ent of art of history , , ,

of human natur e and w e fi nd him e nj oying in

, ,
 PROS PER M ER M EE I 45

his d elib erat e k e en way th e studi e d div ersions

, ,

of the stud ent ; body and soul e ach k ept exactly

in its plac e e ach provid e d for without par
,

tia lity . H e ent er e d upon lit e ratur e by a mys

tifi c a tion L e T hédtre d e Cla
,
ra Ga z u l a book ,

of plays suppos e d to b e translat e d from a

living Spanish dramatist ; and h e follow e d it by
LaGuz la anoth e r mys tifi c a
,
tio n a book of ,

pros e ballads suppos e d to b e transl a t e d from

the Illyrian A n d th e s e mystifi c a
. tion s lik e th e ,

forgeri e s of C hatt e rton contain p erhaps th e ,

m ost sinc ere the most undisguis e d emotion

,

which h e e v e r p er mitt e d hims elf to e xpr ess ;

so s e cur e did he f e el of th e h e art b ehind th e
p e arl n e c k lac e of th e decolletee Spanish actre ss
’

who trav esti e s his own fac e in the frontispi ec e

to the one and so r emot e from hims elf did h e
,

f e el the b e ard e d g entl e man to b e who sits ,

cross l egg e d on the ground holding his lyr e or

-
,

g u z la
,
in t h e frontispi e c e to t h e oth e r Th e n .

c am e a historical nov el the Chroni qu e da ,

Regne de Cha r les I X b e for e he di scov ere d ,

a s if by accid e nt pr e cis e ly what it was h e was

,

m e ant to do : the short story Th en h e drift e d .

into history b ecam e Insp e ctor of A nci ent

,

M onum ents and h elp e d to sav e V ez e lay

, ,
46 T H E S YMB OL S I T M OVEM ENT

among oth e r good d e e ds toward art don e in ,

his cold syst ematic aft e r all satisfactory man

, ,

n er . H e trav e ll e d at almost r e gular int e rvals ,

not only in Spain and E ngland but in C orsica , ,

in Gr e e c e and A sia M inor in Italy in Hun , ,

gary in B oh e mia usually with a d efi nit e

, , ,

scholarly obj e ct and always with an al ert

,

att e ntion to e v e ryt hi ng that cam e in his way ,

to th e mann ers of p e opl e th eir national char ,

a c t er s th eir di ff er e nc e s from one anoth er

,
.

A n intimat e fri e nd of th e C ount ess d e M ontij o ,

th e moth er of the E mpr e ss E ug eni e h e was a ,

fri end not a courti er at th e c our t of th e Third

, ,

E mpir e H e was el e ct e d to the A cad e my

.
,

mainly for his Etu des sur l H i s toire Ro ’

ma i ne a pi e c e of dry history and imm e diat ely

, ,

s candalis e d his support ers by publishing a

story A rsene Gu illot which was tak en for a

, ,

v eil e d attac k on r e ligion and on morals S oon .

aft er his imagination s eem e d to flag ; he

,

abandon e d hims elf p erhaps a littl e w e arily

, ,

mor e and mor e to facts to the facts of history

,

and l e arning ; l e arn e d R ussian and trans ,

lat e d P ou shki n and T ourgu enie ff ; and di e d in

1 870 at C ann e s p erhaps l e ss satis fi e d with
, ,

hims elf than most men who hav e don e in th eir ,

48 T HE S Y M B OL ST I M O VEM ENT

siv e mood dr e ami ng of a woman he trans

, ,

lat e s for h er som e lin e s of S ophocl e s into v ers e , ,

“
E nglish v e rs e you und erstand for I abhor
, ,
”
Fr e nch v ers e T he car efuln e ss with which
.

h e avoids r e c eiv e d opinions shows a c ertain

c onsciousn ess of thos e opinions which in a
, ,

mor e imaginativ ely ind ep end e nt mind would

scarc ely hav e found a plac e It is not only .

for an effe ct but more and mor e g enuin ely

, ,

that h e s ets his ac quir e m ents as a scholar

abov e his accomplishm ents as an artist C l ear .

ing away as it s ee m ed to him e v ery illusion

, ,

from b efor e his e ye s h e forgot th e last illusion

,

of positiv e p e opl e : the possibility that on e s ’

e y e s may b e short sight e d -

.

M erim ee r e alis es a typ e which we a re accus

tome d to associat e almost e xclusiv ely with th e

e ight e e nth c e ntury but of which our o wn tim e
,

can o ff er us many obscur e ex ampl e s It is .

th e typ e of th e espri t f or t: th e l e arn e d man ,

th e choic e narrow artist who is at th e s am e

, ,

tim e th e cultivat e d s e nsualist To such a .

man th e pursuit of wom e n is part of his c on

stant pursuit of human exp eri enc e and of th e ,

docum ent which is th e summing up of human

,

e xp e ri e nc e To M erim ee history its e lf was a

.
 P RO S PE R M ER M EE I 49

“
matt e r of d e tail .In history I care only for ,

an e cdot e s ,
he s a
ys in th e pr e fac e to the
Chr oni qu e da Regne de Cha
r les IX . A nd
he adds : It is not a v ery nobl e tast e ; but I
confe ss to my sham e I would willingly give
,

Thucydid e s for th e auth e ntic m emoirs of

A spasia or of a slav e of P ericl e s ; for only
m emoirs which a
,
re th e familiar talk of an

author with his re ade r afford those portraits

,

of ma n which amus e and int e r e st me

”
This .

curiosity of mankind abov e all things and of ,

mankind at hom e or in privat e actions not

, ,

n e c e ssarily of any import to the g en eral cours e

of th e world l e ads th e curious s e arch er natur
,

ally to th e mor e privat ely int ere sting and th e

l ess publicly important half of mankind .

N o t scrupulous in arriving at any e nd by th e

most adaptabl e m e ans not disturb e d by any
,

illusions as to th e physical facts of the uni

v ers e asinc er e and grat eful lov e r of vari e ty
, ,

doubtl e ss an amusing companion with thos e

who amus e d him M erim ee found much of
,

his e nt ertainm e nts and instruction at all ,

“
e v e nts in his young e r y e ars in that half ,
”
world which h e t e lls us h e fr e qu e nt e d v ery
much out of curiosity living in it always as
,
50 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

in a for eign country H e r e as els ewh er e

.
, ,

M erim ee play e d th e part of th e amat eur H e .

lik e d an e cdot es not gr e at e v e nts in his his

, ,

tory ; and h e was car eful to avoid any too

s erious p assions in his s e arch for s ensations .

Th ere no doubt for th e s ensualist is happi

, , ,

n ess if he can r e sign hims elf to it I t is only

,
.

s erious passions which mak e anybody unhappy ;

a n d M erim ee was car e fully on th e lookout

against a possibl e unhappin ess I can imagin e .

him e nding e v ery day with satisfaction and ,

b e ginning ev ery fr esh day with j ust e nough

e xp e ctancy to b e agr ee abl e at th a t p eriod of
,

his lif e wh en h e was writing th e fin e st of his

s tori e s and dividing th e r est of his l eisure
,

b e tw e en th e drawing rooms and th e pursuit

-

of un e v e ntful adv e ntur e s .

Only though we a re a utoma tes a u ta

’
, nt qu

es pri t as P ascal t e lls us it is us el e ss to e xp e ct

, ,

that what is automatic in us sh ould r e main

invariabl e and uncondition e d I f life could .

b e liv e d on a plan and for such men on such

,

a plan if fi rst impuls e s and profound passions

,

could b e k ept e ntir ely out of on e s own ex p eri ’

e nc e and studi e d only at a saf e distanc e th e n

, , ,

no doubt o n e could go on b eing happy in a

, ,
 PRO SP ER M ERI M EE 51

not too h eroic way B u t with M erim ee as

.
,

with all th e re st of th e world th e sch em e ,

br e aks down one day j ust wh e n a r e asonabl e

,

solution to things s ee ms to hav e b e en arriv e d

at M erim ee had alre ady e nt e r e d on a p eac e
.

abl e e nough li a i s on wh e n th e fi rst l e tt er cam e

to him from th e I nconnu e to whom he was to
writ e so many l e tt ers for nin e y e ars without
,

s eeing h er and th en for thirty y e ars mor e aft er

,

h e had met h er th e last l e tt e r b e ing writt e n

,

but two hours b efor e his d e ath Th e s e l e tt ers .

,

which we can now r e ad in two volum e s hav e a ,

d e licat e ly insinc ere sinc e rity which mak e s

e v e ry l e tt e r a work of art not b e caus e h e tri e d
,

to mak e it so but b e caus e h e could not h elp

,

s e eing th e form simultan e ously with th e f e el

ing and writing g e nuin e lov e l e tt ers with an
,
-

e xc ell e nc e almost as imp e rsonal as that of his

stori e s H e b e gins with curiosity which pass es

.
,

with singular rapidity into a ki nd of s elf

will e d passion ; alr e ady in th e e ighth l e tt er ,

long b e for e h e has s ee n h er h e is sp e culating

,

which of th e two will know b e st how to tortur e

th e oth e r : that is as h e vi e ws it lov e b e st
, , .

“
W e shall n e ve r lov e one anoth e r r e ally ,

he t ells h er as h e b e gins to hop e for the con

,
52 T H E S YM B O L S I T M O VE M ENT

tra
ry Th e n h e discov e rs for th e fi rst tim e
.
, ,

and without practical r e sult th a “

t it is b ett e r
,

”
to hav e illusions than to hav e non e at all .

H e conf e ss e s hims elf to h er som e tim e s re ,

minding her : Y ou will n e ve r know e ith er all

“

th e good or all th e e vil that I hav e in me .

I hav e sp ent my lif e in b e ing prais e d for

q ualiti e s which I do not poss e ss and c a
lu m n i,

at e d for d efe cts which a re not min e

”
An d .
,

with a strang e w e ary humility which is th e

, ,

oth e r sid e of his cont e mpt for most things

“
and p e opl e he admit s
,
To you I am like
an old op era which you a , re ob lig e d to forg e t

in ord er to s ee it again with any pl easure .

H e who has always distrust e d first impuls e s

, ,

finds hims elf t e lling h er (was sh e r e ally so lik e

“
him or was he arguing with
,
Y ou
always fe ar fi rs t impuls e s ; do not you s e e
that th e y a r e th e only on e s which a re worth
”
anything and which always succ ee d ? D o es
h e r ealis e unabl e to change th e t emp eram ent
,

which h e has partly mad e for himse lf that ,

j ust th er e has b ee n his own failure ?

P e rhaps of all lov e l e tt ers th e s e of M erim ee
-
,

sho w us lov e triumphing ov er th e most car e

fully guard e d p ersonality H e r e th e obstacl e
.
 PROS PER M ERI M EE 53

is not duty nor circumstanc e nor arival ;

, ,

but (on h er sid e as on his it would s eem) a

,

care fully train e d natural coldn ess in which ,

action and e v en for th e most part f eeling a

,
re ,

relin quish e d to th e control of s e c ond thoughts .

A habit of r e pr e ssiv e irony go e s d e ep : M erim ee

might w ell hav e thought hims elf s e cur e against
th e outbr e ak of an unconditional passion .

Y e t h er e we find passion b e traying its elf ,

oft e n only by bitt ern ess tog eth er with a shy

,

surprising t e nd ern ess in this curious lov ers

,

itin erary mark e d out with all th e customary

,

sign posts and l e ading for all its wilful

-
, ,

d e viations along th e i ne vitabl e road

,

It is commonly suppos e d that th e artist ,

by th e habit of his profession has mad e for ,

hims elf a sort of cuirass of phras es against

th e d ir e ct attack of e motion and so will su ff er
,

l ess than most p eopl e if h e should fall into lov e ,

and things should not go altog eth er w ell with

him Rath er h e is th e mor e laid op en to
.
,

attack th e mor e h elpl e ssly e ntangl e d wh e n

,

onc e th e net has b ee n cast ov er him H e .

live s through e v ery passionat e troubl e not ,

m er ely with th e daily e motions of th e crowd ,

but with th e whol e of his imagination P ain is .

54 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

multipli e d to him by th e forc e of that fac ulty

by which h e conc eiv es d elight What is most .

torturing in e v ery not quit e fortunat e lov e is

memory and th e artist b e com es an artist by
,

hi s int e nsification of m e mory M erim ee has

a
.

hims elf d efi n e d art as exagg eration p p

r o os .

Well to the artist his own lif e is an ex a a

a
, gg er

tion not prop os and e v ery hour dramatis es

,

for him its own pain and pl easur e in a tragic ,

c om e dy of which h e is th e author and actor

a n d sp e ctator T h e practic e of art is a sharp
.

e nin g of th e s e nsations and th e knif e onc e

, ,
’
sharp en e d do e s it cut into on e s hand l ess
,

d eeply b e caus e one is in th e act of using it to

carv e wood ?
A nd so we fi nd M erim ee th e most imp er ,

sonal of artists and on e of thos e most critical

,

of th e capric e s and viol enc es of fat e giving ,

in to an almost obvious t emptation an anon ,

y m o u s corr e spond e nc e a myst, e rious unknown

woman and passing from stag e to stag e of
,

a finally v ery g e nuin e lov e aff air which k ept

-
,

him in a flutt e ring agitation for mor e than

thirty y ears It is curious to not e that th e
.

littl e which we know of this I n eonna e s e ems

to mark h er out as th e r e alisation of a typ e

56 T H E S Y MB OL S I T M OVEM EN T

M erim ee as a writ er b elongs to the rac e of

Laclos and of S t endhal a rac e e ss entially ,

F r e nch ; and w e fi nd him r e pr es e nting a littl e ,

coldly as it s eem e d the claims of m er e nu

, ,

impassion e d int ell ect at work on passionat e

,

probl ems among thos e p e opl e of the R omantic

,

p eriod to whom e motion e vi d ent e motion , ,

was ev eryt hing In his subj e cts h e is as

.

“ ”
R omantic as V ictor Hugo or Gauti er ; h e
adds ev en a p e culiar flavour of cru elty to
, ,

th e R omantic ingr e di e nts B u t h e distin .

g u i sh e s sharply as F,r e nch writ ers b e for e him

had so w ell known how to do b e tw een the ,

passion one is r e counting and th e mov e d or

unmov e d way in which on e choos es to t ell it .

To M erimee art was a v ery formal thing ,

almost a part of l e arning ; it was a thi ng to

b e don e with a cl e ar h e ad r efl e c tively with a , ,

calm mast ery of e v en th e most vivid mat erial .

Whil e oth ers at that tim e w er e into x icating

, ,

th e ms elv es with strang e s e nsations hopin g ,

“
that natur e would tak e th e p en out of th e ir
han ds and writ e j ust at th e mom ent wh en
,

th eir own thoughts b e cam e l east coh erent ,

 PRO S PER M ER I M EE 57

M erim ee w ent q ui e tly to work ov e r som e thing

a littl e abnormal which h e had found in
natur e with as disint er e st e d as scholarly as
, , ,

m entally r es erv e d an int er e st as if it w er e

o n e of thos e G othic monum ents whi ch h e
insp e ct e d to such good purpos e and as it , ,

has s ee m e d to his biograph er with so littl e

,

sympathy His own e motion so far as it is

.
,

rous e d s ee ms to him an e xtran e ous thing a

, ,

thing to b e c onc e al e d if not a littl e ash a

, m e d of .

It is th e thing its elf h e wish e s to giv e you not ,

his fe elings a bout it ; and his th eory is that

if th e thing its elf can only b e mad e to stand
and sp e a k b e for e th e r ead er th e r ead e r will
,

supply for hims elf all th e fe eling that is n e e d e d ,

all th e f e eling that would b e call e d out in

nature by a p erf e ctly cl e ar sight of j ust such
passions in a ction I t s ee ms to him bad art
.

to paint th e picture and to writ e a d e scription

,

of the pictur e as w ell .

A n d his m e thod s erve s him wond erfully

up to a c ertain point and th e n l e av e s him
, ,

without his b eing w ell aware of it at the ,

mom ent e v e n wh e n h e has convinc e d hims e lf

that he has r e alis e d the utmost of his aim .

A t a tim e wh e n h e had com e to consid e r

 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

scholarly d ext erity as th e most important

part of art M erim ee t ells us that L aVenu s
’

d I lle s e em e d to him th e b e st story h e had

’

e v e r writt e n H e has oft e n b ee n tak e n at

.

his word but to tak e him at his word is to

,

do him an inj ustic e L a Venu s d I lle is a ’

’

mod ern s etting of th e old story of th e R ing

giv e n to Ve nus and M erim ee has b e e n
,

prais e d for th e ing e nuity with w hi ch h e has

obtain e d an effe ct of sup ernatural t error ,

whil e l e aving the way op en for a mat erial

e xplanation of th e sup ernatural What h e .

has r eally don e is to mat e rialis e a myth by ,

acc epting in it pr e cis ely what might b e a m er e

sup erstition th e form of th e thing and l e aving
, ,

out the spiritual m e aning of which that form

wa s no mor e than a t e mporary e xpr e ssion .

T h e ring which th e brid e groom s e ts on th e

fi ng er of V e nus and which th e statu e s fing e r
,
’

clos es upon acc e pting it symbolis e s th e pac t

, ,

b e tw e en lov e and s e nsuality th e lov er s abdi

,
’

cation of all but th e physic a l part of lov e ; and

th e statu e taking its plac e b e tw ee n husband
and wif e on the marriag e night and crushing
-
,

lif e out of him in an in exorabl e e mbrac e ,

s ymbolis e s th e m er ely natural d estruction

 PROSPER M ER M EEI 59

which that grant e d pray er brings with it as a ,

m er e ly human M e ss a lin at ak e s h er lov e r on

his own t e rms in his a ,
bandonm e nt of all to
V e nus . M erim ee s ee s a cru el and fantastic
sup erstition which h e is afraid of s e eming
,

to tak e too s eriously which h e pr efers to l eav e

,

as a story of ghosts or bogi es a thing at which,

we a re to shiv e r as at a m e r e twitch on th e

ne rv e s ,
whil e our m e ntal confid e nc e in th e
impossibility of what we cannot explain is
pre s erv e d for us by a hint at a mul e t e er s ’

“ ”
v e ng e anc e . Hav e I fright en e d you ? says
th e man of the world with a r e assuring smil e
, .

“
Think about it no more ; I r e ally m e ant
”
nothing .

A n d ye t do e s h e aft er all m e an nothing ?

,

T he d e vil th e old pagan gods th e spirits of

, ,

e vil incarnat e d und e r e v e ry form fascinat e d ,

h im ; it g a v e him a malign pl e asure to se t

th e m at th e ir e vil work among m en whil e , ,

all the tim e h e mocks th e m and th e me n who

‘

b eli e v e d in th e m H e is a mat erialist and

.
,

e t h e b e li e v e s in at l e a
st a som e thing e vil
y ,

o utsid e th e world or in th e h e art of it which

, ,

s ets humanity at its strang e gam es r el ent ,

lessly . E v e n th e n h e will not surr end e r h is

 T HE S Y M B O L S I T M O VE M E NT

doubts his ironi es his n e gations

, , Is he .
,

p erhaps at tim e s th e a tni est who f e ars that

’

, , ,

aft er a ll G od may e xist or a

,
t l e ast who r e alis e s
,

how much h e would f e ar him if h e did exist ?

M erim ee h a d always d elight e d in mys tifi c a
tions h e was a lways on his gu a rd ag a inst b e ing
mystifi e d hims elf e ith e r by n a , tur e or by his
f e llow cre atur e s I n th e e a
-
.
“
rly R omantic ”

days h e had had a g enuin e passion for various

“ ”
thing s local colour for instanc e B u t ,
.

e v e n th e n h e had inv e nt e d it by a kind of trick ,

and lat e r on h e e xpl a

, ,
ins wh a t a poor thing
“
local colour is sinc e it can so e asily b e
,

inv e nt e d without l e a ving on e s study H e ’

.

is full of curiosity and will go f a ,

r to satisfy

it r e gr e t ting th e d e c a
,
“ ”
d enc e in our tim e s , ,
“
of e n erg e tic passions in f a vour of tran quillity
,
”
and p erhaps of happin e ss Th e s e e n e rg e tic.

pa ssions h e will find ind ee d in our own , ,

tim es in C orsica in Sp a
,
in in Lithuania
, , ,

rea lly in the midst of a v ery g e nuin e and pro

“ ”
f ou n d ly studi e d local colour and also , ,

und e r many disguis e s in P arisian drawing ,

rooms M erim ee priz e d happin e ss mat eri a

. l ,

c omfort th e satisfac tion of on e s imm e diat e

’
,

d e sir e s v ery highly; and it was hi s ke en s ens e

,
 PROS PER M ER M EE I 61

of life of the pl easure s of living that gav e

, ,

him som e of his k ee nn ess in th e r e alisation of

viol e nt d eath physic al pain what ev e r dis
, ,

t urb s th e e quilibrium of things with unusual

m
”

e mphasis H i s elf r eally s elfish h e can dis

.
,

tinguish th e u nhappin e ss of oth ers with a

kind of intuition which is not sympathy but ,

which s el fi sh p eopl e oft e n have : a d ramatic

consciousn ess of how painful pain must b e ,

who ev e r feels it It is not pity though it

.
,

communicat e s its elf to us oft e n eno ugh , ,

as pity It is the cl ear sigh t e d s ensitiv en ess

.
-

of a man who watch es huma n things clos ely ,

bringing th em hom e to hi ms elf with th e

d elib er a
t e e ssaying art of an actor who has
,

to r epr es ent a particular passion in mov em ent .

A n d always in M erim ee th er e is this union

of curiosity with indiffer enc e : the curiosity
of the stud ent th e indi ff erenc e of the man of
,

th e world Indiff er enc e in him as in th e man

.
, ,

of th e world is partly an attitud e adopt e d

, ,

for its form and influ encing th e t emp eram e nt

,

j ust so much as g estur e always influ enc e s

e motion T h e man who forc e s hims elf to
.

app e ar calm und er excit e m ent t e ach e s his

n erv e s to follow instinctiv ely the way h e has
 T HE S Y M B O L S I T M OVEM EN T

s hown th em In tim e h e will not m erely

.

s ee m calm but will b e calm at th e mom ent ,

wh e n h e l e arns that a gr eat disast e r has b e

fall e n him B ut in M erim ee was th e in d if
.
, ,

f ere nc e e v e n as ext ernal as it must always b e

wh en th er e is r e straint wh en th er efor e , , ,

th er e is som ething to r estrain ? Was th er e

not in him a c ertain drying up of th e sourc es
of e motion as th e man of the world cam e to
,

acc ept almost th e point of vi ew of soci ety ,

fi

r e adi ng his stori es to a littl e circle of court

ladi es wh en onc e in a whil e h e p ermitt e d
, , ,

h ims elf to writ e a story ? A n d was not this

incr e as e of w ell br e d indiff er e nc e now more
-
,

than e v er charact eristic almost th e man ,

hims elf th e chi ef r e ason why b e abandon e d

,

art so e arly writing only two or thre e shor t

,

stori es during th e last tw enty fi ve y ears of -

his lif e and writing th e s e with a labour which

,

by no m e ans conc eals its elf ?

M erim ee had an abstract int er est in almos t ,

a n e nthusiasm for facts ; facts for th eir m ean

,

ing th e light th ey throw on psychology H e

, .

d e clin es to consid er psychol ogy exc ept through

its expr e ssion in facts with an imp ersonality
,

far more r e al than that of Flaub ert T he .

 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

do b e tt er without b eli ef than thos e who b e

, ,

li e v e Writt e n und er a titl e which sugg ests

.

a w ork of actual history it is mor e than possibl e

,

that the fi rst sugg e stion of this book r eally

cam e a s h e t ells us in th e pr e fac e from th e
, ,

r e ading of a larg e numb er of m emoirs a

“
nd

pamphl e ts r elating to th e en d of the si x t eenth

” “
c entury I wish e d to mak e an e pitom e of
.

“
my r eading h e t ells us
, and h er e is th e ,
”
e pitom e T h e historical probl e m attract e d
.

him that n ev er quit e explicabl e M assacr e

,

of S t B artholom e w in which th er e was pre

.
,

c is ely th e viol e nc e of action and unc ertainty

of motiv e which h e lik e d to s et b efor e him at

th e b eginning of a task in lit eratur e P robabl e .
,

cl e arly d efin e d p e opl e in th e dr ess of the

,

p eriod gre w up naturally about this c entral

,

motiv e ; humour and irony hav e th eir part ;

th er e a re adv e ntur es told with a sword s
,
’

point of sharpn ess and in the f ew est possibl e

,

words ; th er e is one of his cru el and loving

wom en in whom e v e ry s entim ent b ecom es
,

action by som e twist e d f e minin e logic of th eir

,

own I t is th e most artistic th e most cl ean

.
,

cut of historical nov els ; and ye t this p erf e ct

,

n e atn ess of m e thod sugg ests a c ertain indi i

 PROS PE R M ER M EE I 65

fer enc e on the part of th e writ e r as if he w er e ,

mor e int er e st e d in doing th e thing w ell than in

doing it .

A n d that in a ll but th e v ery b e st of his

,

stori e s (e v e n p erhaps in A r s ene Gu illot only

, ,

not in such p erfe c t things as Ca r men as ,

Ma teo F a lcone) is what M erim ee j ust l ets us

,

se e
,
und e rn e ath an almost faultl e ss skill of
narrativ e A n inc id ent told by M erim ee at
.

his b est gath ers a bout it som e thing of th e

gravity of history th e compos e d way in which
,

it is told h elping to giv e it th e e quival ent of

r emot en ess allowing it not m er ely to b e but
, , ,

what is mor e di ffi cult to s ee m classic in its ,

“
own tim e M agnific ent things thi n gs aft er
.
,

—
my own h e art that is to say Gr eek in th eir ,
”
truth and simplicity h e writ e s in a l e tt er , ,

r ef erring to th e tal es of P ou shk in T h e phras e .

is scarc ely too strong to apply to what is b est

in his own work M ad e out of el em ental .

passions hard cru el d e tach e d as it w er e from

, , ,

th eir own s entim ents th e stori e s th a t h e t ell s

,
.

might in oth er hands b e com e m elodramas

Ca r men tak e n thoughtl e ssly out of his hands
, ,

has suppli e d th e libr e tto to th e most p op u

lar of mod e rn light op eras A n d ye t in his .
,
 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M O VE M ENT

s ev er e m ethod of t elling m er e outlin es it

, ,

s eems told with an e v e n strict er watch ov er

,

what is significantly l eft out than ov e r what is

bri efly allow e d to b e said in words th e s e stori es ,

sum up littl e s eparat e pi ec e s of th e world ,

e ach a littl e world in its elf A n d e ach is a

.

littl e world which h e has mad e his own with a ,

labor at last its own r eward and taki n g life ,

partly b e caus e h e has put into it mor e of him

s elf than th e m er e int ention of doing it w ell .

M erim ee lov e d S pain and Ca

,
r men which by , ,

som e capric e of popularity is th e symbol of ,

S pain to p e opl e in g en eral is r e ally to thos e

, ,

who know S pain w ell th e most S panish thing

,

that has b e en writt en si n c e Gi l B la s All th e .

littl e parad e of local colour and philology ,

th e app endix on th e Ca lo of th e gipsi e s don e ,

to h eight en th e illusio n has mor e significanc e

,

than p e opl e som etim es think I n this story .

all th e qualiti es of M erim ee com e into agr e e

m e nt ; th e stud ent of human passions th e ,

trav ell er th e obs erv er th e l e arn e d man m e e t

, , ,

in harmony ; and in addition th er e is th e

, ,

afi ci on a
d o th,
e tru e a
m ateu r in lov e with S pain
,

and th e S paniards .

It is significant that at th e r e c eption of

 PR OSP E R M ERI M EE 67

M erim ee at th e A cad é mi e Fran cais e in 1 8 4 5 ,

M Eti e nn e thought it alr e ady n e edful to say

.

“
Do not paus e in th e midst of your car e er ;
”
r e st is not p ermitt e d to your tal ent A lr e ady .

M erim ee was giving way to facts to facts in ,

th ems elv e s as th e y com e into history into

, ,

r e cords of scholarship W e find him writing a .

,

littl e dryly on C atilin e on C a

,
esar on D on , ,

P e dro th e C ru e l l e arning R ussian and trans

, ,

la ting from it (ye t whil e studying th e Russians

,

b e for e all th e world n e v e r dis c ov erin g th e

,

mystical Russian soul ) writing l e arn e d articl e s , ,

writing r eports H e look e d around on con

.

t emporary lit eratur e and found nothi n g that

,

h e could car e for S t e ndhal was gon e and

.
,

who els e was th er e to admir e ? F laub ert it ,

s ee m e d to him was wasting his tal e nt und er

,
”
th e pr e t enc e of r e alism V ictor Hugo was .

“
a f ellow with th e most b e autiful figur es of
”
sp ee ch at his disposal who did not tak e th e ,

troubl e to think but intoxi cat e d hims elf with

,

his own words B aud elair e mad e him furious

.
,

R e nan fill e d him with pitying scorn I n th e .

midst of his cont empt h e may p erhaps hav e ,

imagin e d that h e was b eing l eft b ehind F or .

what ev er r eason w eakn ess or str ength h e

, ,
68 I T
T H E S YM B OL S M OVEM ENT

could not p ersuad e hims elf that it was worth

whil e to striv e for anything any mor e H e .

di e d probably at th e mom ent wh e n h e was no

long er a fashion and had not yet b e com e a
,

classic .

1 90 1 .
 GE RA RD D E N E RVAL

T H I S is th e probl e m of one who lost the

whol e world and gain e d his own soul .

“
I lik e to arrang e my life as if it w er e a
”
nov el wrot e G érard d e N e rval and ind ee d
, , , ,

it is som ewhat difficult to dis e ntangl e th e pr e

cis e facts of an e xist e nc e which was n ev er
uit conscious wh r b gan and wh r nd d
a
q e e e e e e e e
“ ”
t hat ov e rflowing of dr e ms into r e al life of ,

which h e sp e aks . I do not ask of G od ”

,
“
h e said ,
that h e should chang e anything in
e v e nts th e ms elv e s but that h e should chang e
,

me in r e gard to things so that I might hav e th e

,

pow er to cre at e my own univ ers e about m e ,

to gov ern my dre ams inst e ad of e nduring

,

T h e praye r was not gra n

”
th em . t e d in its
,

e ntir e ty ; and th e trag e dy of his life lay in

th e vain e nd e avour to hold back th e irr e sistibl e
e mpir e of th e uns e e n which it was th e j oy of
,

his lif e to summon about him B ri e fly we .

,

69
 T HE S Y M B O L SI T M OVEM ENT

know that G é rard La b runie (th e nam e d e

N erval was t a k e n from a littl e pi e c e of prop
e rty worth som e 1 50 0 francs which h e lik e d
, ,

to imagin e had a lways b een in th e poss e ssion

of his fa mi ly ) was born at P aris M a y 2 2 1 80
, 8 ,
.

His fath e r was surg e on m a j or ; his moth e r

-

di e d b efor e h e was old e nough to r e m e mb e r

h er following th e Gr a n de A r mee on th e R u s
’

sian campaign ; and Ger a r d was brought up ,

larg ely und er th e car e of a studious and e rratic

uncl e in a littl e villag e call e d M ontagny n e ar
, ,

E rm e nonvill e H e was a pr e cocious schoolboy

.
,

and by the a g e of e ight ee n had publish e d six

littl e coll e ctions of v e rs es I t was during one
.

of his holid a ys that h e saw for th e first and

,

last tim e the young girl whom h e calls A dri

,

e nn e and whom und e r many nam e s h e lov e d

, , ,

to th e e nd of his life On e e v eni ng sh e h a d

a
.

com e from th e ch t e au to danc e with th e

young p e asant girls on th e grass Sh e had .

danc e d with G era r d h e had kiss e d h e r ch e e k

, ,

h e had crown e d h er hair with laur e ls h e had ,

h eard h er sing an old song t elling of th e sorrows

of a princ e ss whom h er fath e r had shut in a
tow e r b ecaus e sh e had lov e d To G er a . r d it

s eem e d that a lr e ady h e r em emb er e d h er and ,

72 T HE S Y M BO L S I T M O VEM ENT

R oy a
l, l eading a lob st e r at the e n d of a blu e
ribbon (b e c a us e h e said it do e s not bark and
, , ,

knows th e s e cre ts of th e s e a ) th e visionary h a d ,

simply lost control of his visions and had to b e ,

s e nt to D r B lanch e s asylum at M ontmartr e

.
’
.

H e e nt e r e d M a rch 2 1 1 8 4 1 and cam e out

, , ,

appare ntly w e ll ag a in on th e 2 1 st of N ov e mb e r
, .

I t would s ee m that this first acc e ss of madn ess

was to som e ext ent th e cons e qu e nc e of th e
, ,

final ruptur e with J e nny C olon ; on Jun e 5 ,

1 8 42 sh e di e d and it was partly in ord e r to put

,

as m a ny l e a gu e s of th e e arth as possibl e b e
tw ee n him a n d th a t m e mory that G era rd s e t

out a,
t th e en d of 1 8 4 2 for t h e E a st I t was
,
.

also in ord e r to prov e to th e world by his con ,

s c io u s n es s of e xt ernal things th a t h e had ,

r e cov e r e d his r e a son Whil e h e was in S yria

.
,

h e onc e mor e f e ll in lov e with a n e w inc a rna

tion of A dri e nn e a young D rus e S a
,
lém ath e , ,

daught e r of a S h e ikh of Lebanon ; and it s e e ms

to hav e b ee n almost by a c c id e nt that h e did
not marry h er H e r e turn e d to P aris at th e
.

e n d of 1 8 4 3 or th e b e ginning of 1 8 4 4 and for ,

th e n e xt f e w y e ars h e liv e d mostly in P aris ,

writing ch a rming gr a c e ful r em a

,
rkably san e
,

articl e s and books and wand ering about th e

 G ERARD D E N ERVAL 73

stre e ts by day and night in a p erp etual dre am

, ,

from which now and again h e was som e what

, ,

rud e ly awak en e d Wh e n in the spring of

.
,

1 8 5 3 h e w e nt to se e H ein e for whom h e was

, ,

doing an admir a bl e pros e tra nslation of his

po e ms and told him h e had com e to r e turn th e
,

mon ey h e had r e c e iv e d in advanc e b e caus e ,

th e tim e s w e r e accomplish e d a n d th e e n d of ,

th e world announc e d by th e A pocalyp s e was

, ,

at hand H e in e s e nt for a cab and G érard

, ,

found hims elf at D r D ubois asylum wh er e .

’
,

h e r emain e d two months I t was on coming .

out of th e asylum that h e wrot e S ylvi e a ,

d elightful idyl chi efly autobiographical o n e

, ,

of his thr ee actual achi ev em e nts O n August .

2 7 1 853 h e had to b e tak e n to D r B lanch e s

’
, .
,

asylum at P assy wh er e h e r e main e d till M a

, y
2 7 1 854 . Thith er aft er a month or two sp ent
,

in Germany h e r eturn e d on August 8 and on

, ,

O ctob er 1 9 h e cam e out for th e last tim e man ,

ifes tly uncur e d H e was now e ngag e d on th e

.

narrativ e 0 ? his own madn ess and th e first ,

part of Le Reve et laVi e app ear e d in th e Revu e

de P a r i s o f January 1 1 855 O n th e 20 th h e
,
.

cam e into th e offic e of th e r e vi ew and show e d ,

G auti e r and M axim e d u C amp an apron

74 T H E S YM B O L S I T M O VEM E NT

string which h e was carrying in his pock et .

“
I t is the girdl e h e said that M adam e d e
” “
, ,

M aint e non wor e wh e n sh e had E sther p er

form e d a t S aint C yr
”
O n th e 24 th h e wrot e
-
.

“
to a fri end : C om e and prov e my id e ntity at
”
th e polic e station of th e C héi tele t T h e night
‘
- .

b efor e h e had b ee n working at his manuscript

in a pot hous e of Les Hall es and had b ee n
-
,

arr est e d as a vagabond H e was us e d to such .

littl e misadv e ntur es but h e complain e d of th e,

di ffi culty of writing “
I set o ff aft er an id e a
.
”
,

h e said ,
and los e mys elf ; I am hours in fi n d
ing my way back D o you know I can scarc ely
.

writ e tw e nty lin es a day th e dark n ess com e s ,

”
about me so clos e ! H e took out th e apron
“
string . It is th e gart er of th e Qu ee n of
S h eba ,
h e said T h e snow was fr ee zing on
.

th e ground and on th e night of th e 2 5th at

, ,
“
thr ee in th e morning th e landlord of a p enny ,

doss in th e Ru e d e la V i eill e L ant ern e a

”
-
,

filthy all e y lying b e tw een th e quays and th e

Ru e d e R ivoli h e ard som e o ne knocking at
,

th e door but did not op e n on account of th e

, ,

cold A t dawn th e body of G érard d e N erval

.
,

was found hanging by th e apron string to a -

bar of th e window .
 GERARD D E N ERVAL 75

It is not n ec essary to e xaggerat e the im

portanc e of th e h a lf doz e n volum e s which
-

mak e up th e works of Géra rd d e N e rval H e .

was not a gr e at writ e r ; h e h a d mom e nts of

gr e atn ess ; and it is th e particul a r q uality of
th es e mom e nts which is of int e re st for us .

Th e re is th e e nt ertaining but not mor e than

,

e nt e rtaining ,Voya g e en O r i en t; th e r e is th e
e stimabl e translation of F a u s t and th e a
, d
mirabl e v ersions from H ein e ; th e r e a r e th e

volum e s of short stori es and sk etch es of ,

which e v en L es I llumi n és in spit e of th e ,

promis e of its titl e is littl e mor e than an

,

agr e e abl e compil a tion B ut th er e r e main

.

thr e e compositions : th e sonn ets L e Reve et ,

la Vi e and S ylvi e ; of which S ylvi e is th e

,

most obj e ctiv ely achi ev e d a wand e ring idyl

, ,

full of pastoral d elight and containing som e

,

folk songs of V alois two of which hav e b e e n

-
,

translat e d by R oss etti ; L e Réve et la Vi e

b e ing th e most int e ns ely p e rsonal a narrativ e ,

of madn e ss uni qu e as madn e ss its elf ; and

,

th e sonn e ts a kind of miracl e which may

, ,

b e h eld to hav e cr e at e d som e thing at l e ast of

th e m e thod of th e lat e r S ymbolist Th e s e .

three compositions in which alon e Gera

, rd is
76 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

his fi ne st
s elf all b elong to the p eriods wh e n
,

h e was in th e e y e s of th e world actually

, ,

mad T h e sonn ets b elong to two of th es e

.

p eriods L e Reve et laVi e to th e last ; S ylvi e

,

was writt e n in th e short int erval b e tw ee n th e

two attacks in the e arly part of 1 8 5 3 W e .

hav e thus the cas e of a writ er grac e ful and ,

e l e gant wh e n h e is san e but only inspir e d

, ,

only re ally wis e passionat e coll e ct e d only

, , ,

r e ally mast e r of hims elf wh en h e is insan e

, .

It may b e worth looking at a fe w of th e

points which so sugge stive a probl e m pres ents
to us .

Gé rard d e N e rval liv e d the tra

nsfigu re d

inn er lif e of th e dr e am er I wa s v e ry
.
“

”
tire d of lif e ! h e says A n d lik e so many
.

dr e am ers who hav e all th e luminous darkn ess

,

of th e univ ers e in th e ir br a ins h e found his ,

most pre cious and unint errupt e d solitud e in

th e crowd e d and mor e sordid str e e ts of gr e at
citi e s H e who had love d th e Qu e e n of
.

S h e ba and s ee n th e s e v e n E lohims dividing

,

th e world could find nothing mor e tolerabl e

,
 G ERARD D E N ERVAL 77

in mortal conditions wh e n he was truly awar e ,

of th e m than th e company of th e m e an est of

,

mankind in whom pov e rty and vic e a

, n d th e ,

hard pre ssure of civilisation still l e av e som e ,

of th e original vivacity of th e human com e dy .

T he re al world s ee ming to b e always so far

from him and a sort of t error of th e gulfs
,

holding him in spit e of hims elf to its fl y

, ,

ing ski rts h e found som e thing at all e v ents

,

r e alisabl e concr e t e in th e s e drink e rs of Les

, ,

Hall e s th e s e vagabonds of the P lac e d u

,

C arrous e l among whom h e so oft e n sought

,

r e fuge I t was lit e rally in part a r efug e

.
, , .

D uring th e d a y h e could sl e ep but night ,

wak e n e d him and that re stl essn ess which

, ,

th e night draws out in thos e who a r e r e ally

und e r lunar influ e nc es set his f ee t wand ering , ,

if only in ord er that his mind might wand er

th e l e ss T h e sun as h e m entions n e v e r
.
, ,

app e ars in dre ams ; but with th e approach of ,

night is not ev ery on e a littl e r e a

, di er to b e
li ev e in the myst ery lurking b ehind th e world ?
C rai da l
ns , ns e mur a
veugle , un r gard q
e ui t é p ie !
’

he writ e s in on e of his gr e at sonn e ts ; and

that f e ar of th e invisibl e watchfuln ess of
78 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

natur e was n eve r abs ent from him It is .

on e of th e t e rrors of human e xist e nc e that

we may b e led a t onc e to s ee k and so shun

solitud e ; unabl e to b e ar th e mortal pr essure
if its embrac e unabl e to e ndur e th e nos
,

ta lg iaof its abs enc e I think man s hap ’

.

”
pi e st wh en he forg ets hims elf says an ,

E lizab e than dramatist ; and with G era rd , ,

th er e was A dri enn e to forg et and J e nny ,

C olon th e actr e ss and the Qu een of S h eba

, .

B ut to hav e drunk of th e cup of dr e ams

is to hav e drunk of the cup of e t ernal
m emory T h e past and as it s eem e d to
.
, ,

him th e futur e w ere continually with him ;

,

only th e pr e s ent fl e d continually from und er

his fe e t I t was only by the effort of this
.

contact with p e opl e who liv e d so sinc er ely

in th e day th e minut e that h e could find
, ,

e v e n a t e mporary foothold With th em at .

,

l east h e could hold back all th e stars and

, ,

th e darkn e ss b e yond th e m and th e int er ,

minabl e approach and disapp e aranc e of all

th e ag e s if only for th e spac e b e tw e entav e rn
,

and tav ern wh er e h e could op en his ey es

,

on so frank an abandonm ent to th e common

dr un k enn e ss of most p e opl e in this world ,
80 T HE S Y M B O L S I T M OVE M ENT

incompr eh e nsion M a i s vou s n e m a

, i mez p as!
’

and h er prompt r efug e in th e arms of th e

j m i i d if it w r not of
’

eu n e p r e er r e ,e e th e
acut est pathos would c ertainly b e of th e
,

most quint e ss ential com edy F or Gé rard so .

,

sharp an awak e ning was but lik e th e passag e

from on e stat e to anoth er across that littl e ,

bridg e of one st e p which li e s b e tw een h e av e n

and h ell to which h e was so us e d in his
,

dr e ams I t gav e p erman e ncy to th e trivial

.
,

crystallising it in anoth er than S t endhal s

,
’

s ens e ; and wh en d eath cam e changing m er e ,

human m e mory into th e t erms of e t ernity ,

th e darkn e ss of th e spiritual world was lit

with a n ew star which was h enc e forth th e
,

wand ering d esolat e guid e of so many visions

, .

T h e tragic figur e of A ur eliawhich com e s and ,

go e s through all th e labyrinths of dr eam is ,

“
now s een always as if lit up by a lightning
flash pal e and dying hurri e d away by dark
, ,

”
hors em e n .

T h e dr e am or doctrin e of th e re incarna -

tion of souls which has giv e n so much con

,

solation to so many qu estion e rs of e t ernity ,

was for Gera r d (n ee d w e doubt ?) a dr e am

rath er than a doctrin e but one of thos e ,
 GERARD D E N ERVAL 81

dre ams which a r e n e ar e r to a man than his

“ ”
br e ath . This vagu e and hop el ess lov e ,
“
h e writ e s in S ylvi e inspir e d by an actr e ss
, ,

which night by night took hold of me at th e

hour of th e p erformanc e l e aving me only at ,

th e hour of sl ee p had its g e rm in th e r e c ol

,

l e ction of A dri e nn e flow er of th e night un

, ,

folding und er th e pal e rays of th e moon rosy ,

and blond e phantom gliding ov er th e gr e en,

grass half bath e d in whit e mist

,
To lov e .

a nun und er th e form of an actres s!

and if it w ere th e v ery sam e ! I t is e nough
Y e s i t y ade qu oi
”
to drive o ne mad ! ,

deveni r f ou as G érard had found ; but th er e

,

was also in this intimat e s ens e of th e unity

, ,

p erp e tuity and harmoniously r e curring

,

rhythm of natur e not a littl e of th e inn er

,

substanc e of wisdom It was a dr e am p er .

,

haps r e fract e d from som e b rok e n illumi ,

nating angl e by which madn ess catch e s u h

s ee n light that r ev e al e d to him th e m e aning
,

of his own sup erstition fa tality malady : , ,

D uring my sl e ep I had a m a
“
,
rv elous vision .

I t s ee m e d to me that th e godd ess app ear e d

b e for e me saying to me : I am th e sam e
,
‘

as M ary th e sam e as thy moth er the sam e

, ,
82 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVEM EN T

also whom und er all forms thou hast alway s

, ,

lov e d A t e ach of thin e ord e als I hav e dropt

.

y e t o n e mor e of th e masks with which I v e il

my count e nanc e and soon thou shalt s ee ,

m e as I A n d in p erhaps his fin est

sonn et th e myst erious A r temi s we hav e
, , ,

und er oth er symbols and with th e d elib erat e ,

incons e qu enc e of th es e sonn ets th e comf ort ,

and d espair of th e sam e faith .

L aT r ie z ie me r l p emie e ;
evie nt C
’
es t e n c or ar r
r a
E t c es t t ou j o u s l s eule , o u c es t le s e ul moment
’ ’
—
a rr dr r
C r es -tu eine , 6 t o i ! l p e m ie e ou e n ie e ? ar
d r r aa
E s-tu roi, t oi le s e ul ou le e n ie m nt ?

Aimm q i a im ad b r a d a la
u v ous b ié ; u e ce u ns re

C ll q jaim a
i lma im t dr m t ;
’ ’
e e ue s eu e e n cor en e en

C t lam rt — la m rt O d é li ! 6 t m
’
es o ou o e ce our ent l

L aR os e q u ’
e lle t ien t,
’
c est a
l R os e t rémi er e .

a
S inte a p olita
in e a
n u main p l in es d e fe ux x s e

u c ur v i l t fl u d in t G u d ule ;
,

R ose a oe a o e e r e s e

A s tu tr uvé t a r oix d a
n l d é s rt ci u x ?
,

- o c s o e e

R oses bla n ches to mb e z ! v us in sult e z n os d ieux o

T omb e z f a n cs d e vo tr c iel qu i b ru
,

n t Om es bla le
in te a
e

mes yeux !
, ,

LaSa in t e d e l ab im e es t plus s a
’
-

Who has not oft e n m e ditat e d abov e all ,

what artist on th e slightn ess aft er all of th e

, , ,

link which holds our faculti es tog e th er in

that sob er h ealth of th e brain which w e call
 G ERARD D E N ERVAL 83

r eason ? Ar e th er e not mom e nts wh en that

lin k s eems to b e w orn down to so fi n e a
t e nuity that th e wing of a passing dr eam
might su ffi c e to snap it ? T h e consciousn ess
s eems as it w er e to expand and contract at
, ,

onc e into som ething too wid e for the uni

,

v ers e and too narrow for th e thought of

,

s elf to find room within it Is it that th e .

s ens e of id e ntity is about to evaporat e a n ,

ni hila ting all or is it that a mor e profound

,

id entity the id e ntity of the whol e s enti e nt

,

univ ers e has b een at last r e alis ed ? Leaving

,

th e concr e t e world on th e s e bri ef voyag e s ,

t h e f e ar is that w e may not hav e str e ngth to

r e turn or that we ma
, y los e the way bac k .

E v ery artist liv e s a doubl e lif e in which h e ,

is for th e most part conscious of the illusions

of th e imagination H e is conscious also of
.

the illusions of the n e rv e s which he shar e s

,

with e v e ry man of imaginative mind N ights .

of insomnia days of anxious waiting the

, ,

sudd e n shock of an e v e nt and one of th es e

,

common disturbanc e s may b e e nough to

j angl e th e tun el e ss b ells of on e s n erve s ’
.

T h e artist can distinguish th e s e caus e s of

c ertain of his moods from thos e othe r caus es
84 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

which com e to him b e caus e h e is an artist ,

and a re prop e rly conc e rn e d with that inve n

tion which is his own function Y e t is th ere .

not som e dang er that h e may com e to co nf us e

“
o n e with th e oth er that h e may los e th e
,

”
thr ead which conducts hi m through th e in
tri c a c ie s of th e inn er world ?

T h e supr e m e artist c e rtainly is the furth e st

, ,

of a ll men from this dang e r ; for h e is th e

supr em e int ellig enc e L ik e D ant e h e can
.
,

pass through h e ll unsing e d With hi m ima .

g ,

in a tion is vision ; wh e n h e looks into th e dark

n ess h e s ee s T he vagu e dr e am er the ins e
,
.
,

cur e art ist and th e unc ertain mystic at onc e ,

s ees only shadows not r e cognisin g th eir out

,

lin es H e is mast er e d by th e imag e s which

.

hav e com e at hi s call ; he has not the pow e r

whi ch chains th em for hi s slav e s
i
T h e king
.

dom of H e av en su ff ers viol e nc e and th e ,

dr e am er who has gon e tr emb li ngly into th e

darkn ess is in p eril at th e hands of thos e v ery
r e al phantoms who a re th e r e fl e ction of his

f e ar
.

T h e madn e ss of G érard d e N erval what ,

e ver physiological r e asons may b e rightly

giv e n for its outbre ak subsid enc e and r e t urn
, , ,
 GERARD DE N ERVAL
I tak e to have b e en ess e nti a lly d ue to th e
w e akn e ss and not th e e xc e ss of his visionary
uality to t h e insu ffi ci e ncy of his imaginativ e
q ,

e n ergy and to his lack of spi ritual disciplin e

,
.

“
H e was an unsyst e matic mystic ; his Tow e r
”
of B ab el in two hundr e d vol um e s that med ,

ley of books of r e ligion sci e nc e astrology his , , ,

tory trav el which h e thought would hav e

, ,

rej oic e d the h e art of P ico d ella M irandola of ,

M eursius or of N ichol a
, s of C u s a was truly , ,
“ ”
as h e says e nough to driv e a wis e man mad
, .

“ ” “
Why not also h e adds e nough to mak e a
, ,
”
madman wis e ? B ut pr e cis ely b e caus e it was
this a ma s bi za rre this j umbl e of th e p e rilous
,

s e cr e ts in which wisdom is so oft e n folly and ,

folly so oft e n wisdom H e sp e aks vagu ely of .

th e C abbala ; th e C abbala would hav e b e e n

saf e ty to him as the C atholic C hurch would
,

hav e b ee n or any oth e r r e ason e d sch em e of

,

things Wav e ring among intuitions ignor

.
,

an oe s half truths shadows of fals ehood now

,
-
, ,

audacious now h e sitating h e was blown

, ,

hith er and thith er by conflicting winds a ,

pr ey to th e ind e finit e .

L e Reve et la Vi e th e last fragm e nts of ,

which w ere found in his pock e ts aft er his

86 T HE S Y MBOL S I T M OVEMEN T

suicid e scrawl e d on scraps of pap e r int e r

, ,
“
r up t e d with C abbalistic signs and a d emon
s tr ation of th e Immaculat e C onc eption by
g eom e try ”
, is a narr a tiv e of a madman s ’

visions by th e madman hi ms e lf yet showing, ,

“
as G auti er says ,
cold r e ason s eat e d by th e
b e dsid e of hot f ev er hallucination analysing
,
”
its e lf by a supr em e philosophic eff ort What.

is curious yet aft er all natural is that part

, ,

of the narrativ e s eems to b e cont emporan eous

with what it d escrib es and part subs e qu e nt
,

to it ; so that it is not as wh en D e Q uinc ey

says to us such or such was th e opium dr e am
,
-

that I had on such a night ; but as if th e

opium dre am er had b egun to writ e down his
-

dre am whil e h e was ye t within its coils .

”
T h e d e sc e nt into h ell h e calls it twic e ;
,
“
y e t do e s h e not also writ e : A t tim e s I
imagin e d that my forc e and my activity w er e
doubl e d ; it s e em e d to m e that I kn e w e v ery
thing und e rstood e v erything ; and imagina
,

tion brought me infinit e pl e asur es N ow that .

I hav e r ecov er e d what men call r eason must ,

”
I not r e gre t having lost th em ? B u t h e had
not lost th em ; h e was still in that stat e of
doubl e consciousn e ss which h e d escrib es in
88 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

th e r epre s entativ e s of all the rac es of the

e arth ,
and that we had und ertake n b etw een
us to re arrang e th e cours e of th e stars and
-
,

to giv e a wid er d ev elopm ent to th e syst em .

An e rror in my opin ion had cr ept into th e

, ,

g e n eral combination of numb ers and th enc e ,

cam e all th e ills of humanity I b eli ev e d .

also that th e c el e stial spirits had tak en human

forms and assist e d at thi s g en eral congr ess
, ,

s ee ming though th e y did to b e conc ern e d with

but ordinary occupations M y own part
.

s eem e d to me to b e th e r e e stab li shm ent of -

u niv e rsal harm ony by C abbalistic art a nd I ,

had to s ee k a solution by e voki ng th e occ ul t

forc e s of various r e ligions .

S o far we hav e no doubt th e confusions of

, ,

madn ess in which what may ind ee d b e th e

,

symbol is tak e n for th e thi ng its elf B ut .

now obs erv e what follows

“
I s ee m e d to mys elf a h ero livin g und er th e
v ery e ye s of th e gods ; e v e rything in natur e
assum e d n ew asp e cts and s e cr e t voic e s cam e
,

to me from th e plants th e tre e s animals th e

, , ,

m ean est ins e cts to warn and to e ncour ag e me

,
.

T he words of my companions had myst erious

messag e s th e s ens e of whi ch I alon e und er
,
 G ERARD D E N ERVAL 89

stood ; things without form and without life

l e nt th ems e lv e s to the d esigns of my mi nd ;
out of combinations of ston e s th e figur e s of ,

angl e s cre vic e s or op enings th e shap e of

, , ,

l e av e s out of colours odours and sounds I

, , , ,

saw unknown harmoni e s come forth How .

‘

is it I said to mys elf that I can possibly

,
’
,
‘

hav e liv e d so long outsid e N atur e without ,

id e ntifying mys elf with her ! A ll things liv e ,

all things a re in motion all things corr e spond ;

,

t h e magn e tic r a ys e manating from mys elf or

oth e rs trav ers e without obstacl e th e infinit e
ch a in of cr e at e d things : a transpar e nt n et
work cov e rs th e world whos e loos e thr e a
,
ds
communi c a t e mor e and mor e clos ely with th e
plan ets and th e stars N ow a captiv e upon
.

th e e arth I hold conv ers e with the starry

,

choir which is f eelingly a part of my j oys and

,

To hav e thus r ealis e d that c entral s e cr e t of

th e mystics from P ythagoras onwards th e
, ,

s e cre t which the Smaragdin e Tabl et of H erm e s

b etrays in its A s things a
“
re b elow so a re,
”
th ey abov e ; which B o ehm e has class e d in
“ ”
his t eaching of signatures and S w e d en
,

borg has syst e matis ed in his doctrin e of

90 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

corr espond enc e s do es it matt er v ery much

that h e arriv e d at it by way of th e obsc ur e
and fatal initiation of madn ess ? Truth and ,

e sp e cially that soul of truth which is po e try ,

may b e r each e d by many roads ; and a road

is not n e c e ssarily misl e ading b e caus e it is
dang erous or forbidd e n H ere is o ne who .

has gaz ed at light till it has blind e d him ;

and for us all that is important is that h e
has s een som ething not that his e ye sight has
,

b ee n too w eak to e ndure th e pr essur e of light

ov erfl owing the world from b eyond the world .

A nd h ere we arriv e at the fund a menta

l
principl e which is at onc e th e substanc e and
th e a
“ ”
esth e tics of t h e sonn e ts compos e d as ,

“
h e e xplains in that stat e of m e ditation
,

which th e Germans would call sup e rnatural ‘

i st i c
. I n one which I will quot e he is
, ,

explicit and s ee ms to s tat e a doctrin e

, .

V ERS D O RES

r r r
H omme , lib e p ens eu ! t e c ois -tu s eul p ens nt a
a d
D ns ce mon e 0 1) la vie é cla t e e n tou te ch ose ?
fr
D es o c es que tu t iens t a r d
lib e t é isp os e ,
Ma a
is d e to us tes cons e ils l univers es t b s ent
’
.
 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

s yllabl e s a
, s according to the th e ory of
,

M allarm e th e y should do ; as in th e r e c e nt
, ,

att empts of the S ymbolists writ er aft er writ er,

has end e avour e d to lure th em into doing .

P e rsuad e d as Gé rard was of the s e nsitiv e

, ,

unity of all nature he was abl e to trac e

,

r e s e mblanc es wh ere oth e rs saw only dive r

g e n c e s ; and th e s e tting tog e th e r of unf amiliar
and appare ntly ali en things which com e s so ,

strange ly upon us in his v ers e was p erhaps ,

an actual sight of what it is our misfortun e

not to s ee His g e nius to which madn e ss
.
,

had com e as th e lib e rating th e pre cipitating , ,

spirit dis e ngaging its fin er e ss e nc e consist e d

, ,

in a pow er of mat erialising vision what ev e r ,

is most volatil e and uns ei z abl e in vision

and without losing th e s e ns e of myst ery or ,

that quality which giv e s its charm to th e

intangibl e M adn e ss th e n in him had lit
.
, , ,

up as if by lightning fl a
,
sh e s
-
th e hidd e n ,

links of distant and div erg ent things ; p erhaps

in som ewhat th e sam e mann er as that in
w hi ch a similarly new startling p erhaps ov er
, ,

tru e sight of things is gain e d by th e artificial

stimulation of haschi sch opium and thos e , ,

oth er drugs by which vision is produc e d d e

 GERARD D E N ERVAL 93

lib er a
te ly, and th e soul sitting safe within ,

th e p erilous circl e of its own magic looks ,

out on th e panorama which e ith er ris es out

of the darkn ess b efor e it or drifts from its elf ,

into th e darkn ess T he v ery imag ery of th es e

.

sonn e ts is th e imag ery which is known to all

dre am ers of bought dre ams Rose a u cceu r .

vi olet, fl eur ai nte Gu du le; te T emp le u

de s c

p er i s tyle i mmense; lag otte ou na gerlas y en e : r

th e dream er of bought dre ams has s ee n

th e m all B ut no one b efore Gé rard r eal
.

is e d that such things as th es e might b e th e

basis of almost a ne w a esth e tics D id h e .

hims elf r ealis e all that he had do n e or was ,

it l eft for M allarm e to th e oris e upon what

G érard had but divin e d ?
That h e mad e the discovery th er e is no ,

doubt ; and we o we to the fortunat e accid e nt

of madn ess one of the foundations of what
ma y b e call e d th e practical a
esth e tics of
S ymbo li sm Loo k again at that sonn e t A r te
.

mi s and you will s ee in it not only the

,

m etho d of M allarm e but much of the most ,

intimat e mann er of Ve rlain e T h e fi rst four .

lin e s with th e ir fluid rhythm th e ir r ep e ti

, ,

tions and e cho es th e ir d elicat e e vasions

, ,
 T H E S YM B O L S I T M O VE M ENT

might hav e b ee n writt en by V erlain e ; in th e

lat er part th e firmn ess of th e rhythms and
th e j ew ell e d significanc e of th e words a r e lik e

M allarm e at his fin e st so that in a singl e ,

s onn e t we may fairly claim to s e e a for e

shadowing of the styl e s of M allarm e and

V erl a in e at onc e W ith Verlain e the re
.

s emblanc e go e s p erhaps no furth er ; with

, ,

M allarm e it go es to th e v ery roots the whol e ,

man b eing c ertainly his styl e

, ,
.

G é rard d e N erval th en had divin e d b e for e

, , ,

all the world that po e try should b e a miracl e ;

,

not a hymn to b e auty nor th e d e scription of ,

b e auty nor b e auty s mirror ; but b e auty its elf

,
’
,

t he colour fragranc e and form of th e im a

, , g
ine d flow er as it blossoms again out of th e
,

pag e V ision the ov er pow ering vision had

.
,
-
,

c om e to him b eyond if not against his , ,

will a n d h e kn e w that vision is th e root out

of which the flo wer must grow Vision had .

taught him symbol and h e kn e w that it is ,

by symbol alon e that th e flow er can tak e

visibl e form H e kn e w that th e whol e mys
.

t ery of b e auty can n e v e r b e compr e h e nd e d

by th e crowd and that whil e cl e arn ess is a
,

virtu e of styl e p erfe ct e xplicitn ess is not a

,
 T H E O P H I LE GA U T I E R

GA U TIE R has spok en for hims elf in a famou s

passag e of M a demoi selle de M a upi n :
“
I am
a man of th e Hom eric a g e ; th e world in
which I liv e is not my world and I und erstand
,

nothing of th e soci e ty which surrounds me .

F or m e C hrist did not com e ; I am as much a

pagan as Alcibiad es or Phidias I hav e n ev er .

pluck e d on G olgotha the flow ers of th e P a

‘

sion and th e d eep str e am that fl ows from th e

,

sid e of th e C ru c ifi e d and s e ts a crimson girdl e

about th e world has n ev er wash e d me in its
,

flood ; my r eb ellious body will not acknowl e dg e

th e supr e macy of th e soul and my fl e sh will
,

not e ndur e to b e mortifi ed I find th e e arth

.

as b e autiful as th e sky and I think that p er

,

f e c tion of form is virtu e . I hav e no gift for

spirituality ; I pr ef er a statu e to a ghost full ,

noon to twilight Thr ee things d elight m e :

.

gold marbl e and purpl e ; brillianc e solidity

, , , ,

96
 T H EOPH LE GAU I TI ER 97

c olour . I hav e look e d on lov e in the light

of anti quity and as a pi e c e of sculptur e more
,

or l ess p erf ect A ll my lif e I hav e b e e n

.

conc ern e d with th e form of th e flagon n ev er ,

”
with th e quality of its cont ents That is .

part of a confession of faith and it is spok e n ,

with absolut e sinc erity G auti er kn ew him .

s elf and could t ell th e truth about hims elf as

,

simply as impartially as if h e had b ee n d e

, ,

scribing awork of art Or is h e not ind ee d.

, ,

d escribing a work of art ? W a

i

s not that v e ry
’

stat e of mind that finish e d and limit e d tem

,

p er am e n t , a thing which h e had collaborat e d

with natur e in making with an e ff e ctiv e h eight
,

e h ing of what was most natural to him in th e ,

spirit of art ?
G auti er saw th e world as min eral as m e tal , ,

as pigm ent as rock tr e e wat er as a

, , rc h ite c
, ,

tur e costum e und er sunlight gas in all th e

, , , ,

colours that light can bring out of built or

growing things ; h e saw it as contour mov e ,

m e nt ; h e saw all that a paint er s ees wh e n th e ,

paint er s ets hims elf to copy not to cr e at e ,

.

H e was th e fin e st copyist who e v er us e d paint

with a p en N othing that can b e expre ss e d
.

in t e chnical t erms e scap e d hi m ; th er e w er e no

98 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVE M EN T

t e chnical t erms which h e could not r e duc e to

an ord erly b eauty B ut h e absorb e d all this
.

visibl e world with th e hardly discriminating

impartialit y of th e r e tina ; h e had no moods ,

was not to b e distract e d by a s entim e nt h eard ,

no voic es saw nothing but darkn ess th e n ega

, ,

tion of day in night H e was tir el essly att en

,
.

tiv e he had no s e cr ets of his own and could k ee p

,

non e of natur e s H e could d e scrib e e v ery

’
.

ray of th e nin e thousand pr e cious ston e s in

th e thron e of Ivan th e T e rribl e in th e Tr e asury,

of th e Kr e mlin ; but h e could t ell you nothing

of o n e of M a et erlinck s b ee s ’
.

T h e fi ve s e ns e s mad e G auti er for th ems elv es ,

that th e y might b e com e articulat e H e sp eaks .

for th e m all with a dr e adful unconc ern All .

his words a r e in lov e with matt e r and th ey ,

e nj oy th e ir lust and hav e no r e coll e ction If .

th e body did not dwindle and e xpand to som e

ignobl e physical conclusion ; if wrinkle s did
not cr e ep y ellowing up wom en s n e cks and the ’
,

fi re in a man s blood did not los e its h e at ; h e

’

would always b e cont ent E v erything that .

h e car e d for in th e world was to b e had exc ept , ,

p erhaps r e st from striving aft er it ; only

, ,

e v e rything would on e day com e to an e n d ,

1 00 T HE S Y M B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

world as it is r e stor e d and r ebu ilt and th en

, ,

g e ms and h e wn ston e and carv e d ivory and

, , ,

wov e n tap estry H e lov e d v ers e for its solid

.
,

strictly li mi t e d r esistant form which whil e

, , ,

pros e m elts and drifts about it r emains unal ,

t er a
b le ind estructibl e
, Words h e kn ew can .
, ,

build as strongly as ston es and not m er ely ,

ris e to music lik e th e walls of Troy but b e

, ,

th e ms elv es music as w ell as structur e Y e t ,

as in visibl e things h e car e d only for hard out

lin e and rich colour so in words too h e had no
,

lov e of half tints and was cont ent to do with

-
,

out that soft e ning of atmosph er e which was

to b e priz e d by thos e who cam e aft er him as .

th e thing most worth s eeking E v en his v ers e .

is without myst e ry ; if h e m e ditat es his m edi ,

ta tion has all th e fi x i ty of a kind of sharp pre ,

cis e criticism .

What Gauti er saw h e saw with unparall el ed

e xactitud e ; h e allows hims elf no po e tic lic ens e

or room for fi n e phras es ; has his eye always on

th e obj e ct and r e ally us e s th e words which
,

b est d escrib e it what ev er th ey may b e S o

,
.

his boo k s of trav el a r e guid e books in addition -

,

to b e ing oth er things ; and not by any m eans

“ ”
stat es of soul or stat e s of n erv e s H e is .
 THEOPH I LE GAU TI ER 10 1

willin g to giv e you information and abl e to ,

giv e it to you without d eranging his p eriods .

T h e littl e e ssay on Le onardo is an admirabl e

pi e c e of artistic divination and it is also a
,

cl e ar simpl e su fli cient account of th e man

, , ,

his t emp eram ent and his way of work T h e

, .

study of B aud elair e r eprint e d in th e edi ti on

,

d efi ni ti ve of th e F l e urs d u M a
“ ”
l r emains th e ,

o ne satisfactory summing up it is not a solu ,

tion of th e e nigma which B aud elair e p ersoni

,

fi ed ; and it is almost th e most colour e d and

p erfum e d thing in words which h e ev er wrot e .

H e wrot e e qually w ell about citi e s po e ts , ,

nov elists paint ers or sculptors ; h e did not

, ,

und erstand one b e tt er than th e oth er or f eel ,

l ess sympathy for o ne than for anoth er H e .

,

parfait magici e n es l e ttr es franca

“ ”
th e ises ,

to whom faultl ess words cam e in faultl essly

b e autiful ord er could r e alis e against B alza c
, ,
“
hims elf that B alzac had a styl e :
,
h e pos
s ess es though he did not thin k so a styl e a
,
nd , ,

a v ery b eautiful styl e th e n e c essary in evitabl e

, , ,

He a
”
math ematical styl e of his id e as pp r e .

c ia t e d Ingr e s as j ustly as b e appr e ciat e d E1

Gr e co ; h e w e nt through th e L ouvr e room ,

by room saying th e right thing about e ach

,
1 02 T HE S Y M B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

paint er in turn H e did not say th e fi nal

.

thing ; h e said nothing which w e hav e to paus e

an d t h in k ov er b efor e we s ee th e whol e of its

truth or appr eh end th e whol e of its b eauty .

Truth in him com es to us almost lit erally

, ,

through the e y esight and with th e s am e b e au

,

tiful cl earn ess as if it w er e one of thos e visibl e

things which d elight e d him mo st : gold mar ,

b le and pur pl e ; brilliance, solidity colo ur

, , .

19 02 .
1 04 T HE S YM B O L S I T M O VEM ENT

fi nds theromantic mat erial which he lov ed ,

the mat erials of b e auty in pr e cis ely that

,

temp e ram ent which h e studi es so pati e ntly

a n d so cru e lly M adam e B ovary is a littl e
.

woman half vulgar and half hyst erical ih

, ,

c apabl e of a fi ne passion ; but h er trivial

d e sire s h er futil e aspirations aft er s econd
,

r at e pl e asur e s and s econd hand id e als -

give ,

to Flaub ert all that he wants : the Opportu

n ity to cr e at e b e auty out of r e ality What .

is common in the imagination of M adam e

B ovary b e com e s ex quisit e in F laub ert s r en
’

d ering of it and by that count erpois e of a

,

commonn e ss in the subj e ct h e is save d from

any vague asc ents of rh e toric in his r e nd ering
of it .

In writing S a lammbo Flaub ert s et hims elf

‘

to r en e w the historical nov el as he had ,

r e n ew e d the nov el of mann ers H e would .

hav e admi tt e d doubtl ess that p erf e ct suc

, ,

c e ss in th e hi storical nov el is impossibl e by ,

th e natur e of th e cas e We a .re at b e st only

half conscious of the r e ality of th e things

about us only abl e to translat e th e m a
, pp r ox i
mat ely into any form of art How much is .

l e ft ov er in th e clos est transcription of a

,
 T
G U S A VE FLAU B E R T 1 05

m ere lin e of hous e s in a str ee t of a passing ,

st e am e r of on e s n ext door n eighbour of th e

,
’
-
,

point of vi e w of a foreign er looking along

P iccadilly of on e s own stat e of mind mo
’
, ,

m e nt by mom ent as o ne walks from O xford

,

C ircus to the M arbl e Ar ch ? Think th e n , ,

of the att empts to re construct no matt er what

p eriod of th e past to distinguish th e di ff e r
,

e nc e in t h e asp e ct of a world p e rhaps boss e d

with castl e s and ridg e d with ramparts to ,

two individualiti e s e ncas e d within chain

armour ! Flaub ert chos e his anti q uity wis ely
a p eriod of which we know too littl e to con
fus e us a city of which no ston e is l eft on
,

anoth er the minds of B arbarians who av e

,
“
h
l e ft us no psychological docum e nts B e sur e .

I have mad e no fantastic C arthage h e ”

,

says proudly pointing to his docum ents :

,

A mm ia nus M arc e llinus who has furnish e d ,

him with th e ex a ct form of a door

”
; th e

B ibl e and Th e ophrastus from which h e ob ,

tains hi s p erfum es and his pr e cious ston e s ;

G es enius from whom h e g e ts his P unic
,

nam e s ; th e M émoi res de l A ca démi e des I h

’

s cr i p ti ons A s for th e t e mpl e of Tanit

.
,

I am sur e of having reconstruct e d it as it

1 06 T HE S Y M B O L S I T M O VE M ENT

was with th e tr e atis e of th e S yrian G odd e ss

, ,

with th e m e dals of th e D u c d e Luyn e s with ,

what is known of th e t empl e at J erusal em ,

with a passag e of S t J erom e q uot e d by .

,

S eldon (De Di i s S yrii s ) with th e plan of th e ,

t empl e of G ozzo which is quit e C arthaginian

, ,

and b est of all with th e ruins of th e t empl e

,

of T hu gga which I hav e s ee n mys elf with

, ,

my own e y es and of which no trav ell er or

,

anti quarian so far as I know has e v e r

, ,
”
spok e n B u t that aft e r all as h e admits
.
, ,

( wh e n that,
is h e has prov e
,
d point by point
his mi nut e accuracy to all that is known
of an c i e nt C arthag e his faithfuln e ss to e v ery,

indication which c a n s e rv e for his gu idanc e ,

his pati enc e in grouping rath e r than his

daring in th e inv ention of action and d e t a ils ) ,

that is not th e qu estion I care littl e enough .

for arch a eology ! I f th e colour is not uni

form if th e d e tails a
,
r e out of k e e ping if th e ,

mann e rs do not spring from the r eligion and th e

actions from the passions if th e charact ers ,

a re not consist e nt if th e costum e s a ,

r e not

appropriat e to th e habits and th e a r c h ite c

tur e to th e climat e if in a word th er e is not , , ,

”
harmony I am in error If not no
,
.
, .
108 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

Flaub ert hims elf h a s point ed with his ,

un erring s elf c riticism to the main d efe ct of

-
,
“
his book : T h e p e d estal is too larg e for th e
”
statu e . Th er e should hav e b een as h e says , ,

a hundr e d pag e s mor e about S alammb o .

“
H e d e clar e s : Th er e is not in my book an
isolat e d or gratuitous d escription ; all a re

us e ful to my charact ers and hav e an infl u ,

e nc e n e ar or r e mot e on th e action
, , This is
tru e and yet all th e sam e th e p ed estal is
, , ,
“
too larg e for th e statu e S alammb o always
.
,
”
surround e d with grav e and e x quisit e things ,

has som ething of th e somnambulism which

e nt e rs into th e h eroism of Judith ; sh e has a

hi eratic b e auty and a consciousn ess as pal e

,

and vagu e as th e moon whom she worships .

“
S h e pass e s b e for e us h er body saturat e d with
,

”
p erfum e s e ncru st e d with j e w els lik e an idol
, ,

h er h e ad turr e t ed with viol e t hair th e gold ,

chain tinkling b e tw e en h er ankl e s ; and is

hardly mor e than an attitud e a fix e d g e stur e , ,

lik e th e E ast ern wom en whom one s e es passing ,

with obli qu e eyes and mouths paint e d into

s mil es th e ir fac e s curiously trac e d into a work
,

of art in th e languid mov em ents of a panto

,

mi mic danc e T h e soul b ehind thos e eye s ?

.
 T
G U S AVE F LAU B ER T 1 09

th e t emp eram ent und er that at tim es almost

t errifying mask ? S a la mmbO is as inarticulat e
for us as th e s erp e nt to whos e drowsy b e auty
, ,

capabl e of such sudd e n awak e nings h ers s eems ,

half akin ; th e y mov e b e for e us in a kind of

hi eratic pantomim e a coloure d e xpr e ssiv e
a
, ,

thing signifying nothing M tho madd en e d

,
.
,
“
with lov e in an invin c ibl e stupor lik e thos e
, ,

who hav e drunk som e draught of which th e y

a r e to d ie has th e sam e somnambulistic life ;
,

th e pr e y of V e nus h e has an almost lit eral

,

insanity which as F laub ert r e minds us is

, , ,

tru e to th e an c i ent vi e w of that passion H e .

is th e only quit e vivid p erson in th e book and ,

h e liv es with th e int e nsity of a wild b e ast a ,

“ ”
lif e blind e d alik e from ev ery inn er and out er
int erruption to o n e or two fix e d id eas T h e .

oth ers hav e th eir plac es in th e picture fall into ,

th e ir attitud es naturally r e main so many col ,

o ure d outlin e s for us T h e illusion is p erf e ct ;

.

th es e p eopl e may not b e th e r eal p eopl e of

history but at l e ast th e y hav e no s elf con
,
-

s ci ou s n es s no C hristian ting e in th e ir minds

, .

T h e m e taphors a
“
r e f e w th e e pith e ts d e fi ,
”
nit e Flaub ert t ells us of his styl e in this book
, , ,
“
wh er e as h e says h e has sacrific e d l ess to
, ,
1 10 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VEM E NT

th e amplitud e of th e phras e and to th e p eriod ,

than in M a da me B ova ry T h e mov e m e nt .

h er e is in bri ef er st eps with a mor e e arn est

,

gravity without any of th e e ngaging w e ak

,

n ess of adj e ctiv e s T h e styl e is n ev er archaic

.
,

it is absolut ely simpl e th e pr e cis e word b e ing

,

put always for th e pr e cis e thing ; but it oh

tains a dignity a historical r e mot en ess by th e
, ,

larg e s eriousn ess of its mann er th e abs e nc e of ,

mod ern ways of thought which in M a da,me ,

B ova ry bring with th e m an instinctiv ely

,

mod ern cad e nc e .

Sa lammbo is writt e n with th e s ev erity of

history but F laub ert not e s e v ery d e tail vis
,

n ally as a paint e r not e s th e d e tails of natural

,

things A slav e is b eing flogg e d und er a tr e e

. .

F laub ert not e s th e mov e m e nt of th e thong as

“
it fli es and t ells us :
,
T h e thongs as th ey ,

whistl e d through th e air s e nt th e bark of th e

,

plan e tr ee s flying B e for e th e battl e of th e

.

M acar th e B arbarians a
,
r e awaiting th e a p
“
proach of th e C arthaginian army F irst th e .

B arbarians w er e surpris e d to see th e ground

undulat e in th e distanc e C louds of dust .

ris e and whirl ov e r th e d e s e rt through which ,

a r e s een glimps e s of horns and as it s eems , , ,

1 12 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

without di ffi c ulty ; onc e you hav e m a s te r e d

th e tun e you hav e m er ely to go on ; e v ery

,

v ers e will b e th e sam e B u t Flaub ert is so dif

.

fi c u lt to translat e b e caus e h e has no fix e d

rhythm ; his pros e k ee ps st e p with no r e gular
march music H e inv e nts th e rhythm of e v ery
-
.

s e nt e nc e h e chang e s his cad e nc e with ev ery

,

mood or for th e conv e ni e nc e of e v e ry fact .

H e has no th e ory of b e auty in form apart

from what it e xpr e ss es F or him form is a .

living thing th e physical body of thought

, ,

which it cloth e s and int e rpr ets If I ca .ll

ston e s blu e it is b e caus e blu e is th e pr e cis e
,

word b eli e v e me h e r e pli e s to S aint e B euve s

, ,
-
’

criticism B e auty com e s into his words from

.

th e pr e cision with which th e y expr ess d e finit e

things d efini t e id e as d e finit e s ensations A n d
, ,
.

in his book wh er e th e mat eri a

, l is so hard ,

appar ently so unmall e abl e it is a b e auty of ,

s h ee r e xactitud e which fills it from e n d to e n d ,

a b ea uty of m e asure a n d ord e r s e e n e q ually in

,

th e d epartur e of th e dov e s of C arthag e at

th e tim e of th e ir flight into Sicily and in th e ,

lions fe asting on th e corps e s of th e B arbarian s ,

in th e d efil e b e tw een the mountains .

1 90 1 .
 C H A R L E S B A U D EL A I RE

BA UDE LA I R E is littl e known and much mis

u nd e rstood ih E ngland .O nly o n e E nglish
writ e r has e v er don e him j ustic e or said any ,

thing ad e quat e about him A s long ago as .

1 8 6 2 S winburn e introduc e d B aud elair e to E ng

lish r e ad ers : in th e columns of th e S p ecta tor it ,

is amusing to r em e mb er I n 1 8 6 8 h e add e d a
.

f e w mor e words of j ust and subtl e prais e in his

book on B lak e and in th e sam e y e ar wrot e th e
,

magnific e nt el e gy on his d e ath A ve a tqu e Va

,
le .

Th er e h a v e b e e n occ a sion al outbr e aks of irr ele

vant abus e or cont empt a n d th e nam e of
,

B aud elair e (g e n erally missp ell e d ) is th e j ournal

is t s handi e st brickb a t for hurling at random
’

in th e n a m e of r e sp e ctability D o e s a .ll this

m e an that w e a re w a king up ov e r h e r e to, ,

t h e consciousn e ss of on e of th e gr e at lit erary

forc e s of th e a g e,
a forc e which has b e e n f e lt
in e v ery oth er country but ours ?
It would b e a us e ful influ e nc e for us B a u .

d elaire d esired p erf ection and w e have n ev e r

,

1 13
1 14 I T
T HE S Y M B O L S M O VEM E NT

r e alis e d that p erf ection is a thing to aim at .

H e only did what h e could do supr e m ely w ell ,

and h e was in pov erty all his life not b ecaus e ,

h e would not work but b e caus e h e would work

,

only at c ertain things the things which h e

,

c ould hop e to do to his own satisfaction Of .

th e men of l e tt e rs of our a g e h e was t h e most

scrupulous H e sp e nt his whol e life in writing
.

o n e book of v e rs e (out of which a ll F r ench

po e try has come sinc e his tim e ) one book of ,

pros e in which pros e b e com es a fi n e art som e ,

criticism which is the san e st subtl est and , ,

s ur e st which his g e n eration produc e d and a ,

translation which is b e tt e r than a marv ellous

original What would Fr e nch po etry b e to
.

day if B aud elair e had n ev er ex ist e d ? A s

di ffer e nt a thing from what it is as E nglish
po e try would b e without R oss etti N e ith er .

of th e m is quit e among the gre at est po ets ,

but th e y a r e mor e fascin a

ting than th e gr e at e st ,

th e y influ e nc e mor e minds A nd B aud elair e

.

was an e qually gr e at critic H e discov er e d.

P o e Wagn er and M an e t
, ,
Wh er e e v e n S aint e
.

B e uv e with his vast mat erials his vast g en

, ,

e ral tal e nt for criticism w e nt wrong in con

,

t emporary j udgme nts B aud e laire was inf a

, l
1 16 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

abov e all th e l e tt ers a

, ,
n d th e s e hav e only now

b e e n coll e ct e d into a volum e und er th e car e ,

of an e ditor who has don e more for B aud el a ir e

than a n y o n e sinc e C r ép e t B aud el a
. ir e put
into his l e tt ers only what h e car e d to r ev eal of
hims elf at a giv e n mom ent : h e has a diff er ent
angl e to distract th e sight of e v ery obs e rv er ;
a n d le t no one think that h e knows B a ud el a ir e
wh e n h e h a s r ead th e l e tt e rs to P oul e t M al a ssis -
,

th e fri e nd and publish e r to whom h e show e d

,

his busin e ss sid e or th e l ett e rs to la P résid e nt e

, ,

th e touchston e of his s p leen et i dea l hi s chi e f

’

e xp e rim e nt in th e high e r s e ntim e nts S om e .

of his c ar e fully hi dd en virtu e s p e e p out at

mom e nts it is tru e but nothing that e v ery
, ,

body has not long b ee n aware of W e h ear .

of his ill luck with mon ey with proof sh ee ts

-
,
-
,

with his own h e alth T h e trag e dy of th e

.

life which h e chos e as he chos e all things

,

(po e try
,
J e ann e D uval th,e
“
artificial p ara
dis e s ) d e lib e rat ely is mad e alittl e cl e a
”
rer
'

to us ; we can moralis e ov e r it if w e lik e .

B u t th e ma n r e mains baffling and will prob ,

ably n e v e r b e discove re d .

A s i t is much of th e valu e of th e book

,

consists in thos e glimps e s into his mind and

 C H A RLES B A U D ELA RE I 1 17

int entions which h e allow e d p e opl e n ow a nd

th e n to se e Writing to S aint e B euv e to

.
-
,

F laub ert to S oula ry

,
h e som e tim e s l e ts out , ,

through m e re s ensitiv e n e ss to an int ellig e nc e

ca pa bl e of und e rstanding him som e littl e ,

int er esting s e cr e t Thus it is to S aint e .

B e uv e that h e d e fin e s and e xplains th e origin

and r e al m e aning of th e P eti ts P oemes en
‘

P rose : a
F i re cen t ba
gate lles la
bori eu s es qu i
ex i gen t u ne bonne hu meur a (bonne
c on s t n te

hu meur
’

n eces s a
i e
r ,
meme p ou r t a i le des r r

j
s u ets tri s tes ) , u ne ti on bi z a
ex ci ta rr e qu i a
bes oi n d e a
s p ect c les , de j ou les , de mu si qu es ,
de r ever be
’

r es meme, voi l a cc qu e j a
i
’
vou lu

a writing to som e obscur e p erson

And ,
!

f i re ! ,

h e will tak e th e troubl e to b e e v e n mor e

e xplicit as in this symbol of th e sonn e t :
,

A vez- vous obs er ve qu u n

’
mor cea
u de ci el a
p e r gu

p a
r un s ou p i r a
il ,
ou en tr e deu ce che mi n ees ,
’

deu x rochers , on p a
r u ne r ca
a de ,
a
donn i t
u ne i dée p lu s p r of ond e de l i nfi ni qu e le
’
gr a
nd
p a
n or m caa
u d ha u
'

t d
’
u n e ma
oIt
n tagn e ?
is to anoth e r casual p erson that h e sp eaks
.

out still mor e intimat ely (and th e occasion

o f his writing is som e thrill of gratitud e
towards o n e who had at last don e a littl e
1 18 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVE M E NT

j ustic e ,
not to hims elf but to M an et) : , Eh
bi en! on m ’
a m
cc us e
,
oi , d i mi te r E dg a
’
r P oe!

Sa i j ai i a m m a
’
vez-vous p ou r quo s p ti e en t tr d u i t
Pa il me mbla a p re
’
P oe? rce qu r es e it . L

vu a
vec
’

ep ou v nte a cl a
vis sement
r , n on s eu le

me nt de s j
su ets révés p a
r m oi m ai s ,
des p hr a
s es ,

p ens e p
es
'

ar m oi e t c e ri te s ,
’

aupa ra
va nt It is in such glimps es a
. s th es e

th a
t we som ething of B aud elair e in hi s
l ett e rs .

1 906 .
1 20 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

charming smil e whi ch cam e out lik e a ray

, , ,

o f sunshin e in th e instinctiv e pl e asur e of

,

having said a witty or grac e ful thing to

which on e s r espons e had b e en imm e diat e
’
.

Wh e n h e took m e indoors into that hous e ,

which was a mus eum I notic e d th e d elicacy ,

of his hands and th e t e nd ern ess with which

,

h e handle d his tr e asur e s tou ching th e m as ,

if h e lov e d th em with littl e unconscious , ,

murmurs : Qu el g out! quel gout! Th e s e ros e

colour e d rooms w ith th e ir e mbroid er e d c e il
,

ings w er e fill e d with cabin e ts of b e autiful

,

th ings Japan es e carvings and prints (th e

, ,

miraculous always in p erf e ct

condition (J e cherche le bea u) ; albums had
b ee n m a d e for him in J apan and in th es e b e ,

ins ert e d prints mounting oth ers upon silv er

,

and gold pap er whi c h form e d a sort of ,

fram e . He show e d me his e ight ee nth

c e ntury d e signs a mong whi ch I r e m emb er
,

his pointing out o n e (a C h a rdin I think ) a s ,

th e first h e had e v e r bought ; h e had b e e n

sixt e e n at th e tim e and h e bought it for ,

tw elv e francs .

Wh e n w e c am e to th e study th e room in ,

w hi ch h e work e d h e show e d m e all of his own

,
ED M O ND AN D JULES D E GO N C O URT 121

first e ditions car e fully bound and first e d i

, ,

tions of F laub ert B aud e lair e G a

,
uti e r with
, ,

thos e l ess int er e sting to m e of th e men of

, ,

lat er g e n erations H e spok e of hims elf and

.

his broth e r with a s er en e prid e which s e em e d ,

to me p e rfe ctly dignifi e d and appropriat e ;

and I r e me mb e r his sp e aking (with a p a r en
th etic disd a in of th e brou illa r d s ca nd i n a ve ,

in which it s e e m e d to him that F ranc e was

trying to e nv e lop h ers elf ; at th e b est it
would b e but a n ma u vai s br oui llar d ) of th e

e nd e avour whi c h h e and his broth e r had

mad e to r epre s ent th e only thing worth r e p
r e s e nting le vi e vecu e la vr a i e veri te As
’ ’ ’

.
, ,

in painting h e said all d ep e nds on th e way

, ,

of s e eing l op ti qu e : out of tw e nty four m en

,
’
-

who will d es c rib e what th e y hav e all s ee n ,

it is only th e tw e nty fourth who will find -

“
th e right way of e xpr e ssing it Th er e is a
.

tru e thing I hav e s a ”

id in my j ournal h e w e nt ,
”
on . T h e thing is to find a lorgn e tt e
, (and
h e put up his h a nds to his e y e s adj usting th em
,

c ar e fully ) through which to s ee things M y .

broth er a n d I inv e nt e d alorgn e tt e a n d th e ,

young men h a v e tak e n it from us .

How tru e that is and how significantly it

,
1 22 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

stat e s j ust what is most e ss e ntial in th e

work of th e G on c ourts ! I t is a n e w way of
s e e ing lit erally a new way of s ee ing which
, ,

th e y hav e inv e nt e d ; and it is in th e inven

tion of this that th e y hav e inv e nt e d that
n e w langu a
“ ”
g e of which purists hav e so
long so vainly and so th a
,
nkl e ssly complain e d
, .

Y ou r e m e mb er that s a ying of M a sson th e ,

mask of G auti e r in Cha r les D ema

,
i lly: I
am a ma n for whom th e visibl e world e xists .

W ell that is tru e also of th e Gon c our ts ;

, , ,

but in a diff er e nt way .

“
T h e d elicaci e s of fi ne lit e ratur e that ,

phras e of P at er always com e s into my mind

wh e n I think of th e Gon c o ur ts ; and ind ee d
Pa t e r s ee ms to m e th e only E nglish writ er
who has e v e r handl e d l a nguag e at all in
th e ir mann er or spirit I fr e qu e ntly h e ard .

P at e r r e f e r to c ertain of th e ir books to ,

Ma da me Ger va i sais to L A r t da X VI I I
,
’ !

S i ecle to Cher i e; with a passing obj e ction

’

,
”
to what h e call e d th e immod e sty of this
last book and a strong e mphasis in th e
,

ass ertion that that was how it s ee m e d to

him a book should b e writt e n ”
I r ep e at ed .

this onc e to G oncourt trying to giv e him ,

1 24 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVE M ENT

whi ch h e hims elf would n ev er hav e pardon ed .

M on f r er e et moi was th e phras e constantly

on his lips and in his j ournal his pr efac es
, , ,

h e has don e full j ustic e to th e vivid and

a d mirabl e qualiti e s of that tal e nt which ,

all the sam e would s ee m to hav e b ee n th e

,

l e ss er th e mor e subs e rvi e nt of th e two

, , .

Jul es I think had a mor e activ e s ens e of

, ,

life a mor e g en erally human c uriosity ; for

,

th e nov e ls of E dmond writt e n sinc e his ,

b roth er s d e ath hav e in e v e n that e x e c s

’
, ,

s iv ely sp e cialis e d world of th e ir common

obs ervation a yet mor e sp e cialis e d choic e
,

and dir e ction B ut E dmond th er e is no

.
,

doubt was in th e strict e st s e ns e th e wri te r ;

,

and it is abov e all for th e qualiti e s of its

writing that th e work Of th e G on c our ts will
liv e I t has b ee n larg ely conc ern e d with
.

—
truth truth to th e minut e d etails of human
charact er s ensation and circumstanc e and
, , ,

also of th e docum e nt th e e xact words of , ,

th e past ; but this d e votion to fact to th e ,

curiositi es of fact has b ee n unit e d with an ,

e v e n mor e p e rsist e nt d evotion to th e curi

o sities of e xpr e ssion Th e y hav e inv ent e d a

.

ne w languag e : that was th e old r eproach

ED M O ND AN D JULES D E GO N CO UR T 1 25

against th e m ; le t it b e th e ir distinction .

L ik e all writ e rs of an e laborat e car e fuln e ss ,

th ey hav e b ee n accus e d of sacrifi cing both

truth and b e auty to d elib e rat e e cc e ntricity .

D elib e rat e th e ir styl e c e rtainly was ; ec

c e ntric it may p e rhaps som e tim e s hav e

, ,

b ee n ; but d elib e rat ely e cc e ntric no It was

,
.

th e ir b eli e f that a writ e r should hav e a p er

sonal styl e a styl e as p e culiar to hims elf
,

as his handwriting ; and ind ee d I s ee m to

s e e in th e handwriting of E dmond d e G o n

court j ust th e charact eristics of his styl e .

E v e ry l e tt e r is form e d car e fully s eparat e ly

, ,

with a c ertain el e gant sti ff n e ss ; it is b eauti

ful formal too r e gular in th e continual
, ,
”
slight nov elty of its form to b e quit e cl e ar
at a glanc e : v ery p ersonal v ery distinguish e d
,

writing .

It may b e ass ert e d that th e Gon c ourts a re

not m er ely me n of g enius but a ,

re p e rhaps

th e typical m en of l e tt e rs of th e clos e of our

c e ntury Th e y hav e all th e curiositi es and
.

th e ac quir e m e nts th e n ew w e akn e ss e s and

,

th e n e w pow e rs that b elong to our a

, ge ;
and th e y sum up in th e ms elv e s c ertain th e ori es ,

aspirations way s of looking at things notions

, ,
1 26 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

of lit erary duty and artistic c onsci enc e which ,

hav e only l a t ely b e com e at all actual and ,

som e of which owe to th e m th eir v ery origin .

To b e not m er ely nov elists (inv e nting a n ew

kind of nov el ) but historians ; not m er ely
,

historians but th e historians of a particular

,

c e ntury and of what was intimat e and what

,

is unknown in it ; to b e also discriminating ,

ind ee d innovating critics of art but of a c er ,

tain s e ction of art th e e ight ee nth c e ntury in

, ,

F ranc e and in Japan ; to coll e ct pictur e s and

bi belots b e autiful things always of th e F r e nch
, ,

and Japan es e eight e e nth c e ntury : th es e ex

c u rsion s in so many dir e ctions with th e ir ,

audaciti e s and th e ir car e ful limitations th eir ,

bold nov elty and th eir scrupulous exactitud e

in d et a il ar e c haract e ristic
,
of what is th e
fin e st in th e mod ern conc e ption of cultur e and
th e mod ern id e al in art L ook for instanc e .
, ,

at th e Gon c our ts vi ew of history Qua ’

nd les .

ci vi li s a
ti on s co mmen cent, a les peuples
qu n d
men t, l hi s toi r e dr a
me ou ges te
’
se f or es t .

Les si ecles i precede n otr e s i ecle de

’ ’ ’

qu on t ne

ma n da
i en t a
l hi s tori en qu e le p ers onna
’
ge de

l homme, et te p ortr a i t de s on gen i e Le

’ ’

X I X si ec le dema n de l homme qui eta i t cet homme

’ ’
1 28 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM EN T

th enovel which h a
s r e volutioni sed th e e ntir e
art of fiction .

A ujou r d hui ,
’
th e y wrot e , in 1 8 64 , in th e
pr efac e to Germi n i e L a
ce r teu x le Roma
a
, qu e n

s a’
él rgi t et a
gr n di t, qu i l
’
co mmen ce etr e l a
g a
r nd e f or me s er i eu s e,
’

p a
ssi on n ee
’

, a de vi v n te,

l étu d e li ttera s oci a

’
ire de l en qu éte
’
le qu i l
’
’
cl ,

devi en t, p a r la n lys e et p ar la
’
a
r echer che p s ycho

logi qu e, l H i s toi r e mor ale con temp or ai ne, a

’
u

jourd hui qu e te Roma n s es t i mp ose les devoi r s

’ ’ ’

de las ci ence, i l p eu t en r even di quer les li ber tés

et les f r n chi s es a
L e p u bli c i me les r om ns. a a
fau x is ,
anoth e r brav e d e claration in t h e sam e

pr e fac e ; cc roma n es t n u roma n vr a i B ut .

what pr e cis ely is it that th e G on c ourts und er

, ,

stood by a n r oma n vr ai ? T h e old notion of

th e nov e l was that it should b e a n e nt e rtaining

r e cord of incid e nts or adv e ntur e s told for th eir

own sak e ; a plain straightforward narrativ e of ,

facts th e aim b e ing to produc e as n e arly as

,

possibl e an e ff e ct of c ontinuity of nothing ,

having b ee n omitt e d th e stat em ent so to , ,

sp e ak of a witn ess on oath ; in a word it is

, ,

th e sam e as th e old notion of history dr a me ,

ou ges te That is not how th e Gon c ourts a

.
p
pr eh end life or how th e y conc e iv e it should b e
,
E DM O ND AN D JULES D E GO N C O URT 1 29

r end e red A s in th e study of his tory th e y see k

.

mainly th e i nedi t caring only to r e cord that

’

, ,

so it is th e i nedi t of lif e that th ey conc e iv e to

“ ”
b e th e main c onc ern th e r e al ,
inn e r history .

A n d for th e m th e i n édi t of life consists in th e

noting of th e s ensations ; it is of th e se nsations
that th e y hav e r e solv e d to b e th e historians ;
not of action nor of e motion prop erly sp e ak
, ,

ing nor of mor a

,
l conc eptions but of an inn e r
,

life which is all mad e up of th e p er ce ptions of

th e s e ns e s . I t is scarc ely too paradoxical to
say that th e y a r e psychologists for whom th e

s oul do e s not e xist O ne thing th e y know

.
, ,

e xists : th e s e nsation flash e d t h rough th e brain ,

th e imag e on th e m e ntal r e tina Having .

found that th e y bodily omit all th e r est as of

,

no importanc e trusting to th e ir ins tin c t of

,

s el e ction of r e taining all that r e ally matt ers

, .

I t is th e paint er s m e thod a s el e ction mad e

’
,

almost visually ; th e m e thod of th e p a int e r

who accumulat e s d e t a il on d e tail in his p ati e nt
, ,

many sid e d obs ervation of his subj e ct and

-
,

th e n omi ts e v e rything which is not an e ss e ntial

part of th e ens emble whi c h h e s ee s Thus th e .

n e w conc e ption of what th e r e al truth of things

consist in has brought with it in e vitably an , ,

1 30 T HE S Y M B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

entir ely n ew form a br e aking up of th e plain

, ,

str aightforward narrativ e into chapt ers which ,

ar e g e n e rally q uit e disconn e ct e d and som e ,

tim e s of l ess than a pag e in l ength A v ery .

apt imag e of this n ew curious mann er of nar ,

ra tive has b ee n found som e what mali c iously

a
, ,

by M L e maitr e C u homme qu i ma
. . r che

ma
i s on , a si
’
l i n tér i eur d du n ou s r eg r d on s
’
u ne

deho s a
r pp a
,
ai l s urc ces s i veme n t a Ch a qu e f en e t e r ,

n s les i n te va
et d a lles n ou s écha
r pp e C es f e n et es . r ,

cc s on t les cha p i t es d e M M r de G o n cou r t . .

E nc or e h e adds y at i l p lu si eu s de ces f en etres

‘
- - r
, ,

oil l homme que n ou s a tt n di ons ne p a s s e p oi n t

’
e .

That c ertai nly is th e dang er of th e m e thod

, ,
.

N o doubt th e G on c our ts in th e ir passion for ,

th e i n edi t l e a
v e out c ertain things b e caus e th ey
’

a r e obvious e v e n if th e y a
,
r e obviously tru e

and obviously important ; that is th e d e f ect of

th eir quality To r epr es ent lif e by a s eri e s
.

of mom ents and to choos e th e s e mom ents for

,

a c ertain subtl e ty and rarity in th em is to ,

chall eng e grav e p erils N or a re th es e th e .

only p erils whi c h th e Gon cour ts hav e con

s ta n tly b e for e th e m Th ere a r e oth e rs e ss e n
.
,

ti a l to th e ir natur e s to th e ir pr e f er enc es , .

A n d first of all as w e may s ee on e v ery pag e

, ,
1 32 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

lik e Flaub ert , lik e M an et A s in th e world of

.

Whi stl er so in th e world of th e Gon c our ts

, ,

w e see citi e s in which th er e a r e always fi r e

works a t C r e morn e and fair wom e n r e fl e ct e d

,

b e autifully and curiously in mirrors I t is .

a world which is e xtraordinarily r e al ; but

th ere is choic e th er e is c uriosity in th e asp ect
, ,

of r e ality which it pr es e nts .

C ompar e th e d e s c riptions which form so ,

larg e a part of th e work of th e G on cour ts ,

with thos e of Th eophil e G auti er who may ,

r ea sonably b e said to hav e introduc e d th e

practic e of elo qu e nt writing about plac e s and ,

also th e exact d e scription of th e m G auti e r .

d e scrib e s mir a culously but it is aft er all th e

, , ,

ordinary obs ervation car ri e d to p erf e ction or , ,

rath er th e ordinary pictorial obs ervation

,
.

T h e G on c ou r ts only t ell you th e thi ngs th a t

G auti e r l e av e s out ; th e y find n e w fan tastic ,

points of vi e w discov e r s e cr e ts in things curi

, ,

o sitie s of b e auty oft e n acut e di str e ssing in th e

, , ,

asp e cts of quit e ordinary plac es Th ey s ee .

things as an artist an ultra subtl e artist of th e

,
-

impr e ssionist kind might s e e th em ; s ee ing

,

th e m ind ee d always v ery consciously with a

d elib erat e att e mpt upon th e m in j ust that ,
EDM O ND AN D J ULES D E GO N C OU R T 1 33

partial s el e cting cr e ativ e way in whi ch an

, ,

artist looks at things for th e purpos e of

painting a pictur e In ord e r to arriv e at
.

th eir eff e cts th e y shrink from no s a

,
crific e ,

from no e xc es s ; slang n e ologism forc e d

, ,

construction ar chaism barbarous e pith e t

, , ,

nothing com e s amiss to th e m so long as it ,

t ends to r e nd er a s ensation Th eir uni qu e .

car e is th a t th e phr a s e should liv e should ,

palpitat e should b e al ert exactly e xpr e ssiv e

, , ,

sup er subtl e in e xpr e ssion ; and th e y pr e fe r

-

ind ee d a c e rtain p e rv e rsity in th eir r elations

with languag e whi ch th ey would h a
,
v e not
m er ely a p a s s1 0 n a
te and s e nsuous thing but ,

compl ex with all th e curiositi e s of a d elicat ely

d eprav e d instinct I t is th e accusation of th e
.

s e v er er sort of F r ench critics that th e Gon

courts hav e inv e nt e d a ne w languag e ; that
th e languag e whi c h th e y u se is no long e r th e
calm and faultl ess F r e nch of th e past I t is .

tru e ; it is th e ir distinction ; it is th e most

wond erful of all th e ir inv e ntions : in ord er to
r end er n ew s ensations a n e w vision of things
, ,

th ey hav e inv e nt e d a ne w languag e .

 VILLIE R S D E L I SLE A D AM
’
-

A cha
cun s on i nfi ni

C O UN T HL
P I IPPE M A T H IA s D E A U G U S TE
V I LL IE R S D E L I S L E A D A M was born at S t
’
-
.

B ri euc in B rittany N ov e mb er 28 1 83 8 ; h e
, , ,

di e d at P aris und er th e care of the F r ere s

,

S aint J e an d e D i e u A ugust 1 9 1 88 9
- - -
,
E v en , .

b efor e his d e ath his life had b e com e a

,

l e g e nd and th e l e g e nd is e v e n now not to

,

b e dis entangl e d from th e a c tual occurr e nc e s

of an e xist e nc e so h e roically visionary T h e .

D on Q uixot e of id e alism it was not only ,

in philosophic a l t e rms that life to him , ,

was th e dr e a m and th e spiritu a

,
l world th e
r e ality ; h e liv e d his faith e nduring what ,

oth e rs call e d r e ality with cont e mpt wh e n ,

e ver,
for a mom ent h e b e com e s conscious ,

of it T h e basis of th e charact e r of Villiers

.

was prid e and it was prid e which cov e re d

,

1 34
1 36 T H E S YM B O L S I T M O V EM ENT

c e ntury d e mand e d pr e cis ely th e virtu e s whi ch

th e six t e e nth c e ntury had d e m a nd e d of that
anc e stor A n d th es e virtu e s w ere a
. ll summ e d
up in on e word which in its doubl e sig
, ,

nifi c a n ce,
singl e to him cov e red the whol e
,
“ ”
attitud e of lif e : th e word nobility No .

word r e turns oft en e r to th e lips in sp e ak

in g of what is most charact eristic in his
work and to V illi ers moral and spiritual
,

nobility s e em e d but th e in evitabl e c ons e

q u e n c e of that oth e r kind of nobility by
which he s ee m e d to hims elf still a Knight
of th e O rd er of S t John of J erusal em It
. .

was his birthright .

To th e aristocr a tic conc eption of thi ngs ,

nobility of soul is ind ee d a birthright and ,

th e prid e with which this gift of natur e is

a c c ept e d is a prid e of e xactly th e opposit e
kind to that d emocratic prid e to which
nob ility of soul is a con qu e st valu a , bl e in
proportion to its difli culty This duality .
,

always e ss e ntiall y aristocratic and d emocr a tic ,

typically E ast e rn and W est e rn also finds its ,

plac e in e v ery th eory of r e ligion philosophy, ,

and th e id e al lif e T h e prid e of bei ng th e

.
,

prid e of becomi ng : th es e a re th e two ulti

 VI LL I E RS D E L S LE -A D A M I
’
13 7

mat e contradictions se t b efore e v e ry id e alist .

Villi ers choi c e in e vitabl e ind ee d was sig

’
, ,

n ifi c a nt .I n this m easure it must always b e ,

th e choic e of th e artist to whom in his , ,

cont e mplation of lif e th e m e ans is oft e n so

,

mu c h more important than th e end That .

nobility of soul which com e s without e ffort ,

which com e s only with an unr e lax e d dili

g enc e ove r on e s e lf th at I should b e I : th ere
,

can at l e ast b e no c omp a rison of its b e auty

with the stain e d and dusty onslaught on a
n e ve r quit e con qu e r e d fort of th e e n e my ,

in a divid e d s elf A n d if it b e p ermitt e d

.
,

to choos e among d e gr e e s of sanctity th a t , ,

s ur ely
,
is the high e st in which a natural
g e nius for such things acc epts its own atta in
,

h
m e nt wit th e simplicity of a birthright
An d th e C atholicism of V illi e rs wa s also
.

a part of his inh e rit a nc e His anc e stors had .

fought for th e C hurch and C atholicism w a , s

still a pompous flag und er which it was ,

possibl e to fi ght on b ehalf of th e spirit ,

aga inst that mat erialism whi ch is always in ,

o n e way or anoth e r ath e ist Thus h e d e di

,
.

cat e s on e of his stori e s to th e P op e choos e s ,

e c cl e siastical spl e ndours by pr e f e r e nc e among

1 38 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

th e many spl endours of th e world whi ch go

to mak e up his stag e pictur es and is l e arn e d -
,

in th e subtl e ti e s of th e F ath ers T h e C hurch .

is his favourit e symbol of aust e r e int ell e ctual

b e auty ; one way c ertainly by which th e , ,

t emptations of e xt ernal matt er m a y b e van

q u i sh e d and
, a way also by which ,t h e d e sir
, e

of worship may b e satisfi e d .

B u t th er e was also in hi s attitud e towards ,

th e myst eri e s of th e spiritual world that ,

“
forbidd e n curiosity whi c h had troubl e d
t h e ob e di e nc e of th e T e mplars and whi ch ,

c am e to him too as a kind of kni ghtly qual

, ,

ity Wh eth er or not h e was actually a

.

C abb a list qu estions of magic b e gan at an

, ,

e arly a g e to pr,
e occupy hi m and from th e , ,

first wild e xp erim e nt of I s i s to th e d e lib erat e

“ ”
summing up of A x el th e occult world
,

fi nds its way into most of his pag es .

F undam e ntally t h e b e li ef of V illi e rs is

,

t h e b e li ef co mmon to all E ast e rn mystics 1

.

“
Kn ow onc e for all that th er e is for th ee
, ,

no oth er univ ers e than that conc eption th er e of

1 “
I a r fr om
m fa su e,r r
w ote ra
V e l in e , th t the p hila
Osoph y of V illie r will
s n ot o ne a
d y b e come the o mul of fr a
our c ent u ry .
”
1 40 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM EN T

two young stud ents , which has its signifi

canc e also

’
Goetz e Th ere s my philosoph er in full flight
.

to th e r e gions of th e sublim e ! Happily

we hav e S ci e nc e which is a torch d e ar
, ,

mystic ; we will analys e your sun if th e ,

plan e t do e s not burst into pi e c e s soon er

than it h a s any right to !

Samu el S ci enc e will not suffic e

. S oon e r or .

lat er you will end by coming to yo ur

kn ee s .

Goetz e B e for e what ?

.

Samuel B e for e th e darkn e ss !

.
”

S uch avowals of ignoranc e a re possibl e only

from th e h e ight of a gr eat int ell e ctual prid e .

V illi ers re volt against S ci e nc e so far as

’
,

S ci e nc e is mat e rialistic and his passionat e

,

curiosity in that chim e ra s flight towards the ’

invisibl e a r e o n e and th e sam e impuls e of

,

a mi nd to which only mind is int ere sting .

T ou te cette vi ei lle E x téri ori té ma li gne com , ,

li i f l i bl that illusion which S ci nc

’

p q u ee n,
ex e , e e

acc epts for the one r e ality : it must b e th e

’
whol e effort of on e s consciousn ess to es cap e
 VI LLI ERS D E L S LE AD AM
’
I — 14 1

from its e ntangl e m ents to dominat e it or to

, ,

ignore it and on e s a
,
r t must b e t h e building
’

of an id e a l world b e yond its a cc e ss from ,

which one may ind ee d sally out now a nd ,

again in a d e sp erat e e nough attack upon

,

the illusions in th e midst of which men liv e .

An d j ust that w e find mak e s up th e work

, ,

of V illi ers work which divid e s its elf roughly

,

into two divisions : o ne th e id e a l world or

, ,

the id e a l in the world (A x el E len M orga ne , , ,

I s i s som e of th e con te s and int e rm e di a

,
ry, , ,

L aR evolte) ; th e oth e r satir e th e mock ery

’

, ,

of r e ality (L E ve F u ture th e Con tes Cru els

’
, ,

T r i bu lat B on homet) I t is part of the origi

.

na lity of V illi e rs that th e two di visions c on

sta n tly flow into o n e anoth e r ; th e id e alist
b e ing n ev er more th e id ealist than in his
'

b ufi o on eries .

A x el is the Symbolist drama in all its ,

”
uncompromising conflict with th e mod e sty
of N a ture an d th e limitations of th e stag e .

I t is the drama of th e soul and at th e sam e ,

time it is the most pictorial of dramas ; I

142 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

should d efin e its mann er as a kind of sp iritual

romanticism T h e e arli e r dramas E len M or
.
, ,

ga ne are fix e d at som e what th e sam e point

,

in spac e ; L aRévolte which s e e ms to antici ,

pat e T he D oll s H ouse shows us an a ’

rtiso ,

cratic I bs e n touching re ality with a c ertain

,

disdain c ert a inly with far l ess skill c ertainly

, ,

with far more b eauty B ut A x el m e ditat e d .

,

ov er during a lif e tim e shows us V illi ers ,

’

id e al of his own id e alism .

T h e action tak e s plac e it is tru e in this , ,

c entury but it tak e s plac e in corn ers of th e

,

world into which th e mod ern spirit has not

y e t pass e d ; this M o n a
s ter e de R e li gi eu ses

tri ni t i r es , a le c loi tr e de Sa
i n te A p p olodora
,

s i tu e les du li ttora
l de l a
n ci enne
’
fi
’

con

a
s ur ns

Fl a
n dr ef an ga i s e and
r t h e t es vi e u x c
,
h te au r

f ort t
,
e bu g de s m agr aves d A u er p ge i so l
r ra u
’ '

s r ,
’

mi li eu du S hwat wa ld c T h e charact ers A x el

r z .
,

d Au é rsp e g E v e S ara E mmanu el e d e M a

’
r ,
u p er s ,

M aitr e Janus th e A rchidiacr e th e C omma

,
n ,

d eur Kaspar d Aué rs p erg a r e at onc e mor e

’
,

and l ess than human b eings : th e y a re th e

typ es of diff er ent id eals and th ey a r e cloth e d ,

with j ust enough humanity to giv e form to

what would oth erwis e r emain dis embodi ed
1 44 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

v ers e T he mod ern drama und er th e d em o

.
,

cratic influ e nc e of I bs en th e positiv e influ e nc e

,

of D umas fi ts has li mi t e d its elf to th e expres

,

sion of t emp eram e nts in th e on e cas e of th eo ,

r e tic int e llig e nc e s in th e oth er in as n early

,

a s possibl e th e words which th e av erag e man

would u s e for th e stat em ent of h is emotions

a n d id e as T h e form that is is d e grad e d
.
, ,

b elow th e l e v el of th e charact ers whom it a t

t empts to e xpr e ss ; for it is e vid ent that th e
av erag e man can articulat e only a small e nough
part of what h e O bscur ely fe els or thinks ; and
th e th e ory of R e alism is that his e motions and
id e as ar e to b e giv e n only in so far as th e words

at his own command can giv e th e m V illi e rs .

,

choosing to conc ern hi ms e lf only with ex cep

t io n a
l ch a ract e rs and with th e m only in th e
,

absolut e inv ents for th em a mor e elaborat e

,

and a mor e magnific e nt sp ee ch than th ey

would naturally e mploy th e sp e e ch of th eir
,

thoughts of th e ir dr e ams
,
.

A n d it is a world thought or dr e amt in

som e mor e fortunat e atmosph er e than that
in which w e liv e that V illi ers has cr e at e d for
,

th e final achi e v e m e nt of his abstract id e as .

I do not doubt that h e hims elf always liv e d

 I I I
i

V L ERS D E L S LE ADAM
L
’
-
1 45

in it through all the pov erty of th e pr e cipitous

,

Ru e d es M artyrs B u t it is in A x el and
.
,

i n A x el only that h e has m a

, d e us also inh a b
ita n ts of that world E v e n in E len w e a
'

. re

sp ectators watching a tragical fairy play (as

,

if F a n ta
si o b e cam e sudd e nly in d e adly e a rn e st ) ,

watching som e one els e s dre ams A x el en ’

.

v elop s us in its own atmosph e r e ; it is as if w e

found ours elv e s on a mountain top on the

oth er sid e of th e clouds and without sur pris e ,

at finding ours elv es th er e .

T he id e al to V illi ers b e ing th e r e al spiritual

, , ,

b e auty b eing th e e ss e ntial b e auty and mat e ,

rial b e auty its r e fl e ction or its r e v elation it is

, ,

with a sort of fury that h e attacks th e mat e rial

ising forc e s of th e world : sci e nc e progr e ss , ,
”
th e worldly e mphasis on facts on what is ,
“ ” “ ” “ ”
positiv e ,
s erious r e sp e ctabl e
,
S atir e .
,

with him is th e r e v e ng e of b eauty upon ugli

,

n e ss th e p ers e cution of th e ugly ; it is not

,

m erely social satir e it is a satir e on th e mat e

,

rial univ ers e by one who b eli e v e s in a spiritual

univ ers e Thus it is th e only laught er of our
.

tim e which is fundam e ntal as fundam e ntal as ,

that of S wift or R ab elais A n d this lac erating .

laught er of th e id e alist is n ev er sur er in its aim

14 6 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

than wh en it turns th e arms of sci e nc e against

its e lf as in th e vast bu ffoon ery of L E ve F u tu re
,
’
.

A P arisian wit sharp e n e d to a fin e n e ss of irony

,

such as only wit whi ch is also phi losophy

can attain brings in anoth er m ethod of attack ;
,

humour which is almost E nglish anoth er ;

, ,

whil e again satir e b e com e s tragic fantastic , ,

macabr e I n thos e e nigmatic tal e s of th e

.
“

”
grot e s qu e and arab es qu e in whi c h V illi ers
,

riv a ls P oe on his own ground th er e is for th e , ,

most part a multiplicity of m e aning which is

, ,

as it is m e ant to b e dis c on c erting I should

,
.

not lik e to s a y how far V illi e rs do e s not som e ,

tim e s b eli e v e ih his own magic

,
.

I t is c h a ract eristic of him at all e v e nts , ,

that h e e mploys wh a t we c a ll th e sup ernatural

alike in his works of p ur e id e a lism and in
his works of sh e e r satir e T h e mom e nt th e.

world c e a s e d to b e th e stabl e obj e c t solidly ,

e ncrust e d with hous e s in brick and ston e ,

whi c h it is to most of its so t emporary ih

habitants V illi e rs was at hom e Wh e n h e
,

sought th e absolut e b e auty it was b eyond ,

th e world that h e found it ; wh e n h e sought

horror it was a bre ath blowing from an
,

invisibl e d a rkn ess which brought it to his

148 T H E S Y M BOL S I T M OVEM ENT

capacity ; the y a r e haunt e d by dark pow e rs ,

instincts of ambiguous passions ; th e y a re too

lucid to b e quit e san e in th eir e xtravaganc e s ;

th e y hav e not quit e syst ematically transpos e d
th eir dr e ams into action An d his h eroin es .
,

wh e n th e y a r e not like L E ve F u ture th e

,
’
,

vitalis e d m e chanism of an E dison hav e th e ,

s ol e mnity of d e ad p e opl e and a hi e ratic

a
,

sp ee ch S onge des clea cond amn es

’

.
,
rs cc

s up p li ce de n e p a s m a i mer! says S ara in

’
, ,

A x el J e ne l a i me p a homme
’
cc jeu ne

a
. s , .

Qu a i je donc f a Di eu ? says E lé n
’
-
it And .

th e ir voic e is always lik e th e voic e of E lé n :

“
I list e ne d att e ntiv ely to th e sound of h er
voic e ; it was ta c titu r n subdu e d lik e th e
, ,

murmur of th e riv e r Le th e flowing through ,

”
th e r e gion of shadows Th e y hav e th e im
.

mortal w e arin ess of b e auty th e y a re e nigmas ,

to th e ms e lve s th e y d e sire and know not

, ,

why th e y r efrain th e y do good and e vil with

,

th e lifting of an e y e l id and a re innoc e nt,

and guilty of all th e sins of th e e arth .

A n d th e s e strang e inhabitants move in

a s strang e a world Th e y a re th e princ e s

a
.

a nd ch t elain e s of anci e nt castl e s lost in

th e d epths of th e B lack F or e st ; th e y a re
 I I
V LL ERS DE L SLE-ADAM ’
I 1 49

the last d e sc end a nts of a gre at rac e about

to com e to an e n d ; stud e nts of magic who ,

have th e sharp and swift swords of th e sol

die r ; e nigmatic court e sans at th e tabl e of ,

stra nge fe asts ; th e y find incalculabl e tr e as

ure s tonna e t s onn a cata ra
’
,
n tes n tes ctes d or
li qui de only to disdain th e m
, A ll th e pomp .

of the world approach e s th em that th e y may ,

th e b e tt e r abn e gat e it or that it may ru in

,

th e m to a d e e p e r d e gr e e of th e ir mat e rial
h ell A nd w e se e th e m always at th e mom e nt
.

of a crisis b e fore th e two ways of a d e cision

, ,

h esitating in th e e nt a ngl e m e nts of a gr e at

t emptation A n d this casuist of souls will
.

drag forth som e horribly stunt e d or horribly

ov ergrown soul from und e r its obscure c ov
e ring s etting it to danc e nak e d b e fore our
,

e ye s H e has no m er c y on thos e who hav e

m
.

no m ercy on th e s elv e s .

In th e s ens e in which that word is ordi

na rily us e d V illi ers has no pathos
,
This is .

e nough to e xplain why h e c a n n e v e r in th e ,

phras e h e would hav e dislik e d so gre atly ,

”
touch th e popular h e art His mind is too
abstract to contain pity and it is in his lack ,

of pity that h e s ee ms to put hims elf outsid e

1 50 T H E S Y M B OL ST I M OVEM ENT

humanity A cha .cu n s on i nfi ni he has said

, ,

and in th e avidity of his s e arch for th e infinit e

h e has no m ercy for th e blind w e akn e ss which
go e s stumbling ov e r th e e arth ; without so
much as kno wi ng that the sun and stars a re

ov erh e ad H e s ee s only th e gross multitud e

.
,

th e multitud e which has th e cont e ntm e nt of

th e slav e H e cannot pardon stupidity for
.
,

it is incompreh e nsibl e to him H e s ee s .

,

rightly that stupidity is more criminal than

,

vic e ; if only b e caus e vic e is cur a bl e stupidity ,

incurabl e B u t h e do e s not r e alis e as th e

.
,

gr eat nov elists hav e r e alis e d that stupidity

,

ca n b e path e tic and that th er e is not a

,

p e asant nor e v en a s elf s a

,
tisfi e d bourg e ois
-
,

in whom th e soul has not its part in whos e ,

e xist e nc e it is not possibl e to b e int er e st e d .

C ont empt nobl e as it may b e ang er

, , ,

right e ous though it may b e cannot b e ih ,

d ulg e d in without a c e rtain lack of sympathy ;

and lack of sympathy com e s from a lack of
pati e nt und erstanding It is c ertain that th e
.

d estiny of th e gr e at er part of th e human rac e

is e ith er infinit ely path e tic or infinit ely ridi o
ulou s .
‘

Und er which asp e ct th en shall that

, ,

d estiny and thos e obscur e fractions of human

,
152 T HE S Y M B O L S I T M O VEM ENT

All his lif e V illi ers was a poor man ; though ,

all his lif e h e was awaiting that fortun e

,

which h e r efus e d to anti c ipat e by any m e an

e mploym e nt D uring most of his lif e h e
.
,

was practi c ally an unknown man Gre atly .

lov e d ard e ntly admir e d by that inn er circl e

, ,

of th e m e n who hav e mad e mod ern F r e nch

lit e ratur e from V e rlain e to M a
,
et e rlinck he ,

was look e d upon by most p e o pl e as an amus

ing kind of madman a littl e dang erous , ,

whos e id e as as th e y float e d fr e ely ov er th e

,

caf e tabl e it was at tim e s highly profitabl e to

-
,

st e al F or V illi ers talk e d his works b efor e

.

writing th em and som e tim e s h e talk e d th em

,

inst e ad of writing th e m in his too roya ,

lly
sp e ndthrift way To thos e who kn e w him
.

h e s ee m e d g e nius its e lf and would hav e ,

s ee m e d so if h e had n e v er writt e n a lin e ;

for h e had th e dang erous gift of a p erson
ality whi c h s ee ms to hav e alr e ady a c hi e v e d
all that it so e n erg e tically cont e mplat e s .

B u t p ersonality t ells only within hands

’

r e ach ; and V illi ers fail e d e v e n to startl e ,

fail e d ev en to e xasp erat e th e g en eral r e ad er

,
.
 I I
V LL ERS D E L S LE AD AM
’
I — 1 53

That his P remi eres P oési es publish e d at ,

th e a g e of nin e t e e n should
,
hav e brought him
fam e was h a rdly to b e exp e ct e d remark ,

abl e e sp e cially ih its id e as as that book is

, , .

N or w a s it to b e e xp e ct e d of th e e nigmatic

fragm e nt of a romanc e I si s ,
anti c i
pating as it do e s by so long a p eriod th e
, , ,

e sot e ri c and spiritualistic romanc e s whi c h w er e

to have th eir vogu e B u t M en (1 8 6 4 ) and

.

M orga ne thos e two po e tic dramas in

pros e so full of distinction of spiritual rarity ;
, ,

but two y e ars l a t er Cla i r e L en oi r (aft e rwards

,

incorporat e d in o n e of his r e ally gre at books ,

T r i bu la t B on homet) with its macabr e horror ;

,

but L aRevolte “
for V illi e rs so actual ”
’

and which had its mom e nts of succ e ss wh e n

it was r e viv e d in 1 8 9 6 at th e O déon ; but L e
N ou vea u M on de a drama which by ,

som e e xtraordinary capric e won a priz e ; ,

but L es Con tes Cr uels that c oll e ction

of mast erpi e c es in which th e e ss ent ially
,

F r e nch con te is outdon e on its own ground !

I t was not till 1 8 8 6 that V illi ers c e as e d to b e
an unknown writ er with th e publi c ation of
,

that phosphore sc ent bu ffoon ery of sci e nc e ,

that vast parody of humanity L E ve F u ture ,

’
.
1 54 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VEM E NT

a
T ri bu l t B on home t (which he hims elf d efin e d
as boufi onn eri e me mbr e, c ou leu r da
’

en or et so

) was
s i ec le to c om e in its final form and
, ,

th e sup e rb po e m in pros e A hedys s eri l; and

’

th en mor e and mor e indi ff e r ent coll e c tions

,

of stori e s in whi ch V illi ers alr e ady dying is

, , ,

but th e sh a dow of hims elf : L A mou r S u p r eme ’

H i s toi r es I n s oli tes ua

N ou vea :

Con tes Cr u els was corr e cting th e He

proofs of A x el wh e n h e di e d ; th e volum e w a s

publish e d in 1 8 9 0 follow e d by P r op os d a u
’

a
,

d el and a s eri e s of articl e s Chez les P a

,
ss a
n ts , .

O n c e d e ad th e f am e whi c h had a
,
voi de d him
all his lif e b e g an to follow him ; h e had u n e
belle p ress e at his fun e ral .

M ea nwhil e h e h a d b ee n pr ep a
,
ring th e spir
i tu al atmosph er e of th e n e w g e n er ation Living .

among b eli ev ers in th e mat erial world h e ,

had b ee n d e cl a ring not in v a in his b eli e f in

, ,

th e world of th e spirit ; li vi ng among R e alists

and P a rnassians h e had b ee n cr e ating a
,

n ew form of art th e art of th e S ymbolist

,

drama and of S ymbolism in fiction H e had

,
.

b e en lon ely all his lif e for h e h a d b ee n living

,

in his own lif e tim e th e lif e of th e n e xt g en era

,

tion Th e r e was but on e man among his con

.
 LE O N C LAD EL

I H O P E that the lif e of Lé on Cla del by his

daught er Judith which Le merr e has brought
,

out in a pl easant volum e will do som ething ,

for the fam e of on e of th e most original writ ers

of our tim e C la . d el had th e good fortun e to
b e r e cog nis e d in his lif e tim e by thos e whos e
approval matt er e d most b e ginning with B a , u

d elair e who discov e r e d him b e for e he had

,

print e d his first book and h elp e d to t e ach him

,

th e c raft of l e tt e rs B u t so e xc eptional an
.

artist could n ev e r b e popular though h e work e d ,

in living stu ff and put th e whol e savour of his

countrysid e into his tragic and passionat e
stori e s A p easant who writ es about p easants
.
,

and poor p e opl e with a curiosity of styl e which

,

not o nly packs his vocabulary with di ffi c ult

words old or local and with unh e ard of
, ,

rhythms chos en to giv e voic e to som e n e v er

,

y e t articulat e d e motion but which driv e,

s
him Into odditi es of printing of punctuation , ,

of th e v ery shap e of his acc ents ! A pag e

'

1 56
 LEO N C LA D E L 1 57

of C la d el has a c ertain visibl e uncouthn e ss ,

and at first this s e e ms in k ee ping with his

matt e r ; but th e uncouthn ess wh e n you look ,

into it turns out to b e its elf a r e fin e m ent

, ,

and what has s eem e d a confus e d whirl an ,

improvisation to b e th e r e sult r ea
, lly of r e it
c rat e d labour whos e whol e aim has b e e n to
,

bring th e spontan e ity of th e first impuls e

back into th e laboriously fi nish e d work .

I n this j ust s e nsitiv e and admirabl e book

, , ,

writt e n by o n e who has inh e rit e d a not l e ss

passionat e curiosity about lif e but with mor e ,

pati enc e in waiting upon It watching it noting , ,

its surpris e s we hav e a simpl e and suffi ci e nt

,

comm e ntary upon th e books and upon th e man .

T h e narrativ e has warmth and r es erv e and is ,

at onc e t e nd er and cl e ar sight e d J en trevoi s -

.
’

nettement sh e says with truth combi en s er on t

, ,

p r e
’

c i eu x p ou r le s f u tu r s hi s tor i ens de la l i t
tér a ture du x i x j si ecle les mémoi r es tr a
’
‘
,
ces c u

con ta ct i mmé di at de l a r ti s te ex p os es de s es f a i ls
’
,

et ges tes p a
r ti cu li ers ,
de s es ori gi nes , de la
mi n a
ti on d e croy n ces a et de s on a
t len t;
ai
g er s es

s es cr i ti qu es ven r t u v n t d s olid es ma
li men t a
y r o er o e

ter i u xa a
dmi ra a teapi été
’

,
s es teu r s un r

et les p hi losop hes un des a

s p ects de l A me f r a
n
’
 1 58 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVE M ENT

gai s e . T he man is shown to us les éla n s de ,

c ette dme touj ou rs gr on da n te et f u lgur a

n te c omme

u ne f orge et les nu a n ces de cc fi evr eu x vi s a

’

, g e

da b
’
p o tr e,
r u n fi n,
et s i n u eux and we see th e ,

in e vitabl e growth out of the hard soil of

,

Q u ercy and out of th e f ertilising contact of

P aris and B aud elair e of this whol e lit eratur e
, ,

th es e books no l ess astonishing than th e ir

titl e s : Omp dr a i lles te T ombea
-
u des L u tteu r s
- - -
,

Celui de laCr oi x a -u x B oeuf s -

L aF ete Voti ve ,

de S a int B a-
rtholomée P or te Gla
-
i ve T he v ery-
.

titl e s a r e an e xcit e m e nt I can r em emb er how

.

myst erious and alluring th ey us e d to s ee m to

m e wh e n I fi rst saw th e m on th e cov e r of what
was p erhaps his b e st book L es VaN u P i eds ,
- -
.

I t is by on e of the stori es and th e short est , ,

in L es VaN u P i eds that I r e m e mb er C la

- -
,
d el .

I r e ad it wh e n I was a boy and I cannot think ,

of it now without a shiv e r It is c all e d L H er .

’

cu le and it is about a S andow of th e str e e ts a

, ,

prof e ssion a l strong man who kills hims elf by ,

an ov erstrain ; it is not a story at all it is th e ,

r e cord of an incid e nt and th er e is only th e

,

strong man in it and his fri e nd the z any ,

who mak e s the j o k es whil e the strong man

j uggl e s with bars and cannon balls It is all -
.
16 0 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

but th ere is non e of th e Hom eric simplicity in

thi s tumult of colour e d and clott e d sp ee ch in ,

which th e langu ag e is torture d to make it

sp eak T h e comp a
. rison with Rab e lais is n e arer .

L a echerche du te me vi va
r nt sa mi se en va
r leur ,

c t en s a lasu a bonda nce de s voca bles p ui s es

’

veu

atoutes sou ces

r, r

lacon dens a ti on dc l a cti on

’
r

a u tou r dc ces qu elqu es motif s cter nc ls d c l cp op ce :

’ ’ ’

c omba t ri p a i lle p a
,
lab e ct lux urc th er e as
,
r , ,

s h e s ee s j ustly a r e links with R ab e lais

, G on .

court hims elf always aiming at an impossibl e

,

clos en ess of writt e n to spok e n sp ee ch not e d ,

with admi ration lavra i e p hotogr a

p hi c dc la
p a
r ole a
vec s es tou rs , ses bbr evi a
a ti ons s es elli p s es ,

s on c ss ou fi
‘
lc mcn t p r es qout of br e ath
u e . S p e ech ,

that is what C la d el s is always ; his words

’
,

n e v er th e lik ely on e s do not so much sp eak as

a
,

cry g e sticul a
,
t e ov e rtake one anoth er L me
,
.
’

d e L eon Cla de l says his daught er eta i t da

’

,
ns u n ,

c on s tan t e t f lamboya nt a u tomne S om e thing of .

th e colour a n d f e v e r of autumn is in all h e

wrot e An oth er writ er sinc e C la

. d el who has ,

prob a bly ne v e r h eard of him has mad e h ero e s ,

of p e a sa nts and vagabonds B ut M axim Gorki .

mak e s h e ro e s of th e m consciously with a , ,

m ental s elf ass ertion giving th e m id e as which

-
,
 LEO N C LAD EL 16 1

he has found in N i etzsch e C la d el put into .

all his p eopl e som e of his own passion a t e way

“ ”
of s eeing scarl e t to use B arb ey d A ure villy s
,
’ ’

e pith e t : r ur al cca r la V e h e m e nt and

’

un tc .

a
voluminous h e o v erfl o w e d : his whol e aim as
,

an artist s a pupil of B aud elair e w a

, s to con ,

c e ntrat e to hold hims elf back ; and th e e ffort

,

add e d imp etus to th e ch e ck e d ov erflow To .

th e r e alists h e s ee m e d m e r ely e xtravag a nt ; h e

saw c e rtainly what th e y could not se e ; and
his romanc e was always a fruit of th e soil .

T he artist in him s e e min g to b e in confli c t,

with th e p e asant fortifi e d clarifi e d th e p e a

,
sant , ,

e xtract e d from that hard soil arar e fruit .

Y ou s ee in his fac e an e xtraordinary mingling

of the p ea sant the visionary and the dandy :
, ,

th e long hair and b e ard th e s e nsitiv e mouth ,

and nos e th e fi e rc e brooding e ye s in which

, ,

wildn ess and d elicacy stre ngth and a kind of ,

st e althin ess s e e m to b e graft e d on an infl exibl e

,

p e asant stock .

1 90 6 .
 A N OT E ON Z O LA S M E T H O D
’

THE art of Zola is bas e d on c ertain th eori es ,

on a vi e w of humanity whi c h h e h a s adopt e d

as his formula A s a d e du c tion from hi s

.

formula h e tak e s many things in human

,

na tur e for grant e d h e is cont ent to obs erv e at

,

s e c ond h a-
nd ; and it is only wh en h e com e s
to th e fi lli n g up of his outlin e s th e mi sc en
-
,
-

s c en e ,
th at his obs erv a tion b e com es p ersonal ,

mi nut e and p ersist e nt H e has thus suc

,
.

c e e d e d in b e ing at onc e unr e al wh e r e r e ality is

most ess ential and t ediously r eal wh er e a

,

point b y point r e ality is som etim e s unimp or

- -

ta nt T h e contradi ction is an in g enious on e

.
,

whi c h it may b e int er e sting to e xami n e in a

littl e d e tail and from s e v eral points of vi e w
, .

A n d first of all
,
tak e L A s sommoi r no
,
’
,

doubt th e most charact eristic of Zola s nov els ’

,

and probably th e b e st ; and l e avin g out for ,

th e pr e s e nt th e broad e r qu e stion of his g en eral

conc eption of humanity let us look at Zol as ,
’

mann er of d e aling with his mat erial notin g ,

16 2
16 4 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM E NT

is a bourg e ois What ev er G oncourt touch es

.

b e com es by th e m er e magic of his tou c h

, ,

charming a pictur e ; Zola is totally d estitut e

,

of charm B ut how in L A ss ommoi r h e

.
,
’
,

driv es hom e to you th e horrid r e aliti es of th es e

narrow uncomfortabl e liv e s ! Zola has mad e
,

up his mind that h e will say e v erything with ,

out omitting asingl e it e m what ev er h e has to ,

say ; thus in L A ss ommoi r th er e is a gr e at

,
’
,

f e ast which lasts for fifty pag es b eginning with ,

th e picking of th e goos e th e day b e for e and , ,

going on to th e picking of th e goos e s bon e s ’

,

by a stray marauding cat th e night aft er ,

.

A n d in a s ens e h e do e s say e v erything ; and

, ,

th er e c ertainly is his nov elty his inv e ntion

, , ,
.

H e obs erv e s with imm ens e p ersist enc e but his ,

obs ervation aft er all is o nly that of th e man

, ,

in th e str ee t ; it is simply carri e d into d etail ,

d elib erat ely A n d whil e Gonco urt wand ers

.
,

away som etim e s into arab e s qu e s indulg es in ,

fl ourish es so fin ely artistic is his s ens e of

,

words and of th e things th ey r epr es e nt so ,

p erf e ctly can h e match a s ensation or an im

pr e ssion by its figur e in sp e e ch Zola on th e , ,

contrary n ev er finds j ust th e right word and

, ,

it is his p ersist e nt fumbling for it which pro

 A N OTE ON Z OLA S ’
M ETH O D 16 5

duc es th es e mil e s of d escription ; four pag e s

d escribing how two pe opl e w ent upstair s from ,

th e ground floor to th e sixth story and th e n ,

two pag e s aft erwards to d escrib e how th e y

cam e downstairs again S om e tim e s by his
.
,

prodigious dilig e nc e and minut e n ess h e suc ,

c ee d s in gi vi ng you th e impr e ssion ; oft e n ,

ind e e d ; but at th e cost of what ennu i to writ er

and r e ad er alik e ! A n d so much of it all is
pur ely unn e c essary has no int er est in its elf
,

and no conn e ction with th e story : th e pr e cis e

d etails of Lorilleux s chain making bristling
’
-
,

with t e chnical t erms : it was lacolonn c that h e

mad e and only that particular kind of chain ;
,

G ouj e t s forg e and th e machin ery in th e sh e d

’
,

n ext door ; and j ust how you cut out zinc with
a larg e pair of scissors Wh e n G oncourt giv e s
.

you a long d e scription of anything e v en if you ,

do not f eel that it h elps on th e story v ery much ,

it is such a b e autiful thing in its elf his m er e way ,

of writing it is so e nchanting that you find ,

yours elf wishin g it long er at its long est B u t

,
.

with Zola th ere is no lit erary int er e st in th e

,

writing apart from its cl e ar and coh er ent

,

e xpr e ssion of a giv e n thing ; and th es e int er

minabl e d escriptions hav e no e xtran e ous or , ,
16 6 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM E NT

if you will implicit int er est to sav e th em from

, ,

th e charg e of irr el e vancy ; th e y sink by th eir

’
own w eight Just as Zola s vision is th e vision
.

of th e av erag e man so his vocabulary with , ,

all its t e chnicology r e mains m e diocr e incapa

, ,

b le of e xpr e ssing subtl eti e s incapabl e of a ,

r e ally artistic e ff e ct To find out in a slang

dict onary that a filthy id e a can b e expr ess e d
i

by an ing e niously filthy phras e in a rgot and to ,

u s e that phras e is not a gr eat f eat or on

, , ,

pur ely artistic grounds altog e th er d e sirabl e , .

To go to a chainmak er and l e arn th e trad e

nam e of th e various kinds of chain which h e
manufactur es and of th e instrum e nts with
,

which h e manufactur e s th em is not an elab ,

orat e proc ess or one which can b e said to pay

,

you for th e littl e troubl e which it no doubt

tak e s A nd it is not w ell to b e too c ertain
.

aft er all that Zola is always p erf e ctly accurat e

in his u s e of all this manifold knowl edg e T h e .

slang for e xampl e ; h e w e nt to books for it in

, ,

books h e found it and no on e will ev er fi nd

,

som e of it but in boo k s How ev e r my .

,

main cont ention is that Zola s g en eral u s e of ’

words is to b e quit e frank som ewhat in ef

, ,

f e c tu a
l . H e tri e s to do what F laub ert did ,
16 8 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M O VE M ENT

t e r i s t ic d etail in th e ma nn e r of F laub ert

H u i t j ours a
p r es ,
co a
i t dali ngc
mme e lle e tcn d
’

da n s s ac our elle f u t pr i s e d u n cr a chemen t

’
,

dc s a ng ct lc len dema
,
i n ta ndi s qu e Cha r les
,

a va i t lc dos tourn é p our f er me le r i dea u de la r

f ene t
‘

e re ll
,
e di t
“
A h ! m on D
‘

i eu ! p ou s s a u n

s ou pi r c t s c va Elle éta i t mor te

’
n oui t N ow
’

. .

that d e tail brought in without th e slight

,

est e mphasis of th e husband turning his

,

bac k at th e v e ry in stan t that his wif e di e s is ,

a d e tail of imm ens e psychological valu e ; i t

indicat e s to us at th e v e ry op eni ng of th e book
, ,

j ust th e charact e r of th e man about whom w e

a r e to r e ad so much Zola would hav e tak e n.

at l e as t two pag e s to say that and aft er all , , ,

h e would not hav e said it H e would hav e told .

you th e position of th e ch est of dr a w e rs in th e

room what wood th e ch est of draw ers was
,

mad e of a n d if it had a littl e varnish k nock e d

,

o ff at th e corn e r of th e low e r cornic e j ust ,

wh er e it would naturally b e in th e way of

p e opl e s f ee t as th e y e nt er e d th e door H e
’
.

would hav e told you how C harl e s l ean t against

th e oth e r corn er of th e ch e st of draw ers and ,

that th e e dg e of th e upp er cornic e l eft a slight

d ent in his black frock coat which r emain e d -
,
 A N O TE ON Z OLA S ’
M ET H O D 16 9

visibl e half an hour aft erwards B ut that on e .

littl e d e tail whi c h F l a

,
ub ert s el e cts from among
a thousand that no h e would n ev er hav e
, , ,

giv e n us that !
A n d th e languag e in which all this is writt e n ,

apart from th e consid eration of languag e as a

m edium is r e ally not lit e ratur e at all in any
, ,

stri c t s e ns e I am not for th e mom ent com

.
, ,

plaining of th e collo quialism and the slang .

Zola has told us that h e has in L A ssommoi r ,

’
,

us e d th e languag e of th e p e opl e in ord er to

r e nd er the p e opl e with a clos er truth Wh eth e r .

he has don e that or not is not th e qu estion .

T he qu e stion is that h e do e s not giv e o ne the

,

s e nse of r e ading good lit erature wh eth er h e ,

sp eak s in D elva u s la
’
ngue ver tc or according ,

to th e A cad emy s lat e st e dition of classical

’

Fre nch . His s e nt e nc e s hav e no rhythm ; th e y

give no pl e asur e to th e e a r; th e y carry no
s e nsation to t h e e ye Y ou h e ar a s ent e nc e of
.

F laub ert and you s ee a s e nt e nc e of G oncourt

, ,

lik e living things with forms and voic e s B u t

,
.

a page of Zol ali e s dull and sil e nt b efor e you ;

it draws you by no charm it has no m e aning ,

until you have r e ad th e pag e that go e s b efore

and the pag e that com e s aft er It is like .
1 70 T H E SY M B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

cabin t m ae k e rs work solid w e ll fitt e d to

-
’
, ,

g e th e r and e ss e ntially mad e to b e us e d

, .

Y es th e re is no doubt that Zola writ e s v e ry

,

ba dly wors e than any oth e r Fr ench writ e r

,

of e min enc e I t is tru e that B alzac c e rtainly

.
,

o n e of th e gr e at e st do e s in a s e ns e write
, , ,

ba dly ; but his way of writing badly is v e ry

di ff e r e nt from Zola s and l e av e s you with
’
,

th e s e ns e of quit e a diff er e nt r e sult B alzac .

is too impati e nt with words ; h e cannot stay

to ge t th e m all into prop e r ord e r to pick and ,

choos e among th e m N ight th e co ff ee the

.
, ,

w e t tow e l and th e e nd of six hours labour

’
,

a r e oft e n too much for him ; and his mann er

of writing his no ve ls on th e proof sh e ets -
,

a lt e ring and e xpanding as fr e sh id e as cam e

to him on e ach r e r e ading was not a way of
-
,

doing things which can possibly r esult in

p e rf e ct writing B u t B alzac sins from ex
.

c e ss from a f ev erish hast e the v e ry ex tra

, , v

a g a n c e of pow e r ; and at all e

,
v e nts h e ,
“ ”
sins strongly Zola sins m eanly h e is
.
,

p enuriously care ful h e do es the b est h e possibly

,

can ; and h e is not aware that his b est do e s not

a nsw er all r equirem ents S o long as writing.

is cl ear and not ungrammatical it s e e ms to ,

172 T H E S Y MB O L S I T M O VEM ENT

wer e v er writt e n on the ground of the psy

e ,

c h ologi c a l importanc e which it undoubt edly

has and th e ov erwh elming w a
, y in which it
driv e s hom e th e point which it is the writ er s ’

busin ess to mak e B ut the wo rryin g way in

.

which le derr i ere and le ventre a re constantly

k ept in vi e w without th e sli ght e st n e c e ssity

, ,

is quit e anoth er thi ng I should not lik e to

.

say how oft e n the phras e s anudit é d e j oli e

“

’
fi lle occurs in Zola Zola s nuditi es always
.

r emi nd me of thos e which you can s ee in th e

F oi rc a u pa i n d cpi c e at V inc enn es by pay
’ ’

ing a p e nny and loo king through a p eep

hol e In the laundry sc e n es for instanc e in
.
,

L A ss ommoi r he is always r e mi nding you that

’
,

th e laundr e ss es hav e turn e d up th eir sl e ev es ,

or undon e a button or two of th eir b odic es .

His e y e s s ee m e t ernally fix e d on the inch or

two of bar e fl e sh that can b e s ee n ; and h e
nudg e s your elbow at e v e ry mom e nt to mak e ,

sur e that you a r e looking too N othi ng may

.

b e mor e char mi ng than a frankly s e nsuous

d e scription of thi ngs w hi ch app e al to th e
s e ns e s ; but can one imagin e anyt hi ng l ess
charming l ess lik e art than t hi s pryin g eye
, ,

glu e d to th e p eep hol e in the Ginge rbre ad F air ?

-
 A N OTE ON Z OLA S
’
M ET H OD 1 73

’
Y et, what ev er vi e w may b e tak e n of Zola s
work in lit erature th ere is no dou bt that the
,

lif e of Zola is a mod e l l esson and might prof ,

ita bly b e told in one of Dr Smiles s e difying

’
.

biographi es It may e ve n b e brought as a

.

r eproach against the writ e r of th e s e nov els ,

in whi ch th e re a re so many o ffe nc e s against

the r e sp e ctabl e virtu e s that h e is too good

,

a bourg e ois too much th e incarnation of th e

,

r e sp e ctabl e virtu e s to b e a man Of g e nius

,
.

If th e fi n e st art com e s of the int ens est living ,

th e n Zola has n ev e r had ev e n a chanc e of

doing the gre at e st kind of work It is hi s m erit .

and his misfort un e to hav e liv e d e ntir ely in

and for his books with a h eroic d evotion to his
,

id e al of lit erary duty which would m erit ev ery

prais e if we had to consid e r simply th e moral
sid e of th e qu e stion S o many pag es of copy
.

a day so many hours of study giv e n to mys

,

t icism or Le s Hall e s ; Zola has alw a

, ys had his
’
day s work mark e d out b efor e him and h e ,

has n ev er sw e rv e d from it A r e c ent life of .

Zola t ells us som ething about his way of get

ting up a subj e ct Imm ens e pr eparation
.

had b een n ec essary for the F a utc dc l A bbé

’

M our ct . M ountains of not e books w er e -

1 74 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

h eap e d up on his tabl e and for months Zola

,

was plung e d in th e study of r eligious works .

A ll th e mystical part of th e book and notably ,

th e passag e s having r ef e r e nc e to th e cultus

of M ary was tak e n from th e works of th e
,

S panish J e suits . T he I mita ti on of J esu s

Chri s t was larg ely drawn upon many passag e s
,

b e ing copi e d almost word for word into th e

—
nov el much as in Cla ri s sa H a r lowe th at
,

oth er gre at r e alist R ichardson copi e d whol e

, ,

passag e s from th e P salms T he d escription

.

of lif e in a grand s eminary was giv en him by

a pri est who had b e en dismiss e d from e cclesi
a s ti c a
l s ervic e. T h e littl e church of S aint e
M ari e d e s B atignoll e s was r e gularly visit e d ”
.

How comm endabl e all that is but sur ely , , ,

how futil e C a ! n o n e conc eiv e of a mor e hop e

l e ss a mor e ridiculous task than that of

, ,

s etting to work on a nov el of e ccl esiastical

lif e as if on e w e r e cramming for an e xamina
tion in r eligious knowl e dg e ? Zola appar ently
imagin e s that h e can mast e r mysticism in a
fortnight as h e mast ers th e polic e r e gulations
,

of Les Hall e s I t must b e ad mi tt e d that h e

.

do es wond ers with his s e cond hand informa

-

tion alik e in r e gard to mysticism and Les

,
1 76 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

naturalistic mus e ; but has sh e und er th e ,

tatt ers r e ally a human h e art ? I n th e whol e

,

of Zola s works a mid all his exact and impr es

’
,

siv e d escriptions of mis ery all his endl ess,

annals of th e poor I kn ow only one e pisod e

,

which brings t e ars to th e e ye s th e e pisod e ,

of th e c h ild martyr L ali e in L A ssommoi r

-
’
.

“
A pi e c e of m e chanism with a thousand
”
wh eels , that is ind ee d th e imag e of this
imm e ns e and wond erful study of human
lif e e volv e d out of th e brain of a solitary
,

stud ent who knows life only by th e re port of

his docume nts his fri ends and abov e all his
, , , ,

formula .

Zola has d efin e d art v ery aptly as natur e

, ,

s ee n through a t e mp e ram e nt T h e art of .

Zola is natur e s e e n through a formula This .

profe ss e d r ealist is a man of th e ori es who

studi e s lif e with a conviction that h e will
find th er e such and such things which he has
r e ad about in sci entifi c books H e obs erv e s .
,

ind e e d with astonishin g mi nut en e ss but h e

, ,

obs erv e s in support of pr e conc e iv e d id e as .

A n d so pow erful is his imagination that h e

has cr e at e d a whol e world which has no
in a
e x i st e nc e anywh e r e but in his own b ra nd , _
 A N O TE ON Z OLA S ’
M ETH OD 1 77

he has plac e d th er e imaginary b e ings so much ,

mor e logical than life in th e mi dst of sur ,

roundings which a r e th e ms elv e s so r e al as to

l e nd almost a s emblanc e of r e ality to th e

e mbodi e d for m ul as who inhabit th e m .

It is th e boast of Zola that h e has tak e n

up art at th e point wh er e F laub ert l eft it ,

and that h e has d ev elop e d that art in its

logical s equ enc e B u t th e art of Flaub ert
.
,

its elf a d e velopm ent from B alzac had c a rri e d ,

r ealism if not in M a
,
dame B ova ry at all ,

e v e nts in L E du ca ti on S en ti men tale as far

’
,

as r e a lism can w ell go without c e asing to

be a rt
. In th e gr ey and som e what sordid
history of Fréd é ric M or e au th er e is not a touch
of romanticism not so much as a conc e ssion
,

to styl e a mom entary escap e of th e imprison e d

,

l yrical t e nd ency E v erything is obs e rv e d

.
,

e v e rything is tak e n straight from lif e : r e alism

sinc er e dir e ct implacabl e r eigns from e n d to

, , ,

e n d of th e book B ut with w hat consummat e

.

art all this mass of obs ervation is disint e grat e d ,

arrang ed compos e d ! with what infinit e d eli

,

cacy it is manipulat e d in th e s ervi c e of an

un erring s ens e of c onstruction ! A n d F lau
b ert has no th eory has no pr ej u dic es has , ,
1 78 T HE S Y M B O L S I T M O VEM ENT

only a c ertain impati enc e with human imb e cil

ity Zola too gath ers his docum ents h e aps
.
, , ,

up his mass of obs ervation and th en in this , ,

“ ”
unhappy d e v elopm e nt of th e principl es of
art which produc e d L Edu ca ti on
’
S en ti
men ta le fling s e v erything p ell m ell into one
,
-

ov erflowing p ot a u f eu -
T h e probabiliti e s of
-
.

natur e and th e d elicaci e s of art a re alik e

drown e d b en e ath a flood of turbid obs erva
tion and in th e en d on e do es not ev e n f e el
,

convinc e d that Zola r e ally knows his subj e ct .

I r em e mb er onc e h e aring M Huysmans with .

,

his look and ton e of subtl e ironical malic e , ,

d e scrib e how Zola wh e n h e was writing L a

,

T err e took a driv e into th e country in a

,

V ictori a to s ee t h e p e as a
,
nts T h e E nglish .

pap e rs onc e r eport e d a n int e rvi e w in which

th e author of N a n a indiscr e e tly q u e stion e d

,

as to th e amount of p e rson a l obs ervation h e

had put into th e book r epli e d that h e had ,

lunch e d with an actr ess of th e V ariétés T h e .

r eply was g en e r a lly tak e n for aj ok e but the ,

lunch w a s a r e ality and it was a

,
ssur e dly a
rar e exp e ri enc e in th e lif e of solitary dilig enc e
to which w e ow e so many imp e rsonal studi e s
in life N or did Z olaa
. s h e sat sil e nt by th e
, .
 S T EPH ANE M ALLARM E

S TEP H A N E M A LL A R M Ewas one of thos e who

lov e lit eratur e too much to writ e it exc e pt by
fragm ents ; in whom th e d e sir e of p erf e ction
brings its own d ef eat With e ith er mor e or
.

l ess ambition h e would hav e don e mor e to

achi ev e hims elf ; he was always divid e d b e
tw e e n an absolut e aim at th e absolut e that ,

is th e unattainabl e and a too logical disdain

, ,

for th e compro mi s e by which aft er all lit er

, ,

atur e is lit eratur e C arry th e th e ori e s of

.

M allarm e to a practical conclusion multiply ,

his pow ers in a di r e ct ratio and you hav e

,

Wagn er I t is his failur e not to b e Wagn e r

. .

A nd Wagn er having e xist e d it was for him

, ,

to b e som e thing more to compl e t e Wagn er

,
.

W ell not b eing abl e to b e that it was a mat

, ,

ter of sinc er e indi ff e r e nc e to him wh e th er h e

l e ft one or two littl e limit e d mast erpi e c es of
,

1 80
 S T EPH AN E M ALLARM E 18 1

formal v ers e and pros e th e mor e or the l ess ,

.

“ ”
It was the work that h e dr e am e d of th e ,

n e w art mor e than a new r eligion whos e

, ,

pr e cis e form in th e world h e was n ev er quit e

abl e to s e ttl e .

Cu a u teur difi ci lc in th e phras e of M

,
.

Ca tu lle M e nd es it has always b ee n to what

,
“
h e hims elf calls a labyrinth illuminat e d by
flow ers that M allarm e has f elt it d ue to th eir
”

own dignity to invite his r e ad ers To th eir own .

dignity and also to his M allarm e was ob

,
.

scur e not so much b ecaus e h e wrot e di ff erently

, ,

as b e caus e h e thought di ff er ently from oth e r ,

p e opl e His mind was elliptical and r elying

.
, ,

with undu e confid enc e on th e int ellig enc e of

his r e ad ers h e e mphasis e d th e eff e ct of what
,

was unlik e oth er p eopl e in his mind by r e so

lutely ignoring e v e n th e links of conn e ction
that e xist e d b e tw ee n th em N e v e r having .

aim e d at popularity h e n ev er n e e d e d as most

, ,

writ ers n ee d to mak e th e first advanc es H e

,
.

mad e n eith e r intrusion upon nor conc e ssion to

thos e who aft er all w er e not oblig e d to r e ad
, ,

him A n d wh en h e spok e h e consid er e d it

.
,

n eith er n ee dful nor s ee mly to list en in ord er

to h e ar wh e th er h e was h e ard To the charg e .
182 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM E NT

of obscurity h e r epli ed with su ffi ci ent disdain

, ,

that th e r e a r e many who do not know how to

—
r e ad exc ept th e n ewspap er h e adds in one , ,

of thos e disconc erting oddly print e d par en

,
-

th e s es which mak e his work to thos e who

, ,

rightly appr eh e nd it so full of wis e limitations

, ,

so saf e from hasty or s eemingly final conclu

sions N o on e in our tim e has more sig
.

n ifi c a n tly vindicat e d th e supr e m e right of th e

artist in th e aristocracy of l ett ers ; wilfully ,

p erhaps not always wis ely but nobly logically

, , , .

Has not e v ery artist shrunk from that making

“
of hims elf a motl ey to th e vi e w that hand ,

ing ov er of his nak e d soul to th e laught er of

th e multitud e ? B u t who in our tim e has
, ,

wrought so subtl e a v e il shining on this sid e

, ,

wh er e th e f ew a r e a thick cloud on th e oth er

, ,

wh er e a r e th e many ? T h e oracl e s hav e always

had th e wisdom to hid e th eir s e cr ets in th e
obscurity of many me anings or of what has ,

s ee m e d m eani ngl ess ; and might it not aft er ,

all b e th e fin est epitaph for a s elf r e sp e cting

,
-

man of l ett ers to b e abl e to say e v e n aft er th e ,

writing of many books : I have k ept my

s e cr e t I hav e not b e tray e d mys elf to th e
,

multitud e ?
1 84 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

hav e forgott en th e narrow hom ely int erior , ,

e l e gant with a sort of scrupulous D utch com

fort ; th e h e avy carv e d furnitur e th e tall

, ,

clock th e portraits M a
,
n et s Wh istl er s on
,
’
,
’
,

th e walls ; th e tabl e on which th e china bowl ,

odorous with tobacco was push e d from hand ,

to hand ; abov e all th e rocking chair M a ,

l -
,

larm e s from which h e would ris e qui e tly

’
, ,

to stand l e aning his elbow on th e mant el

pi e c e whil e o n e hand th e hand which did not
, ,

hold th e cigar e tt e would sk e tch out o ne of ,

thos e familiar g esture s : n u peu dc pretre ,

u n p eu dc da n seu se (in M R o d enb a ch s a d mir

’
.

abl e phras e) a vec les qu els i l a va it l a i r cha

’
, qu c

f o i s d en trer
’
d an s la c on ve r s a
ti on c o mm e o n ,

en tr e en s cene O ne of th e b e st talk e rs of our

.

tim e h e was u nlik e most oth er fi ne talk e rs

, , ,

harmonious with his own th e ori es in giving no

monologu e s in allowing ev ery lib erty to his
,

gu e sts to the conv ersation ; in his p erfe ct

,

r e adin ess to follow th e slight e st in di cation to ,

e mbroid e r upon any fram e with any mat erial ,

pre s e nt e d to him Th e re would hav e b ee n .

som ethi ng almost of th e chall enge of th e im

p r o vi s a
t o r e in this e asily mov e d al e rt n e ss of
me ntal attitud e had it not b ee n for th e sin
,
 S TEPH AN E M ALLAR M E 185

gular g entl en ess with which M a lla

rm é s int e l
’

lig e n c e mov e d in th e s e consid e rabl e f e ats with

, ,

a
th e half apolog e tic n e glig e nc e of th e p e rf e c t
-

acrob t H e s ee m e d to b e no mor e than

.

b r ushing th e dust off your own id e as s ettling , ,

arranging th e m a littl e b e fore h e gav e th e m

,

back to you surprisingly luminous I t was

,
.

only aft erwards that you r e alis e d how small

had b ee n your own part in th e m a tt e r as w e ll ,

as what it m e ant to hav e e nlight e n e d without

dazzling you B ut th er e was a . lways th e f ee l
ing of comrad e ship th e comrad e ship of a
,

mast er whom whil e you w er e th ere a

, ,
t l e ast ,

you did not qu e stion ; and that v e ry f eeling

lift e d you in your own e stimation n e are r to
, ,

art .

I nvaluabl e it s eems to me thos e Tu e sdays

, ,

must hav e b ee n to the young men of two

ge n erations who hav e b ee n making F r e nch
lit e rature ; th ey w e re uni qu e c ertainly in , ,

th e e xp e ri e nc e of th e young E ngli shman who

was always so cordially re c e iv e d th ere with ,

so flatt ering a cordiality H e re was a hous e .

in which art lit e rature was the v e ry atmos

, ,

p h e r e
, a r e ligious atmosph e r e ; and th e mast e r
of the hous e in his j ust a littl e sol emn sim
,
1 86 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VEM E NT

p li c ity, a pri e st I n e ve r h e ard the pric e of a

.

book m e ntion e d or th e numb e r of thousand,

francs whi ch a popular author had b e e n paid

for hi s last volum e ; h ere in this one li t erary ,

hous e lit eratur e was unknown as a trad e

, .

An d abov e all the qu e stions that w e r e dis

, ,

cuss e d w er e n ev er a t l east in M a lla

,rm é s ,
’

tr e atm e nt in his g uidanc e of th e m oth er than

, ,

e ss e ntial qu e stions consid e rations of art in ,

th e abstract of lit e ratur e b e for e it coagulat e s

,

into a book of li fe as its amusin g and var ious

,

w eb spins th e stu ff of art Wh en ind ee d th e .

, ,

conv ersation by som e un tim ely hazard drift e d

, ,

too n e a r to on e b e cam e for a mom ent p erhaps

, ,

inconv e ni e ntly practical it was M a llarm é s

’
, ,

solicitous polit en e ss to wait a littl e constrain ed , ,

almw t un e a sy rolling hi s cig a

,
r e tt e in sil enc e ,

until th e disturbing mom e nt had p a ss e d .

Th er e w er e oth er disturbing mom ents som e ,

tim es I r em emb er on e ni ght r a

. th er lat e th e , ,

sudd en ir ruption of M d e H er e dia coming on .

,

aft er a dinn er party and s e ating himse lf in his

-
,

w ell fi lle d e v e ning dr e ss pr ecis ely in M a

- l ,

larm e s favour it e chair H e was int ens ely

’
.

amusing volubl e fl orid ly v eh em e nt ; M a

, ,
l
larm e I am sure was d e light ed to s ee him ;
, ,
1 88 T H E S Y MB O L S I T M OVE M ENT

to the B oh e mian exampl e of the d H a rcour t

’

or the T a verne wh e re art is lov e d but with

, ,

som e thing of hast e in a v ery changing d evo,

tion It was impossibl e to com e away from

.

Ma lla
rm é s without som e tran q uillising in fl u
’

e nc e from that qui e t plac e som e imp ersonal ,

ambition towards e xc e ll e nc e th e r e solv e at , ,

l e ast to writ e a sonn e t a pag e of pros e that

, , ,

should b e in its own way as p erf e ct as one

c ould mak e it worthy of M allarm e
, .

said M allarm e is th e languag e

P o e try , ,

of a stat e of crisis ; a n d all his po ems a

”
re

th e e vocation of a passing e cstasy arr e st e d ,

in mid fl igh t This e cstasy is n ev er the m er e

-
.

instinctiv e cry of th e h eart th e simpl e human ,

j oy or sorrow which lik e th e P arnassians

, , ,

but for not quit e th e sam e r e ason h e did not ,

admi t in po etry I t is a m ental transposition

.

of e motion or s ensation v eil e d with atmos ,

p h e r e and b,
e coming as it b e com e s a po e m, ,

pur e b e auty H er e for instanc e in a po em

.
, , ,

which I hav e translat e d lin e for lin e and almost ,

word for word a d e li cat e e motion a figur e

, ,
 T
S EPH A NE M ALLARM E 1 89

vagu ely divin e d a l a ndscap e magically e vok ed, ,

bl end in a singl e e ff e ct .

S IG H

My s oul, r t ward thy br w wh r

a
lm
c s iste r
a o s o e eon sc ce

gr i
, ,

eves

A at m
n u u tr w a lr a
n sdy with it r t l a
e n e s u sse e v es ,

A d t wa
n rd th wad ri g k y f thi ag li y
o s e n e n s o ne n e c e es

M t ai m la h ly g a
oun s , s n rd may ari
e nc o ens se

S m fa
o ithf l f
e tai igh i g whit ly t wa
u oun rd th bl !n s n e o s e ue
-
T wa o rd th bl pal ad p r that ad O t b r k w
s e ue e n u e s c o e ne

d pth it mirr r d lag r i fi it

,

Wh i th
en , n os e e s, o e n uo s n n e,

A d a
n g i i g l a
on s n p t h wat r whi t
e ve s u on e e s e,

W i dily d rifti g tra d af rr w ld ad d

n n ce u o co n un ,

Wh r i y li g r d th y ll w
,

e e, l g la t a
n one on s r , n e e e e o s un .

A noth e r
po e m com e s a littl e clos er to
natur e but with what e x quisit e pr e cautions
, ,

and with what surprising nov elty in its uh

h e sitating touch on actual things !

S EA-W IN D

T he fl es h is s a la
d as! a
nd a
ll t h e b ooks ar a
dre e

f y a rd a w d r ad
.
,

Flight , o nl flight ! I eel th t b i s re il to t e

r w fa a a
T h e fl o o of u n k n o n o m , nd t o t t a in th e s k ies !
N ought , ne ith e ra a rd
n c ien t g rr r d
e n s mi o e y
in the e es ,
S hall h ld t h i h a
o rt that b ath i wat r it d light
s e es n e s s e

y t my wa mp w h ly light
,

0 ight !
n s k i g la
n or e l n os e one

d w th aat pap r whit pr fit b t

,

S ha o s e v c n e e n es s o s es

th y g wif w h r k h by br a
, ,

N or e ou n ba he t o oc s er on er e s

I will d p art O t am r wayi g r p ad pa r

.

e s e e s n o e n s

Lift a h r f x ti lad that li afar !

.
, ,

nc o or e o c n s e
1 90 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

A w ari
e w r by r l h p till li g
n ess , out o n c ue o es , s c n s

T th la t far w ll hadk r h i f lat b k i g ! ’

o e s e e n e c e s s ec on n s

A d a
n t th th m at i
re n o iti g t rm t th
es e , e s s nv n s o s, no ese

T ha
t aa wak i g wi d b d r wr ki g a
n en n n en s ove ec n se s ,

L t
os t aa il aa
no il a fl w ri g i l
s l g? s o e n s e , ere on

rt h ar th h ar th th ail r g !
, , ,

B t O my h a
’
u ,
e ,
e ou , e ou e s o s son

Th es e (n e e d I say ) b elong to th e e arli er

?

p eriod in which M allarm e had not yet with

,

drawn his light into th e cloud ; and to th e

sam e p eriod b elong th e pros e po e ms on e of -
,

which p e rhaps th e most ex quisit e I will

, ,

translat e h er e .

A U T UM N LA M E N T
Ever sinc e M aria l e ft me for anoth er ,

—
star which ? Orion A ltair or thou gre en , , ,

—
V e nus ? I hav e always ch erish e d solitud e .

How many long days I hav e pass e d alon e ,

with my cat ! B y a lone I m e an without ,

a mat e rial b ein g and my cat is a mystical ,

companion a spirit I may say th en that

,
.
, ,

I hav e pass e d long days alon e with my cat ,

and alon e with on e of th e last writ ers of

,

th e R oman d e cad e nc e ; for sinc e th e whit e

cr e atur e is no more strang ely and singu larly , ,

I hav e lov e d all that may b e summ e d up

in th e word : fall Thus in th e y e ar my .
, ,
1 92 T H E S YM B O L S I T M O VEM E NT

light but
,
th e
barr el organ i n the twilight of
-
,

m emory has s e t m e d espairingly dr e a ming

, .

Whil e it murmur e d a gaily vulgar a ir suc h ,

as puts mirth into th e h e art of th e suburbs ,

an old fashion e d an e mpty air how cam e it

-
, ,

that its r efrain w ent to my v ery soul and ,

mad e m e w e ep lik e a romantic ballad ? I

drank it in and I did not throw a p e nny
,

out of th e window for fe ar of disturbing my

,

own impr e ssion and of p erc eiving that th e

,

instrum ent was not singing by its elf .

B e tw e e n th e s e charact eristic cl e ar and , ,

b e autiful po ems in v ers e and in pros e and

, ,

th e opa qu e darkn ess of th e lat e r writings ,

com e one or two po ems p erhaps th e fi n e st ,

of a ll in which alr e ady cl e arn ess is

,
“
a sec
onda
”
ry grac e but in which a subtl e raptur e
,

fi nds incomparabl e expression L A pres mi di .

’
-

d un Fa unc and H er odi ade hav e alr e ady b ee n

’ ’

introduc e d in di ff er e nt ways to E nglish

, ,

r e ad e rs : th e form e r by M r Goss e in a .
,

d etail e d analysis ; th e latt er by a tra n sla

tion into v ers e And D ebussy in his new

.
,

music has tak en L A prcs mi di d un F a

,
’
u ne -
’

almost for his n ew point of d epartur e ih ,

ter p re ting it at all e v e nts faultl e ssly

,
In ,
.
 T
S EPH A NE M ALLARM E 193

th es e two po e ms I fi nd M allarm e at th e
mome nt wh e n his own d e sir e ac hi e v e s its elf ;
“
wh e n h e attains Wagn er s id e al that th e ’
,

most compl et e work of th e po e t should b e

that which in its final achi ev e m e nt b e
, ,

com e s ap erfe ct music ”

e v e ry word is a

j ew el scatt ering and r e capturing sudd e n fi re

, ,

e v e ry imag e is a symbol and th e whol e po e m

,

is V isibl e music A ft e r this point b egan

.

“
that fatal last p e riod w hi ch com e s to
most artists who hav e thought too curiously ,

or dre am e d too r e mot e dr e ams or follow e d ,

atoo wand ering b e auty M allarm e had long .

b een too conscious that all publication is

almost a sp e culation on on e s mod e sty for
,
’
,

” “
one s sil enc e ; that to uncl e nch th e fists
’
,

br eaking on e s s e d e ntary dr e am for a ruffi in g

’
,
”
fac e to fac e with th e id e a was aft er all
,

unn e c essary to his own conc eption of him

s elf am er e way of convincing th e public
,

that o ne e xists ; and having ac hi e v e d as h e ,

th e right to abst a
“
thought ,
in from doing
”
anything e xc eptional b e d e vot e d hims elf
, ,

doubly to sil e nc e S eldom cond esc e nding to

,
.

writ e h e wrot e now only for hims elf and

, ,

in a mann er which c ertainly sav e d him from

1 94 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVE M ENT

intrusion S om e of M er e dith s po e ms and

.
’
,

occasional passag e s of his pros e can alon e ,

giv e in E nglish som e faint id ea of th e lat er

pros e and v ers e of M allarme T h e v ers e .

could not I think b e translat e d ; of th e

, ,

pros e in which an e xtr em e lucidity of thought

,

c om e s to us but glimm eringly through th e

e ntangl e m e nts of a construction part Latin , ,

part E nglish I shall e nd e avour to translat e

,

som e fragm e nts in sp eaking of th e th e o

,

r e tic writings contain e d in th e two volum es

,

of Vers cl P rose and Di va ga ti ons .

It is th e distinction of M allarm e to hav e

aspir e d a
l

ft e r an impossibl e lib eration of the

soul of lit erature from what is fre tting and
“
c onstraining in th e body of that d eath ,

whi c h is th e m e re lit eratur e of words Words .

,

h e has r e alis e d a r e of valu e only as a nota

,

tion of th e fre e br e ath of th e spirit ; words ,

th e r e for e must b e e mploye d with an extr em e

,

care in th e ir choi c e and adj ustm ent in s et

, ,

ting th em to r e fl e ct a n d chim e upon o n e

anoth er ; ye t l e ast of all for th e ir own sak e ,

1 96 T H E S YM B OL ST I M O VEM EN T

languag e without the formality of an aft er

,

all impossibl e d escription ; to b e rath er than ,

to e xpr ess : that is what M allarm e has con

s is te nt ly and from th e first sought in v ers e
, ,

and pros e An d he has sought this wand er

.

ing illusiv e b e ckoning butt e rfly the soul

, , ,

of dr eams ov e r mor e and mor e e ntangl e d

,

ground ; and it has le d him into th e d epths

of many for ests far from th e sunlight To , .

sa y that h e has found what h e sought is

impossibl e ; but (is it possibl e to avoid say
i n g ) how h e roic a se arch and what marv el
?
,

lous discov eri e s by the way !

I think I und erstand though I cannot ,

claim his own authority for my supposition ,

th e way in whi c h M allarm e wrot e v ers e and ,

th e r e ason why it b e cam e mor e and mor e

abstrus e more and more unint elligibl e Re
,
.
‘

m emb er his principl e : that to nam e is to

d e stroy to sugg e st is to cre at e N ot e fur
,
.
,

th e r that h e cond e mns th e inclusion in v ers e

,
“
of anything but for e xampl e the horror , ,

of th e for est or th e sil e nt th und er afloat

,
.

in the l e av e s ; not th e intrinsic d ens e wood ,

H e has re c e iv e d th e n a me n
”
of th e tre e s .
, ,

tal s e nsation : le t it b e the h orror of the

 T
S EPH A NE M A LLARM E 1 97

for est . This s ensation b e gins to form in

hi s brain at fi rst probably no more than a
,

rhythm absolut e ly without words Gradu

,
.

ally thought b e gins to conc e ntrat e its elf (but

with an e xtre me care l est it should bre ak ,

th e t e nsion on which all d e p e nds ) upon th e

s e nsation alre ady struggling to find its own
,

consciousn ess D elicat e ly st e a

. lthily with in , ,

fi nit ely timid prec a ution words pre s e nt th em ,

s elve s at first in sil enc e E v e ry word s ee ms

,
.

like a d es e cration s ee ms th e cl e are r it is

, , ,

to throw back the original s e nsation farth er

and farth er into th e darkn e ss B ut guid e d .
,

always by th e rhythm which is th e e x e cu ,

tiv e soul (as in Aristotl e s d efinition th e

,
’
,

soul is th e form of the body ) words com e ,

slowly one by on e shaping th e m essag e

, , .

I magin e th e po e m alre ady writt e n down at ,

l e ast compos e d I n its v ery imp erf e ction it

.
,

is cl e ar it shows the links by which it has

,

b een riv et e d toge th e r ; th e whol e proc e ss of

its c onstruction can b e studi e d N ow most .

writ ers would b e cont ent ; but with M allarm e

th e work h a s only b e gun I n th e final r esult .

th ere must b e no sign of th e making th ere ,

must be only the thing mad e H e works .

1 98 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

ov er it word by word changing a word h ere

, , ,

for its colour which is not pr e cis ely th e

,

colour r e quir e d a word th er e for the br ea k

, ,

it mak e s in th e music A n ew imag e occurs .

to him rar er subtl e r than th e one h e has

, , ,

us e d ; th e imag e is transf e rr e d B y th e tim e .

th e po e m has r e ach e d as it s eems to hi m , ,

a flawl e ss unity th e st eps of th e progr ess ,

hav e b een only too e ff e ctually effac e d ; and

whil e th e po e t who has s ee n the thing from
,

t h e b e ginning still s ee s th e r elation of point

,

to point th e r ead er who com es to it only

, ,

in its fi nal stag e finds hims elf in a not un ,

natural b ewild erm ent P ursu e this mann er .

of writing to its ultimat e d e v elopm ent ; start

with an enigma and th en withdraw the k ey ,

of th e enigma ; and you arriv e easily at th e , ,

froz en imp en etrability of thos e lat e st sonn ets ,

in which th e abs e nc e of all punctuation is

scarc ely a r e cognisabl e hindr anc e .

That I fancy to mys elf was his actual way

, ,

of writing ; h er e in what I pr ef er to giv e as a

,
“
corollary is th e th eory
,
S ymbolist D e ca .
,

d e nt or M ystic th e schools thus call e d by

, ,

th e ms elv es or thus hastily lab ell e d by our

,

information pr ess adopt for m ee ting plac e

-
, ,
-
,
200 T H E S YM B O L S I T M O VE M ENT

th ey tak e light from mutual r e fl e ction li k e ,

an actual trail of fir e ov e r pr e cious ston e s ,

r eplacing th e old lyri c a ffl a

tus or th e e n th u
sia
”
s ti c p ersonal dir e ction of th e phras e .

“
T h e v ers e which out of many vocabl e s
r emak es an e ntir e word n ew unknown to , ,

th e langu a g e and as if magical attains this

, ,
“
isolation of sp ee ch Wh e nc e it b eing music
.
,

which r e j oins v ers e to form sinc e Wagn er

, , ,

P o e try ,
”
th e final conclusion :
“
That w e a re

now pr e cis ely at th e mom e nt of s eeking b e ,

for e that br e aking u p of th e larg e rhythms of

lit e ratur e and th eir scatt ering in articulat e,
,

almost instrum e ntal n ervous wav es an art

, ,

which shall c ompl e t e th e transposition into ,

th e B ook of th e symphony or simply r e c a

,
ptur e
our own : for it is not in el e m entary sonoriti e s
,

of brass strings wood un qu e stionably but

, , , ,

in th e int ell e ctual word at its utmost that , ,

fully and e vid e ntly we should find drawing

, ,

to its elf all th e corr espond enc e s of th e uni

v ers e th e supre m e M usic
,
”
.

H ere lit erally translat e d in exactly th e

, ,

arrang e m ent of th e original a r e som e pas ,

sag es out of th e th e or e tic writings which I ,

hav e brought tog e th er to indicat e what s e em

,
 T
S EPH A NE M ALLA RM E 20 1

to me th e main lin e s of M a lla

r m é s doctrin e
’
.

It is th e doctrin e which as I hav e alr e ady ,

said had b ee n divin e d by Gérard d e N erval ;

,

but what in G ér a , rd was pure vision b e

, ,

com e s in M a llarm e a logical s e qu e nc e of

m e ditation M allarm e was not a mystic to
.
,

whom anything cam e unconsciously ; h e w a s

a think e r in whom an e xtraordinary subtl e ty

,

of mind was ex ercis e d on always explicit ,

though by no m e ans th e common probl e ms ,

.

“
A s eek e r aft e r som e thing in th e world that ,

is th e re in no satisfying m e asur e or not at ,

all h e pursu e d his s e arch with unw e arying

,

p e rsist enc e with a sharp m ental division of

dre am and id e a c ertainly v ery lucid to him
,

s elf how e v e r h e may hav e fail e d to r e nd e r

,

his e xpr e ssion cl e ar to oth ers A n d I for o n e .

, ,

c annot doubt that h e was for th e most part , ,

e ntir e ly right in his stat e m e nt and analysis of

th e n e w conditions und e r which w e a r e now

privil e g e d or cond e mn e d to writ e His ob .

s c u rity was partly his failur e to carry out th e

spirit of his own dir e ctions ; but apart from ,

obscurity which we may all b e fortunat e

,

e nough to e sc a p e is it possibl e for a writ er

, ,

at th e pre s ent day to b e quit e simpl e with th e

, ,
2 02 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

old obj e ctiv e simplicity in eith er thought or

, ,

e xpr e ssion ? To b e n a if to b e archaic is not , ,

to b e eith e r natural or simpl e ; I a fli r m that

‘

“ ”
it is not natural to b e what is c all e d natural
any long er W e hav e no long er the m e nt a
. l
attitud e of thos e to whom a story was but a
story and all stori e s good ; we hav e r e alis e d
,

sinc e it was prov e d to us by P o e not m er ely ,

that th e a g e of e pics is past but that no long ,

po e m was e v er writt en ; the fi n est long po e m

in th e world b eing but a s eri e s of short po ems
link e d tog e th er by pros e A n d naturally w e .
, ,

can no long er writ e what we can no long er

acc ept S ymbolism implicit in all lit eratur e
.
,

from th e b e ginning as it is implicit in th e v ery

,

words we u s e com e s to us now at last quit e

, ,

conscious of its elf off ering us th e only escap e

,

from our many imprisonm e nts W e find a .

n ew an old er s e ns e in th e so worn out forms

-
, ,

of things ; th e world which we can no long er ,

b eli e v e in as th e satisfying mat erial obj e ct it

was to our grandpar ents b e com e s tra n sfi gur e d
,

with a n ew light ; words which long usag e ,

had dark e n e d almost out of r e cognition tak e ,

fr esh lustr e A n d it is on th e lin e s of that

.

s piritualising of t h e word that p e rf e cting of ,

 PA U L VERL A I NE

“
B IE N afi c c tu eu sem en t yours P Ve r ,
.

S o in its g a
”
lain e .
, y and fri e ndly ming ling of
Fr e nch and E ng lish e nd e d th e last l e tt e r I
,

had from V erlain e A few days aft e rwards

.

c am e th e t e l e gram from P aris t e lling m e of his

d e ath in the Ru e D e scart e s on that 8 th Jan

, ,

uary 1 89 6
,
.

“
C ond e mn e d to d e ath as he was in Vic , ,
“
tor Hugo s phras e of men in g en eral with a
’
,
”
sort of ind e finit e r epri ev e and grav ely ill as ,

I had for som e tim e known him to b e it was still ,

with a shock not only of sorrow but of sur

, ,

pris e that I h e ard t he n e ws of his d e ath H e

,
.

had su ffe re d and surviv e d so much and I ,

found it so hard to associat e th e id e a of d e ath

with on e who had always b ee n so passionat ely
in lov e with lif e mor e passionat ely in lov e
,

with lif e than any man I e v er kn e w Rest .

was one of th e d e licat e privil eg es of life which

2 04
 PA U L VE R L A IN E 20 5

he n e ve r lov e d : h e did but e ndure it with

grumbling gai e ty wh e n a hospital b e d claime d -

him And wh e n e v e r h e spok e to me of th e

.

long rest which has now s e a l e d his e yelids it ,

was with a shudd e ring r e volt from th e thought

of e v er going away into th e cold out of th e ,

sunshin e which had b ee n so warm to him .

With all his pains misfortun e s a,

n d th e calam ,

iti e s which follow e d him st ep by st ep all his

life I thi nk f e w men e v e r got so much out of
,

th eir liv e s or live d so fully so int e ns ely with

, , ,

such a g e ni us for living Th a t ind e e d is why

.
, ,

h e was a gr e at po e t V erlain e was a man who

.

gave its full v a lu e to e v e ry mom e nt who got ,

out of e v e ry mom e nt all that that mom e nt

had to giv e him I t was not a. lways not oft e n , ,

p erhaps pl e asur e B ut it was e n ergy th e

,
.
,

vital forc e of a nature which was always re c eiv

ing and giving out n ev e r at r e st n ev er passiv e
, , ,

or ind iff er ent or h e sitating I t is impossibl e

,
.

for me to conv e y to thos e who did not know

hi m any notion of how sinc e r e he was T he .

“ ”
word sinc e rity s ee ms hardly to hav e e m
phasis e nough to say in re gard to this one man
, ,

what it says ad e quat ely e nough of oth e rs

, ,
.

H e sinn e d and it was with all his humanity ;

,
206 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

he re p e nt e d and it was with all his soul And

, .

to e v e ry occurr e nc e of th e day to e v ery mood ,

of th e mi nd to e v ery impuls e of th e creativ e

,

instinct h e brought the same unparall el e d

,

sharpn e ss of s e nsation Wh en in 1 8 94 he .
, ,

wa s my gu e st in L ondon I was amaz e d by th e ,

e xactitud e of his m e mory of the m e r e turnings

of th e str e e ts the shap es and colours of th e

,

buildings which he had not s ee n for tw e nty

,

y e ars H e saw h e f e lt h e r e m e mb er e d e v ery

.
, , ,

thing with a ,
n unconscious m e ntal s el e ction of

th e fi ne shad e s th e e ss e ntial part of things or

, ,

pre cis ely thos e asp e cts whi ch most oth er p eople
would pass by .

Few p o e ts of our tim e hav e b ee n mor e oft e n

drawn f ew h a ,
v e b ee n easi er to draw f ew hav e ,

b ett er r epaid drawing than P aul Verlain e , .

A fac e without a b e autiful lin e a fac e all char ,

act er full of somnol e nc e and sudd en fi re in

, ,

which e v ery irr e gularity was a kind of aid to

th e hand could not but t e mpt the artist d e sir
,

ing at onc e to re nd er a significant lik e n e ss and

to hav e his own part in the cre ation of a pic
tur e V erlain e lik e all men of g e nius had
.
, ,

som e thing of th e air of th e somnambulist :

that profound slumb er of the fac e as it was in ,
208 I T
T H E S YM B OL S M O VEM ENT

which s ee m e d to t a ke such clos e h ee d of thi ngs ,

pr e cis ely b e caus e it was su ffi ci e ntly apart from

th e m to b e always a sp e ctator th e re was a ,

r e alis a bl e proc e ss of vision continually goin g

on in whi c h all th e loos e e nds of the visibl e
,

world w e re b e ing caught up into a n e w m ental

fabric .

A n d along with this fi e rc e subj e ctivity

‘
,

into which th e e goism of th e artist e nt er e d

so unconsciously and in which it count e d for
,

so much th er e was mor e than th e usual

,

a mount of chil dishn ess always in som e m e as

,

u re pr e s ent in m en of g enius Th ere was

.

a r e al almost blith e childishn ess in th e

, ,
“ ”
way in which h e wo uld put on his S atanic
e xpr e ssion of which it was part of th e j ok e
,

that e v e ry o ne should not b e quit e in th e

s e cr e t
. I t was a whim of this kind which
mad e hi m put at th e b e ginning of Roma n ces

sa ns P a r oles that v e ry crimi nal imag e of a

h e ad which had so littl e r es emblanc e with

e v e n th e shap e ind ee d curious e nough of
, ,
“
hi s actual h e ad . B orn und e r th e sign of
” “
S at ur n ,
as h e no doubt was with that old
,
”
prison er s h e ad of which h e t ells us it was
’
,

by his amazing faculty for a simpl e kind of

 PA U L VERLA IN E 209

happin ess that h e always impress e d me I .

hav e n e v er s ee n so ch eerful an invalid as h e

us e d to b e at that hospital th e H opital S aint ,

L o uis wh er e at on e tim e I us e d to go and

,

s e e him e v e ry w e ek His whol e fac e s ee m e d

.

to chuckle as h e would t ell me in his em ,

phatic c onfi d ing way ev e rythi ng that e nt er e d

, ,

into hi s h e ad ; th e droll stori e s cut short by

a groan a lam entation a sudd en fury of
, ,

r emi nisc enc e at which his fac e would cloud

,

or convuls e th e wild e y ebrows slanting up

,

and down ; and th e n sudd enly th e good , ,

laugh would b e back cl e aring th e air N o , .

o ne was e v e r so r e sponsiv e to his o wn moods

as Ve rlain e and with him e v ery mood had

,

th e v eh em e nc e of a passion I s not his .

whol e art a d elicat e waiting upon moods ,

with that p erf e ct confid e nc e in th e m as th e y

a re which it is a larg e part of ordinary e d u
,

cation to discourag e in us and a larg e p a rt ,

of e xp eri e nc e to r epress ? B u t to V e rlain e ,

happily exp e ri e nc e
,
taught nothing ; or
rath er it taught him o nly to cling th e more
,

clos ely to tho se moods in whos e suc c ession

li e s the more intimat e part of our spiritual
life
.
2 10 T H E S Y M B OL SI T M OVEM ENT

It is no doubt w ell for soci e ty that man

should l e arn by exp eri enc e ; for th e artist
th e b e n e fit is doubtful T h e artist it cannot
.
,

b e too cl e arly und e rstood has no mor e part

,

in soci e ty than a monk in dom e stic lif e : h e

cannot b e j udg e d by its rul es h e can b e ,

n eith er prais e d not blam e d for his acc eptanc e

or r e j e ction of its conv entions S ocial rul e s
.

a r e mad e by normal p e opl e for normal p e o

p le,
and t h e man of g e nius is fundam e ntally
abnormal I t is th e po e t against soci e ty
.
,

so c i e ty against th e po e t a dir e ct antagonism ;

,

th e shock of which ,
how ev er it is oft e n
,

possibl e to avoid by a compro mis e S o much .

lic e nc e is allow e d on th e on e sid e so much ,

lib erty for e gon e on th e oth er T h e c on s e

.

q u e n ce s ar e not always of t h e b e st art b e ing ,

g e n erally th e los er B ut th er e a
. re c ertain
natur e s to which compromis e is impossibl e ;
and th e natur e of V e rlain e was o n e of th es e
natur e s .

“
T h e soul of an immortal child says ,

on e who has und erstood him b ett er than

oth ers C harl e s M ori c e
, that is th e soul
,

of V e rlain e with all th e privil eg es and all

,

th e p erils of so b eing ; with th e sudd en

2 12 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

may be said to hav e l e arnt nothing fro m

ex p e ri e nc e in th e s e ns e that h e l e arnt e v e ry
,

thing di re ct from life and without com ,

paring day wi th day That th e ex quisit e .

artist of th e F etes Ga la ntes should b e com e

th e gr e at po e t of S a ges s e it was n e e dful that

,

things sho uld hav e happ e n e d as disastrously

as th ey did : the marriag e with the girl
wife that bri e f idyl th e passion for drink
, , ,

thos e oth er forbidd e n passions vagabondag e , ,

an att empt e d crim e the eight ee n months of

,

prison conv ersion ; follow e d as it had to b e

, , ,

by r elaps e bodily sickn e ss pov erty b e ggary

, , ,

almost a low e r and low e r d e sc e nt into m e an

,

distre ss e s It was n ee dful that all this should

.

happ en in ord er that the spiritual V ision

,

should e clips e the mat erial vision ; but it

was n e e dful that all this should happ e n in
vain so far as th e conduct of lif e was con
,

c e rn e d R efl e ction in Verlain e is pure was te ;

.
, ,

it is th e sp ee ch of the soul and the sp eech of

th e e y e s that we must list e n to in his v ers e
, ,

n e v er th e sp ee ch of th e re ason And I call .

him fortunat e b e caus e going through lif e with

,

agr eat unconsciousn ess of what most men

s p e nd th e ir liv e s in consid e ring h e was abl e ,
 PAU L VERLAIN E 2 13

to abandon hims elf e ntir ely to hims elf to his ,

unimp e d e d vision to his unch e ck e d e motion ,

,

to th e passionat e sinc erity which in him wa s

g e nius.

po e try b efor e Ve rlain e was a

!

French , n ,

admirabl e v ehicl e for a r e ally fi ne a r e ally ,

po etical kind of rh etoric With V ictor Hugo

, ,

for the fi rst time sinc e R onsard (thet o or

thre e mast erpi e c e s of R onsard and his com
panions ) it had l e arnt to sing ; with B aud elair e
it had inv ente d a ne w vocabulary for th e
e xpre ssion of subtl e oft en p erve rs e e ss e n
, ,

t ia lly mod e rn e motion and s e nsation B ut .

with V ictor Hugo with B aud elair e we a

, re ,
“
still und er the dominion of rh e toric Tak e .

e lo qu e nc e and wring its n e c k !

”
,
said Ve rlain e
in his A r t P oéti que; and h e show e d by writ ,

ing it that F r ench v ers e could b e writt en

,

without rh e toric It was partly from his

.

study of E nglish mod els that he l e arnt th e

s e cre t of lib erty in v e rs e but it was much
,

mor e a s ecr e t found by th e way in th e m e re,

e nd e avour to b e absolut ely sinc e r e to e xpr e ss

,

e x actly what h e saw to giv e voic e to his own

,
2 14 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM EN T

t e mp eram e nt in which int ensity of feeling

,

s e e m e d to find its own expre ssion a s if by ,

accid ent L a mes enf a c es t d etre ab

’ ’ ’ ‘

rt . n ts, ,

s olu men t s ci meme he t ells us in one of hi s

-
,

lat er po e ms ; and with such a p ersonality as

,

V erlain e s to ex pr e ss what more has art to

’
,

do if it would truly and in any int ere stin g

, ,

mann er hold the mirror up to natur e ?

,

For consid er the natural qualiti es which

,

this man had for the tas k of cr e at ing a new

“
po etry S inc e rity and the impr e ssion of
.
,
”
th e mom e nt follow e d to th e l e tt e r : that
is how b e d efi n e d his th eory of styl e in an ,

articl e writt e n about hims elf .

Ca
r n ou s v oulons l anua n c e e n co r,

P a
s lac ouleu r ,
rien que lanuance !
as he cri es in his famous A r t P oeti que Take
’

.
, ,

th en his susc eptibility of th e s e ns es an emo

, ,

tio n a
l susc eptibility not l ess d elicat e ; a lif e
suffi ci e ntly troubl e d to draw out e v ery e motion
of which h e was capabl e and with it that , , ,

absorption in the mom ent that in ability to ,

loo k b efore or aft er ; the n eed to lov e and

th e n e e d to c onf ess e ach a passion ; an art ,

of paintin g the fi ne shad e s of landscap e of ,

e voking atmosph e r e which can be compare d ,

2 16 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

oth er miracl e s about him H e knows that .

words a re living thi ngs which we hav e not ,

cr e at ed and which go th eir way without d e

,

manding of us th e right to liv e H e knows .

that words a r e suspicious not without th e ir ,

malic e and that th e y r e sist m er e forc e with

,

th e impalpabl e r e sistanc e of fi re or wat e r .

Th e y a re to b e caught only with guil e or with

trust V e rlain e has both and words b e com e

.
,

A ri el to him Th ey bring him not only that

.

submission of th e slav e whic h th ey bring to

oth ers but all th e soul and in a happy bond
, ,

a g e . Th e y transform th e ms elv e s for him into

music colour and shadow ; adis embodi e d
, ,

music di aphanous colours luminous shadow

, , .

Th ey s erv e him with so absolut e a s elf n egation -

that h e can writ e r oma n ces s a ns p a r oles songs ,

almost without words in which scarc ely a ,

s e ns e of th e interfe r enc e of human sp ee ch

r e mains T h e id e al of lyric po e try c e rtainly
.
, ,

is to b e this passiv e flawl ess m e dium for th e

,

d ee p er consciousn e ss of things th e myst e rious ,

voi c e of that myst e ry which li e s about us out ,

of which w e hav e com e and into which w e ,

shall r e turn It is not without r e ason that we

.

cannot analys e a p erfe ct lyric .

 PA U L VE RLA IN E 2 17

With Verlain e the s ens e of h e aring and th e

s e ns e of sight a re almost int e rchang e abl e :
h e paints with sound and his lin e and atmos ,

p h er e b e com e music I t was with th e most .

pr e c is e accuracy that Whistl er appli e d th e

t erms of music to his painting for painting , ,

wh en it aims at b eing th e vision of r e a lity ,

p a s la c ou leu r r i en q,
u e la n u a
n ce pass e s ,

almost into th e condition of music V erlain e s .

’

l andscap e painting is always an e vocation in ,

which outlin e is lost in atmosph er e .

C a u x y u x d rr ier e d s v iles
d es b e
’
est e e e o

C e t le gra nd j ou r t r mb la nt d e mid i
,
’
s e

t t ié d i
,

C e s t p a u n ie l d a ut m n e a
’ ’
r c o

L e bleu f ouilli s d es claire s é t oiles !

, ,

“
He was a man c ertainly ,
for whom th e ,
”
visibl e world exist e d but for whom it e xist e d ,

alw ays a s a vision H e absorb e d it through

.

all his s e ns e s as th e tru e mysti c absorbs th e

,

divin e b e auty A n d so h e cr e a
. t e d in v e rs e a
n ew voic e for natur e full of th e humbl e e cstasy ,

with which h e saw list e n e d acc ept e d , , .

C ette Ame qui se la me nt e

En t t p lain e d rm a
ce nt e o e

C e st la n otr n e t e pa s?
’ ’
e, s -c

La mienn d is e t la t ie n n e e, , ,

D on t s ha le l h u mb l a n t i n ne
’ ’
ex e e

P ac c tied e soir t u t b a
r s? ,
o
2 18 I T
T H E SYM B O L S M OVEM E NT

And with th e sam e att e ntiv e simpli c ity

with whi c h h e found words for th e s e nsations
of h e aring a n d th e s e nsations of sight he ,

found words for th e s e nsations of th e so ul ,

for th e fi n e shad e s of fe eling F rom th e .

mom e nt wh e n his inn e r life may b e said to

hav e b e gu n h e was oc c upi e d with th e task of
,

an unc e asing confe ssion in which o n e s eems

,

to ov erh e ar him talking to hims elf in that ,

vagu e pr e occupi e d way which h e oft e n had

, .

H er e again a r e words which startl e o n e by

th e ir d elic a t e r es emblanc e to thoughts by ,

th eir wing e d flight from so far by th eir alight ,

ing so clos e T h e v ers e murmurs with such

.
,

an ing e nuous confid e n c e such intimat e s e cr e ts

, .

“ ”
That s e tting fr e e of v ers e which is on e of
,

th e achi e v e m e nts of V e rlain e was its elf mainly

,

an att e mpt to b e mor e and mor e sinc er e a ,

way of turning po e tic artific e to n e w account ,

by g e tting back to natur e its elf hidd e n away ,

und e r th e elo qu e nt rh e toric of Hugo B a u ,

d elair e and th e P arnassians In th e d evo

,
.

tion of rh e tori c to e ith e r b e auty or truth th er e ,

is a c ertain consciousn e ss of an audi e nc e of ,

an e xt e rnal j udgm e nt : rh e toric would con

vinc e b e admir e d It is th e v e ry ess enc e of
,
.
220 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

entir ely at the m ercy of the e motion or im

pr e ssion which for th e mom e nt had s eiz e d
, ,

upon him it was in evitabl e that h e should b e

,

comp le t ely at th e m ercy of th e most imp eri ous

of instincts of passions and of into x ications
, , .

A n d h e had th e simpl e and ard e nt natur e in ,

thi s again consist ently childlik e to which lov e , ,

som e kind of a ff e ction giv e n or r e turn e d is

, ,

not th e lux ury th e exc eption which it is to

, ,

many natur es but a daily n e c essity To such

, .

a t emp eram ent th er e may or may not b e th e

o n e gr e at passion ; th er e will c ertainly b e many

passions A n d in V erlain e I fi nd that singl e

.
,

childlik e n e c essity of loving and b eing lov e d ,

all through his lif e and on e v ery pag e of his

works ; I fi nd it unchange d in ess enc e but
, ,

constantly changing form in his chast e and ,

unchast e d evotions to wom en in his passionat e ,

fri endships with men in his supr em e mystical

,

adoration of G o d .

To turn from L aB onnc Cha ns on writt e n ,

for a w e dding pre s e nt to a young wife to ,

Cha nson s p our E lle writt e n mor e than tw e nty

,

ye ars lat e r in dubious honour of a mi ddl e

,

ag e d mistr ess is to travel a long road the hard

, , ,

long road which V erlain e had trav e lle d during

 PA U L VE RLAIN E 22 1

thos e y ears His life was ruinous a disast e r

.
, ,

more sordid p erhaps than th e life of any oth e r

po e t ; and he could wr it e of it from a hospital ,

b e d with this quit e sufli cient s e ns e of its

,
“ ”
d e privations B ut all the sam e it is hard
.
, ,

h e lam e nts in M cs H opi ta

“
,
ux aft er a life of ,

work set o ff I admit with accid ents in which

, , ,

I have had a large share catastroph e s p erhaps ,

—
vagu ely pre m editat e d it is hard I say at , ,

forty s ev e n ye ars of a
-
g e in full poss e ssion of,

all the reputation (of th e success to u se th e ,

frightful curr ent phras e ) to whi ch my high e st

—
ambitions could aspire hard hard hard ih , ,

d e e d wors e than hard to fi nd mys elf g ood

,
— ,

—
G o d l to find mys e lf on the s treets and to hav e ,

nowh ere to lay my h e ad and support an ag e ing

body save the pillows and the menu s of a public
charity e v en now unc ertain and whi ch might
—
, ,

at any mom e nt b e withdrawn God forbid

without appar ently the fault of any one oh !
, , ,

not e ve n and abov e all not min e

,
”
Y et , .
,
’
aft er all th e s e sordid mis eri es this poor man s
, ,

vagabondag e all the misfortun e s of one cer

,

ta
“ ”
inly irr e claimabl e on which so much ,

stre ss has b een laid alik e by fri e nds and by

,

fo e s a
,
re e xt ernaliti e s ; th e y a re not the man ;
222 T HE S YM B O L S I T M OVEM EN T

the man th e e t ernal lov er passionat e and

“

, ,

humbl e r emains unchang e d whil e only hi s

, , ‘

s hadow wand e rs from mornin g to night of the

,

long day .

T h e po e ms to R imbaud to Luci e n Létinois , ,

to oth ers th e whol e volum e of D cdi ca

’

, ces ,

c ov er p erhaps as wid e a rang e of s e ntim e n t

as LaB onn e Cha nson and Cha nsons p our E lle .

T h e po e try of fri e ndship has n ev e r b ee n sung

with such plaintive sin c erity such simpl e ,

human fe eling as in som e of th e s e po ems

, ,

which can only b e compare d in mod ern po e try , ,

with a po em for which Verlain e had a gre at

ad miration T e nnyson s I n M emori a
,
’
m Only .

with V erlain e the thing its elf the aff ection or

, ,
w

th e r e gr e t is e v e rything ; th er e is no ro om f or
,

m e dit a tion ov er d estiny or s earch for a prob ,

le ma ti c al consolation Oth er po e ms sp eak a

.

more di ffi cult languag e in which doubtl ess , , ,

l ennui di
’
vi vre a
vec les gens cl da
ns les cha
s es

counts for much a , aand l f ureur d i mer for

’

mor e .

In spit e of the g e n eral Impr ession to the

contrary an impr ession which by no m eans
,

displ eas e d him hims e lf I must cont e nd that ,

th e s ensuality of V e rlain e brutal as it could ,

224 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VEM E NT

c onc e ntrat e his whol e e n ergy on the only

kind of s ensation th e n within his capacity th e ,

s e nsations of th e soul and of th e consci e nc e .

With that promptitud e of ab andonm ent which

was his g enius h e grasp e d f ev erishly at th e
,

succour of G o d and th e C hurch h e abas e d ,

hims elf b efor e th e immaculat e purity of th é

‘

V irgin . H e had not lik e oth ers who hav e

,

ris en from th e sam e d epths to th e sam e h e ight

of humiliation to d espoil his natur e of its prid e
, ,

to con qu er his int ell e ct b efor e h e could b e com e

,

l enf a n t vetu d c la All that

’
i n e c t d i nn occncc
’
.

was simpl e humbl e chil dlik e in him acc ept e d

, ,

that humiliation with th e loving child s j oy in ’

p enit e nc e ; all that was ard e nt impulsiv e ih , ,

domit a bl e in him burst at onc e into a flam e of

adoration .

H e r e alis e d th e gr eat s e cr et of th e C hristian

mystics : that it is p ossibl e to lov e G od with
an e xtravaganc e of th e whol e b eing to which ,

th e lov e of th e cr e atur e cannot attain A ll .

lov e is an att e mpt to br eak through th e

lon elin e ss of individuality to fus e on es elf
,

with som e thing not on e s elf to giv e and to ,

r e c eiv e in all th e warmth of natural d esir e

, ,

that inmost e l em ent which r emains so cold ,

 PAU L VE RLA IN E 2 25

and so invincibl e in th e midst of th e soul

, .

I t is a d esire of th e infinite in humanity and , ,

as humanity has its limits it can but r e turn ,

sadly upon its elf wh e n that limit is r e ach e d .

Thus human lov e is not only an e cstasy but

a d espair and th e mor e profound a d e spair
,

th e mor e ard e ntly it is r e turn e d .

B u t th e lov e of G o d consid er e d only from

,

its human asp e ct contains at l east th e illusion

,

of infinity To lov e Go d is to lov e th e a

. b
solut e so far as th e mind of man can con
,

c e iv e th e absol ut e and thus in a s e ns e to

, , ,

lov e G o d is to poss e ss th e absolut e for lov e ,

has alre ady poss e ss e d that which it a pp r e

h e nds What th e e arthly lov e r r ealis es to

.

hims elf as th e imag e of his b elov e d is aft e r ,

all his own vision of lov e not h er Go d must

, ,
.

r emain deu s a bs con di tu s e v e n to lov e ; but th e

,

lov er in c apabl e of poss e ssing infinity will hav e

, ,

poss e ss e d all of infinity of whi c h h e is capabl e .

A n d his e cstasy will b e flawl e ss T h e human .

mind m e ditating on infinity can but discov e r

, ,

p erfe c tion b e yond p erfe ction ; for it is im

possibl e to conc eiv e of limitation in any
asp e ct of that which has onc e b een conc eiv e d
as infinit e I n plac e of that d e c eption whi c h
.
226 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

com s from
e shock of a boundary lin e
th e -

b e yond which humanity cannot conc eiv e of

humanity th er e is only a divin e rag e against
,

th e limits of human p erc e ption which by ,

th eir own failur e s e e m at last to limit for us

th e infinit e its elf F or onc e lov e finds its elf
.
,

bound e d only by its own capa c ity ; so far

do es th e lov e of Go d exc ee d th e lov e of th e
cr e atur e and so far would it exc ee d that lov e
,

if G od did not ex ist .

B u t if H e do e s e xist ! if outsid e humanity , ,

a cons c i e nt e t ernal p erf e ction who has mad e

, ,

th e world in his imag e lov e s th e humanity ,

H e has mad e and d emands lov e in r e turn !

,

I f th e spirit of his lov e is as a br e ath ov er

th e world sugg e sting str e ngth e ning th e lov e
, , ,

which it d esir e s s eeking man that man may

,

s e ek God its elf th e impuls e which it humbl es

,

its elf to acc ept at man s hands ; if ind ee d ’

,

M on D ieu m adit : mon fi ls il

’
, fat m aim r ;
u
’
e

how much mor e is this lov e of Go d in its ,

inconc e ivabl e acc eptanc e and e xchang e th e ,

most divin e th e only un ending intoxication

, ,

in th e world ! W ell it is this r e alis e d s ens e

,

of communion point by point r e alis e d and

, ,
228 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VE M ENT

is r e ally to him moth er and fri end ; h e

, ,

d elights in th e simpl e p easant humanity , ,

still visibl e in h er who is also th e M ys

tical R os e th e Tow er of I vory th e G ate of
, ,

H e av e n and who now e xt ends h er hands

, ,

in th e g e stur e of pardon from a thron e only ,

j ust low er than th e thron e of God .

E xp eri e nc e ,I hav e said taught V erlain e ,

nothing ; r eligion h a d no mor e stabl e influ e nc e

upon his conduct th en e xp eri enc e I n that .

a
apology for hims elf which h e wrot e und er
P uvr e L elia
”
th e anagram of n h e has ,

stat e d th e cas e with his usual sinc erity “

I .

“
b eli e v e h e says
,
and I sin in thought as
,

in action ; I b eli ev e and I r ep ent in thought

, ,

if no more O r again I b eli ev e and I am

.
, ,

a good C hristian at this mom e nt ; I b eli e v e ,

and I am a bad C hristian the instant aft er .

T h e r e m e mbranc e th e hop e th e invocation of

, ,

a sin d e lights me with or without r e mors e

, ,

som e tim e s und er th e v ery form of sin and ,

h e dg e d with all its natural cons equ e nc es ;

—
mor e oft e n s o strong so natural and a ,
ni ma l ,
 PA U L VERLA IN E 229

a r e fl e sh and blood
— j ust in th e sam e mann e r
as th e r e m embranc e s hop es invo c ations of
, ,

any carnal fr e ethink er This d elight I you .

, , ,

som e o ne els e writ ers it pl e as es us to put to

, ,

pa p er and publish mor e or l ess w ell expr e ss e d :

w e consign it in short into lit e rary form
, , ,

forg e tting all r eligious id e as or not l e tting ,

o n e of th e m e s c ap e us Ca n any o n e in good
.

faith cond e mn us as po e t ? A hundr e d tim e s

—
no . A n d ind ee d I would e cho ahundre d
, , ,

tim e s no ! It is j ust this appar e nt complica -

tion of what is r e ally a gr e at simplicity which

giv e s its singular valu e to th e po e try of
V e rlain e p ermitting it to sum up in its elf
,

th e whol e paradox of humanity and e sp ec i ,

a lly th e w eak passionat e unc ertain troubl e d

, , ,

c e ntury to which w e b elong in whi c h so ,

many dou bts n e gations and distr e ss e s s eem

, , ,

now mor e than e v er to b e struggling towards

,

at l e ast an id eal of spiritual consolation .

V erlain e is th e po e t of th e s e w e akn ess e s

and of that id e al .

[S a
eel asoccount gi ven i n
“
B i bli ography a
nd N te page o s,
 I . J O I S KA R L H U Y S M A N S
R -

THE nov els of Huysmans how e v e r w e may ,

r eg a rd th em a s nov e ls a re at all e v e nts th e

, , ,

sin c er e and compl e te e xpr ession of a v ery

r e markabl e p e rsonality F rom M a r the to L
. a
Ba s e v e ry story e v e ry volum e
,
dis engag es ,

th e sam e atmosph er e — th e atmosph er e of a

London N ov emb er wh e n m er e e x ist e nc e is a
,

s u fli c ie n t burd e n and th e littl e mis e ri e s of lif e

,

loom up through th e fog into a vagu e a nd

formi dabl e grot e s qu en ess H er e for onc e is .

, ,

a p essimist whos e philosophy is m er e s ensa

—
tion and s ensation af te r all is th e on e c er
, ,

tainty in a world whi ch may b e w e ll or ill

arrang e d for ult imat e purpos e s but which is
, ,

c ertainly for e ach of us what e ach of us f ee ls

, ,

it to b e To Huysmans th e w orld a
. pp ear s
to b e a profoundly uncomfortabl e u nplea s ,

a n t ridic ulous pla c e with ac ertain solac e in

, ,

various forms of art and c e rt a ,

i n possibili ti e s
of at l e ast t e mporary e scap e P art of hi s .

work pr e s ents to us a pictur e of or d inary lif e

23 2 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVE M E NT

s p e c ti on It is th e transposition of th e id e al
. .

R e lativ e valu e s a r e lost for it is th e s e ns e of th e

,

dis a gr e e abl e only that is h e ight en e d ; and

th e world in this strang e disord er of vision
, ,

assum e s an asp e ct which can only b e com

par e d with that of a drop of impur e wat er
“
und er th e microscop e N atur e s een through
.

”
a t e mp eram e nt is Zola s d efinition of all ’

art N othing c ertainly c ould b e mor e exact

.
, ,

and expr e ssiv e as a d efinition of th e art of

Huysmans .

To r e a lis e how faithfully and how com

p le t ely Huysmans has r e v e al e d hims e lf in all
h e has writt e n it is n e c essary to know th e
,
“
man H e gav e m e th e impr e ssion of a
.

ea
”
t ,
som e int ervi ew er onc e wrot e of him ;
“
court e ous p erfe c tly polit e almost amiabl e
, , ,

but all n erv e s r e a dy to shoot out his claws

,

at th e l e ast word A n d ind ee d th er e is

.
,

som e thing of his favourit e animal about

him T h e fac e is gr e y w e arily al ert with
.
, ,

a look of b en e vol ent malic e A t first sight .

it is commonplac e th e f e atur e s a ,
r e ordinary ,

o n e s e e ms to hav e s ee n it at th e B ours e or

th e S tock E xchang e B u t gradually th a

. t
strang e unvarying expr ession that look of
, ,
 J ORI S-K ARL H U YS M A NS 233
‘

b en evol e nt malic e grows upon you as th e

,

influ e nc e of th e man mak e s its elf felt I .

—
hav e s een Huysmans in his oflfic e h e is an
e mployé in th e M inistry of F or eign A ffairs ,

and a mod el e mployé ; I hav e s een him in a

café in various hous es ; but I always s e e
,

him in m emory as I us e d to se e him at th e

hous e of the bizarr e M adam e X H e l e ans
.

back on th e sofa rolling a cigar e tt e b e tw ee n

,

his thin e xpr essiv e fing e rs looking at no

, ,

on e and at nothing whil e M adam e X

,
mov e s
about with solid vivacity in th e midst of
h er e xtraordinary m e nag eri e of bri c bra c -
a
-
.

T h e spoils of all th e world a r e th er e in that ,

incr edibly tiny s a lon ; th ey lie und e rfoot ,

th e y climb up walls th e y cling to scr ee ns

, ,

brack e ts and tabl e s ; one of your elbows

,

m enac es a Japan e s e toy th e oth er a D r e sd e n

,

china sh eph erd e ss ; all th e colours of th e

rainbow clash in a barbaric discord of not e s .

A n d in a corn er of this fantastic room ,

Huysmans li e s back indiff er e ntly on th e

sofa with th e air of one p erf e ctly r e sign e d
,

to th e bor e dom of life S om e thing is said

.

by my l earn e d fri e nd who is to writ e for th e

n e w p eriodical ,or p erhaps it is th e young
234 T HE SYM B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

e ditor of th e n ew p erio dical who sp eak s or ,

(if that w e r e not impossibl e ) th e taciturn

E nglishman who accompani e s m e ; and H uys

mans without looking u p and without tak
, ,

ing th e troubl e to sp e ak v ery distinctly ,

picks up th e phras e transforms it mor e , ,

lik ely transpi erc e s it in a p erf e ctly turn e d

,

s ent enc e a phras e of impromptu elabora

,

tion P e rhaps it is only a stupid boo k that

.

som e one has m e ntion e d or a stupid woman ; ,

as h e sp eaks th e book looms up b e for e on e

, ,

b e com e s monstrous in its duln ess a mast er ,

pi e c e and mira c l e of imb e cility ; th e unim

portant littl e woman grows into a slow horror
b efor e your e y e s I t is always th e unpl e asant
.

asp e ct of things that h e s eiz es but th e int en ,

s

s ity of his r evolt from that unpl easantn ess

brings a touch of th e sublim e into th e v ery
e xpr e ssion of his disgust E v e ry s e nt e nc e is
.

an e pigram and e v ery epigram slaught ers a

,

r eputation or an id e a H e sp e aks with an .

acc e nt as of pain e d surpris e an amus e d look ,

of cont empt so profound that it b e com es

,

almost pity for human inb e cility

,
.

Y es that is th e tru e Huysmans th e H uys

, ,

mans of A Rebou rs and it is j ust such sur

,
23 6 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

publish e d at th e a g e of tw e nty six is a -

,

p a s ti c ci o of pros e po e ms don e aft e r B aud

, e

lair e of littl e sk e tch e s don e aft er D utch

, ,

artists tog e th er with a f ew stu di e s of

,

P arisian landscap e don e aft er natur e It

, .

shows us th e car eful labour e d work of a ,

r e ally artistic t e mp eram ent ; it b etrays h ere

and th e r e th e spirit of acrimonious obs erva
,

tion which is to count for so much with

Huysmans in th e crud e malic e of L E x ta
— se
’
,
“
for exampl e in th e notation of th e rich
,
“ ”
n e ss of ton e th e sup erb colouring of an
, ,

old dr unkard A n d one s ees alr e ady som e

.

thing of th e nov elty and th e pr e cision of his

d e scription th e nov elty and th e unpl ea
,
sant
n ess of th e subj e cts which h e choos e s to
d escrib e in this vividly exact pictur e of th e
,

carcass of a cow hung up outsid e a butch er s ’

“
shop !

A s in a hothous e a marv ellous v eg e ,

ta ti on flourish e d in th e carcass V e ins shot .

out on e v ery sid e lik e trails of bind w ee d ; -

dish e v ell e d branch work e xt e nd e d its elf along

-

th e body an e ffi ores c en c e of e ntrails unfurl e d

,

th e ir viol e t tint e d corollas and big clust ers

-
,

of fat stood out a sharp whi t e against th e

, ,

re d m e dl e y of quiv e ring fl e sh .
 J ORI S KARL - H U YS M A NS 23 7

In M a r the : hi s toi re d u nc fi llc which fol

’
,

low e d in 1 8 76 two y e a ,
rs lat er Huysmans is
,

almost as far from actu a l achi ev em e nt as

in L e Dr a g e oi r E p a
i ces
, but t h e book in its ,

crud e att e mpt to d e al re alistically and som e ,

what aft er th e mann e r of G oncourt with th e ,

lif e of aprostitut e of th e low e st d e pths marks ,

a consid e rabl e advanc e upon th e som ewhat

casu a l exp erim e nts of his e arli e r mann er I t is .

important to re m e mb e r that M or the pre c e d e d

La Fi lle E li s a and N a na I writ e what I s ee
“
,
.

what I feel and what I hav e e xp e ri e nc e d

,
”
,
“
says the bri e f and d e fiant pr efac e and I ,

write it as w e ll as I can : that is a ll This ex

.

planation is not an e xcus e it is simply th e

,

stat e m e nt of th e aim that I pursu e in art ”

.

E xplanation or e x c us e notwithstanding th e ,

book was forbidd e n to b e sold in F ranc e I t is .

N aturalism in its e arli e st a n d most pitil e ss

—
sta ge N aturalism which commits th e e rror
of e voking no sort of inte re st in this unhappy
cr e ature who ris e s a littl e from h er nativ e gut
t er only to fall b a
,
ck mor e wo e fully into th e
gutt er again Gon c our t s E lisa at l e ast in
.
’

t e re sts us ; Zola s N ana at all e v e nts app e als

’

to our s e ns e s B u t M arth e is a m ere docu

.
23 8 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M O VE M ENT

m ent lik e h er story N ot e s hav e b ee n tak e n

,
.

—
no doubt sur te vif th e y hav e b ee n strung to
g e th er and h er e th e y a
,
r e with only an int e r e st

ing brutality a curious sordidn e ss to not e in

, ,

th e s e d e scriptions that do duty for psychology

and incid e nt alik e in th e g e n eral flatn e ss of
,

charact e r th e g en e ral dislocation of episod e

, .

L es S a eurs Va tard publish e d in 1 8 7 9 and

, ,

th e short story S a c a u D os which app e ar e d ,

in 1 8 8 0 in th e famous Zol a ist manife sto L es ,

S oi r ees de M eda show th e influ enc e of L es

’

n ,

Rou gon M a c qu a
-
rt rath e r than of Germi ni c
La
”
ccr teu r F o r th e time the
. formula of
Z ol ah a s b e e n acc e pt e d : th e r e sult is a r e ,

markabl e pi e c e of w ork but a story without a ,

story a fram e without a picture With Z ol a

,
.
,

th e re is at a ll e v e nts a b e ginni ng and an e n d ,

a chain of e v e nts a pl a y of chara

, ct er upon
in c id e nt B u t in L es S ccu rs Va
. ta r d th e r e is

no r e a son for th e narrativ e ev er b e ginning or

e nding ; th e r e a r e miracl e s of d e scription — th e
workroom th e ru e d e S evr e s th e lo c omotiv e s
, , ,

th e F oi r e du p a i n d ép i cc which l e a
— d to noth
’

ing ; th er e a r e int e riors th er e ar e int e rvi e ws

, ,

th er e a r e t h e two work girls C elin e and D e-

,

si r ee and th e ir lov e rs ; th e r e is what Zol a

,
him
24 0 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

c ert a in that we cannot In A . Va—

u l Ea
u a
’
,

l e ss int e re sting story which followe d E n M c

na ge ,
th e daily mis e ry of th e r e sp e ctabl e M .

F ola ntin the gov e rnm e nt e mploy é consis ts

, ,

in th e impossibl e s e arch for a d e c e nt resta u

rant asatisfactory dinn er : for M F ola

,
n tin .
,

too th e re is only th e same couns el of a d e sp er

,

a te a
,
n in e vi t a
bl e re signa tion N e ver has th e .

intol e rabl e monotony o f sm a ll inconv e ni enc e s

b ee n so scrupulou sly so unsparingly chron ,

i cle d as in th e s e two studi e s in th e h e roic

,

d e gree of th e commonplac e I t happ e ns to .

A ndré at a c e rtain e poch in his lif e to tak e

, ,

ba ck a n old s erv a nt who had l eft him many

y ears b e for e H e finds that sh e has exactly
.

“
th e sam e d e f e cts as b efor e and to find th e m
,

th e r e ag a ”
in comm e nts th e author did not
,
“
,

displ e as e him H e had b e e n e xp e cting th em

.

all th e tim e he salut e d th e m as old ac quaint

,

an oe s yet with a c e rtain surpris e notwith

, ,

standing to s ee th e m n e ith er grown nor dimin

,

i sh e d H e not e d for hims elf with satisfaction

.

that th e stupidity of his s e rvant had r emain e d

station a ry ”
O n anoth e r p a
. ge r e ferring to ,

th e inv e ntor of cards Huysmans d e fin e s him

,

as one who did som ething towards suppressing

 JO RI S KARL
- H UYS M A NS 24 1

the free exchang e of human imb e cility . Hav

ing to s a y in p assing that a girl h as r e turn e d
from ab a ll sh e w a
,
s at hom e again
”
,h e oh
s e rv e s
,
aft e r th e h a lf dri e d sw e a
-
t of th e
waltz e s . I n this invariably sarcastic turn of
th e phr a s e this abs o lut e n e ss of con t e mpt this
, ,

insist e nc e on th e dis a gr e e abl e w e find th e no t e

,

of Huysm a ns p a rticul a
,
rly at this po int in his
care er wh en like F laub e rt h e for c e d hims e lf
, , ,

to c ont e mplat e and to a nalys e th e more m e di

ocre manife st a tions of labeti se hu ma i ne .

Th e r e is a c e rt a in p e rv e rsity in thi s furious

cont emplation of stupidity thi s fa ,
na tic a l ih
s ist e nc e on th e e x a sp e r ating attr a ction of th e
sordid a n d th e dis a gre e abl e ; and it is by such
st a ge s that we com e to A Rebou rs B u t on th e .

way we h a v e to not e a volum e of Croqui s

Pa ri si en s in which th e virtuoso who is
a part of th e artist in Huysmans h a s e x e cut e d

some of his most astonishing fe a ts ; and a

volume on L A r t M oderne
’
in which th e
most mod ern of artists in li t erature h a s a

—
pli e d hims elf to th e criticism th e r e v el tion
p
a ,

rath e r o f mod e rnity in a

-
rt I n th e l a
. tt er ,

Huysmans was th e first to d e clare the supre m

acy of D egas th e gr e at e st ar tist that w e
24 2 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VEM E NT

poss e ss to d a y
-
in F r anc e —
whil e announcing
with no l ess fe rvour th e r e mot e r e a c tionary , ,

and intricat e g enius of Gust a v e M or e au H e .

was th e first to discov e r R affa elli

“
th e paint e r
,

of poor p e opl e and th e op en sky asort of —

P arisian M ill e t
”
as h e call e d him ; th e first to
,

le veri ta ble p ei n tr e d c la
“
discov er F orain
’

”
fi lle ; t h e first to discov e r O dilon R e don to ,

do j ustic e to P issaro and P aul Gauguin N o .

lit e r a ry artist sinc e B aud elai re has mad e so

va luabl e a contribution to art criticism a nd ,

th e Cu ri os i tcs E s theti qu cs a aft e r all l e ss

’ ’

re , ,

e xact in th e ir actu a l study l e ss r e volution a

, ry ,

and l ess r e a lly signifi c ant in th e ir c ritical j udg

m ents th a ,
n L A r t M oderne T h e Cr oqui s
’
.

Pa ri s i en s which in its first e dition was illus

, , ,

tr a t e d by e tchings of F orain a n d R a ffa elli is ,

simply th e att e mpt to do in words what thos e

artists h a v e don e in a qu a fortis or in p a st e l .

Th e re a r e th e sam e P a —
risian typ es th e omn i
bus conductor th e wash e rwoman th e man who
-
, ,

s e lls hot ch e stnuts th e s a

— me impre ssions of a
sick and sorry l a nds c a p e L aB le vr e for pre fe r
, ,

e nc e in a,
ll its d e sol a te a nd la m e nt a bl e attr a e

tion ; th e r e is a m a rv e llously minut e s e ri e s of

studi e s of th a t typi c ally P arisi a n music h a ll -
,
244 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OV E M E NT

satisfying m e asure or not at all : I l f a

, u t qu e
”

j e m e r éj oui s s e a
u des s us du temp s
-
qu o i qu e

le mon de a i t horreur de ma j oi e e t qu e s a g ro ss i
cr ete n e s a c he p a s cc qu e je veu r di re An d th e .

book is th e history of a T heba i de r afi tn ee — a ’

voluntary e xil e fro m the world in a n ew kind

“
of P alac e of Art D es E ss eint es th e vagu e ,

but typical h ero is on e of thos e half patho

,
-

logical cas es which h elp us to und erstand th e

full m e aning of th e word deca dence which th e y ,

partly r epre s ent T he last d esc endant of an

.

anci e nt family his impov erish e d blood t a

, int e d
by all sorts of exc ess e s D es E ss eint es finds ,

hims e lf at thirty sur lc chemi n d egri s c scu l

’ ’

, , ,

a bomi n a blemen t la ssé H e has alr e ady r e alis e d

.

“
that th e world is divi d e d in gre at part into , ,
”
swagg er e rs and simpl e tons His one d esir e .

is to hid e hims elf aw a

“
y far from th e: world , ,

in som e r e tr e at wh er e h e might d ead e n th e

,

sound of th e loud rumbling of infl e xibl e lif e as ,

o n e cov e rs th e str e e t with str a w for sic k ,

p e opl e.
”
This r etr ea t h e discov ers j ust far ,

e nough from P aris to b e saf e from disturbanc e ,

j ust n e ar e nough to b e sav e d from th e nostalgia

of th e unattainabl e H e succ e e ds in making
.

his hous e a paradis e of the artificial choosing ,

 J OR I S KARL
- NS
H U YS M A 24 5

th e ton e s of colour that go b e st with candl e

light for it n ee d scarc ely b e said that D e s
,

E ss eint e s has eff e ct e d a simpl e tr a nsposition

of night a n d day . His disapp e aranc e from th e
world h a s b e e n c ompl e t e ; it s e e ms to him th a t
the comfortabl e d e s e rt of his e xil e n ee d n e v e r
c e as e to b e j ust such a luxurious solitud e ; it
s ee ms to him that he has attain e d his d e sir e ,

that he has attain e d to happin ess .

D isturbing physical symptoms harass him

from tim e to tim e but th e y pass It is an
,
.

e ff e ct of n e rv e s that now and ag a in he is

haunte d by re m embranc e ; th e r e curr e nc e of
a p erfum e the re ading of a book brings
, ,

back a p e riod of lif e wh en his d elib e rat e per

v e rsity was ex ercis e d activ ely in matt ers of
th e s e ns e s . Th ere a r e his fantastic ban qu e ts ,

his fantastic amours : the rep a s dc deui l M iss

,

a
Urania th e acrobat th e episod e of the ve n
,

triloqu ist woman and th e r e inc rn a

-
tion of th e
S phinx and th e C him a era of F laub e rt th e e p i
,

s od e of th e boy c hcz M ad a m e L aur e A casual

.

re coll ection brings up th e schoold a ys of his

childhood with th e J e suits and with that th e
,

b eli efs of childhood th e fantasi es of the C hurch

, ,

the C atholi c abn e gation of th e I mi ta ti o j oining

24 6 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM E NT

so strang ely with the fi nal philosophy of

S chop e nhau e r At tim e s his brain is haunt e d
.

—
by social th e ori e s his dull hatre d of th e
ordinary in life taking form in th e r egion of
id e as B ut in th e main h e f ee ds hims elf with
.
,

som ething of the satisfaction of succ ess on th e ,

strang e food for th e s e nsations with which h e

has so laboriously furnish e d hims e lf Th ere .

a re his books and among th e s e a sp e cial library

,

of th e L atin writ ers of th e D e cad enc e E x a s .

p e r a t e d by V irgil profoundly cont

, e mptuous of
Horac e h e tol erat e s Lu c an (which is surpris
,

ing ) ador e s P e tronius (as w e ll h e might ) and

, ,

d elights in th e n e ologisms and the e xotic nov

e lty of A pul e ius His curiosity ext e nds to th e
.

—
lat er C hristian po e ts from th e coloure d v ers e
of C laudi a n down to th e v ers e which is scarc ely
v ers e of the incoh ere nt ninth c e ntury H e is .
,

of c ours e an amat eur of ex quisit e printing of

, ,

b e autiful bindings and poss e ss e s an incom

a
,

pa rabl e B aud el a ir e (edi ti on ti r cc u n ex em

’ ’

p la i r e) a
,
uni q u e M allarm e C atholicism b e
. ing
th e adopt e d r e ligion of th e D e cad e nc e — for its
v e n er a bl e a g e v a luabl e,
in such matt e rs as
th e a g e of an old win e its vagu e e xcitation
,
of
the s e ns e s its mystical pictur e s qu e n e ss D e s
,
—
248 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

sustain e d by an adj uvant as though born e in ,

avehicle into a sph ere wh ere his sublimat e d

,

s e nsations would wak e in him an u n a c cu s

t ome d stir th e caus e of which h e would long

,

a n d vainly s ee k to d e t ermin e S o h e com e s .

“
to care supr e m ely for B aud elair e who mor e , ,

than any oth er poss ess e d th e marv ellous

,

pow e r of r end ering with a strang e sanity of

,

e xpr e ssion th e most fl ee ting th e most wav e r

, ,

ing morbid stat e s of e xhaust e d minds of d e s ,

olat e souls ”
In F laub ert h e pr efers L aT en
.

ta ti on dc S a i nt A n toi n e;
-
in G oncourt La ,

Fa u s ti n; in Zola L a Fa u tc dc l A bbe M ourct

’ ’

th e exc e ptional the most r e mot e and recher che

,

outcome of e ach t e mp e ram e nt A n d of th e .

thre e it is th e nov el of G oncourt that app e als

to him with sp e cial intimacy that nov el —
which more than any oth er s eems to expr ess
, , ,

in its e x quisit e ly p e rv ers e charm all that ,

d e cad e nt civilisation of which D es E ss eint e s

is th e typ e and symbol I n po etry h e has .

discov ere d th e fi n e p erfum e th e e van e sc ent ,

c harm ,
of P aul V e rlain e and n ear that gr e at
,

po et (forg etting strang ely Arthur Rimbaud )

, ,

h e plac e s two po e ts who a r e curious — th e dis

c onc e rting tumultuous Tristan C orbi ere and
, ,
 J O RI S -
KARL H UYSM A NS 24 9

th e paint e d and b ej e w ell e d Th eodor e Hannon .

With E dg a r P o e h e has th e instinctiv e sym

pathy which dre w B aud elaire to th e e nig
ma tic a lly p e rve rs e D e cad e nt of A m e rica ; h e
d elights soon er than all th e world in th e
, ,

astonishing unbalanc e d unachi e v e d g enius of

, ,

V illi e rs d e l Isle A dam F in ally it is in S te

’
-
.
,

phan e M allarm e that h e finds th e incarnation

“
of th e d e cad enc e of a lit eratur e irr eparably ,

affe ct e d in its organism w e ake n e d in its ,

id eas by a g e e xhaust e
,
d by t h e e xc e ss e s of
syntax s ensitiv e only to th e curiosity which
,

f ev ers sick p eopl e and ye t hast ening to say

,

e v e rything n ow at th e en d torn by th e wish

, ,

to aton e for all i ts omissions of e nj oym ent ,

to b e qu e ath its subtl est m emori es of sorrow

”
on its d eath b ed -
.

B u t it is not on books alon e that D es

!

E ss e int e s nurs es his sick and craving fancy .

H e push e s his d elight in th e artificial to th e

last limits and div erts hims elf with a bou
,

q u e t of j e w els a conc e rt
,
of flow e rs an or ,

c h es tra of li qu eurs an orch estra of p erfum e s

,
.

I n flow ers h e pr efers th e r e al flow ers that

imitat e artificial on es I t is th e monstrositi e s .

of natur e th e o ff spring of unnatural adult eri es

, ,
2 50 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

that he ch erish e s in th e barbarically coloure d

flow ers th e plants with barb a
, ric nam es th e ,

carni vorous plants of th e Antill es morbid —

horrors of v eg etation chos en not for th eir , ,

b eauty but for th e ir str a

,
ng en ess A n d his .

imagination plays harmoni es on th e s ens e of

tast e lik e combinations of music from th e
, ,

fl u te lik e sw ee tn e ss of anis e tt e th e trump et

-
,

not e of kirsch th e e ager ye t v elv ety sharp

,

n e ss of cura cao th e clarion et H e combin es

,
.

sc e nts w e aving th em into odorous m elodi es

, ,

with efl e cts lik e thos e of th e r efrains of c ertain

po ems e mploying for exampl e the m ethod of
, , ,

B aud elair e in L I rr cp a ra blc and L e B a

’
lcon
’

wh er e th e last lin e of th e stanza is th e e cho of

t h e fir st in th e l a
,
nguorous progre ssion of the
m elody An d abov e a
. ll h e has his f e w car e ,

fully chos e n pictur es with th e ir div ers e not e s

,

o f strang e b e auty and strang e t e rror

— th e two
“
S alom es of Gustav e M or e au th e R e ligious ,

P ers e cutions of Jan Lu yk en th e opium ,

dre ams of O di lon R e don His favourit e art ist .

is Gustav e M or e au and it is on this sup erb and

,

dis qui e ting picture that h e car es chi efly to dw ell .

A th r lik e the high lta of

on e , ar thedr a
aa l r
c ,
ose be
nea ra r
th innume ble ach es sp in ging r fr o m c olu mns, thick
252 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M O VE M E NT

fire , warm th i ry t d t ar fl h lik pl did

s s on e vo -
one ,
e -
ose es e s en

t wi th d a
zzli g wi g ma rbl d with a
rmi d tt d
,

ins ec s n n s, e c ne , o e

with m r i g g ld d ia p r d with t l b l
o n n tr a
o k d with
, e e s ee -
ue, s e e

p a k gr
-
e coc een .

In the wr a ra
o k of Gust ve M o e u, c onceive on no d
rad aa
S criptu l t , D es E sseintes s a
w t la a
st th e realisa
ra
tion of the st nge , supe huma r lomé tha
n Sa t he h a d
dr aem d Sh wa
e . m r th m r d a i g girl wh
e s no o e e e e nc n -
o,

with th rr pt t r i f h limb t ar a y f
e co u o s on o er s, e s cr o

d ir fr m a ld ma; wh with h ddyi g br at

es e o n o n o, er e n e s s,

h er a
p pl ita ti g b dy h q ni r i g thigh o br a k
, th er u ve n s, e s e

e nergy m lt th will f aki g ; h ha b m th

,
e s e ,
o n s e s e co e e

symb li d ity f i d tr tibl L t th g dd

o c e o n es f uc e us , e o ess o

imm r ta l H y t r iath a r d B aty

o s e h , a m g
e ccu se e u ,
c osen on

may by th
n ata l p y that h a tiff
e c d h limb tha
e s t s s en e er s,

h a ha
s rd d h m l ; th m tr
ene er i d iff r t
u sc es e ons ous , n e en ,

irr pes ibl i

on s ibl B at p i
e, i g lik H l
nsen s e f e s ,
o son n , e e en o

old a,
ll tha t g a rt h a ll th a
tl k p
o ne h aoll tha t
er, oo u on er ,

s he touches .

”
It is in such a P alac e of Art that D e s
E ss e int e s would r e cre at e his alre ady ov er
wrought body and brain and th e monotony ,

of its s e clusion is only onc e brok e n by a

singl e exc ursion into the world without This .

o n e e pisod e of action this o ne touch of r e alism ,

in a book giv e n over to th e artifi c ial confin e d ,

to a re cord of s ensation is a proj e ct e d voyag e ,

to London a voyag e that n eve r occurs D es

,
.
 J ORI S K ARL
- H U YS M A NS 2 53

E ss eint e s has b ee n re ading D ick e ns idly to , ,

q ui e t his n e rv e s and t h
,
e viol e nt colours of
thos e ultra B ritish sc e n e s and charact ers hav e
-

impos e d the ms elve s upon his imagination .

D ays of ra in and fog compl et e th e picture of

that p a ys d e br u m e c t d c b o u c and sudd e nly
, ,

stung by th e unwont e d d e sire for chang e h e ,

take s th e train to P aris r e solv e d to distract,

hims elf by a visit to L ondon A rriv e d in .

Pa ris b e fore his tim e he tak e s a cab to th e

,

offic e of Ga li gn a ni s M cs s cngcr fancying him

’
,

s elf as th e rain drops rattl e on the roof and

,
-

th e mud splash e s against th e windows alr e ady ,

in th e midst of th e imm e ns e city its smok e ,

and dirt H e r e ach e s Ga li gna ni s M essen ger

’
.
,

and th e r e turning over B ae d ekers and M ur

,

rays los es hims elf in dre ams of an imagin e d

,

London H e buys a B a e d e k e r and to pass

.
, ,
”
th e tim e e nt e rs th e
, B od ega at th e corn er
of the Rue d e R ivoli and th e R u e C a stiglion e .

T he wine c ell a r is crowd e d with E nglishm e n

-

h e s ee s as h e drinks his port and list e ns to th e

, ,

unfamiliar acc e nts a ll th e charact e rs of D i c k e ns

,

—awhol e E ngland of c a ricature ; as h e drinks

his A montillado the r e coll e ction of P oe puts a
,

n e w horror into th e good humoure d fac e s -

254 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM E NT

about him Leaving the B od ega h e st eps

.
,

out again into th e rain sw e pt str ee t re gains -

,

his cab a n d driv e s to th e E nglish tav e rn of

,

t h e R u e d A m s te r d a m H e has j ust tim e for

’
.

dinn er and h e finds a plac e b esid e th e i nsu

,

la
“
i r cs with th e ir porc e lain e y e s th eir crimson
, ,

”
ch eeks and ord ers a h eavy E nglish dinn er
, ,

which h e wash e s down with a le and port er ,

s e asoning his co ffe e as h e imagin es we do in

,

E ngland with gin ,

A s tim e pass e s and the
.
,

hour of th e train draws n e ar h e b egins to re ,

fl e c t vagu e ly on his proj e ct ; h e r e calls th e dis

illusion of th e visit h e had onc e paid to Hol
la nd D o es not a similar disillusion await him
.

“
in L ondon ? Why trav e l wh e n one can trav el ,

so spl e ndidly i n a chair ? Was h e not at Lon

don alr e ady sinc e its odours its atmosph er e
, , ,

its inhabit a nts its food its ut e nsils w e re all

, , ,

about him ? T h e tr a in is d u e but he do e s not ,

stir . I have f elt and s e en h e says to him

”
,

s elf what I want e d to fe e l and see I hav e

,
.

b e e n saturat e d with E nglish life all this tim e ;

it w ould b e madn ess to los e by a clumsy ,

chang e of plac e th es e imp e rishabl e s e nsa

,

”
tions . S o h e gath e rs tog e th er his luggage ,

and go e s hom e again r esolving n ever to aban ,

25 6 I T
T H E S Y M B OL S M OVE M ENT

A is a boo k that can only b e

Rebours
writt en onc e and sinc e that dat e Huysmans
has publish e d a short story Un Di lemme ,

which is m er ely a som ewhat l engthy

an e cdot e ; two nov e ls E n Ra de (1 88 7) and
a
,

L Ba
-
s both of which a re int er e sting

e xp e rim ents but n e ith er of th e m an e ntire

,

succ e ss ; and a volum e of art criticism Cer ,

ta i ns notabl e for a singl e spl e ndid

e ssay that on Felici e n R op s th e e t c h er of
, ,

th e fantastically e rotic E n Ra dc is a sort

.

—
of d elib erat ely exagg erat e d r e cord vision
—
rath er th e n r e cord oi th e disillusions of a
country soj ourn as th e y a ff e ct th e disord er e d
,

n erv e s of a town n evr os e T h e narrativ e

’

is punctuat e d by nightmar e s marv ellously ,

wov e n out of nothing and with no psycho

,

—
logical valu e th e human part of th e book
b eing a sort of pictur es qu e pathology at
b e st th e r e pre s entation of a s eri e s of stat e s
,

of n erv es sharp en e d by th e tragic e nnui of

,

th e country Th er e is a cat which b e com es

.

int e r esting in its agoni es ; but th e long bor e

dom of th e man and woman is only too
faithfully shar e d with th e r e ad e r L B a s . a -

is a mor e artistic cr e ation on a more solid,

 J O R I S K A RL-
H UYS M A NS 25 7

foundation I t is a study of S atanism a

.
,

d ext erous int erw e a ving of th e history of G ill e s

d e R e tz (th e traditional B lu e b e ard ) with th e
cont emporary manifestations of th e B lack
“
A rt . T h e e x e c ration of impot e nc e th e hat e
,

—
of th e m e diocr e that is p erhaps o n e of th e
”
most indulg e nt d efinitions of D iabolism ,

says Huysmans som ewh er e in th e book

, ,

and it is on this sid e that o ne finds th e link

of conn e ction with th e oth ers of that s e ri e s
of p essimist studi e s in lif e Un n a . tu r a
li s me
s pi ri tu a li s te h e d e fin e s his own art at this
,

point in its d e v elopm e nt ; and it is in som e

“
what th e docum e ntary mann er that h e
appli es h ims elf to th e study of th e s e strang e
probl ems h alf of hyst eria half of a r eal mys
, ,

tical corruption that do e s actually exist in

our midst I do not know wh e th er th e
.

monstrous tabl e au of th e B la c k M ass so —

marv ellously so r evoltingly d e scrib e d in th e
,

—
c entral e pisod e of th e book is still e nact e d
in our d a ys but I do know th a
,
t all but th e
most horribl e practic e s of th e sacril e gious
magic of th e M iddl e A g es a r e y e t p e rform e d ,

from tim e to tim e in a s e cre cy whi c h is all

,

but absolut e T he charact er of M adam e

25 8 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVEM EN T

Ch an te l u v e is o an att e mpt probably the ,

first in lit r a
e tur e to diagnos e a c as e of S adism
,

in a woman To say that it is suc c e ssful

.

would b e to assum e that th e thing is possibl e ,

which on e h esitat es to do T h e book is e v e n .

mor e dis qui e ting to th e normal mind than , ,

A Rebou rs B u t it is not lik e that th e study

.
, ,

of an e xc e ption which has b e com e a typ e .

I t is th e study of an e xc eption which do e s not

profe ss to b e anything but a dis e as e .

Huysmans plac e in cont e mporary lit era

’

tur e is not quit e easy to e stimat e Th er e is .

a dang er of b eing too much attract e d or too ,

much r e p ell e d by thos e qualiti es of d elib erat e

,

singularity which mak e his work sinc er e ,

e xpr e ssion as it is of his own p e rsonality so ,

artifici a l and recher che in its elf With his

’

pronounc e d exc e ptional charact eristics it

, ,

would hav e b e en impossibl e for him to writ e

fiction imp ersonally or to rang e hims elf for , ,

l ong in any school und e r any mast er

, , .

I nt errogat e d on e day as to his opinion of

N aturalism h e had but to say in r e ply :
,

Au f on d , it y ai n ades
s q u i occr i v
’

n t d a talen t
ct d a
’
u tr es qu i n en on t p a s q
’
u i ls so i en t n atu ,
’

ra li s tcs roma n ti qu es deca den ts tou t cc que

’

, , ,
26 0 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM E NT

—
baric profusion of words chos e n always for
th eir colour and th e ir vividly expr e ssiv e
q uality — h e is abl e to d e scrib e th e e ss e ntially

mod ern asp e cts of things as no on e had e v e r

d e scrib e d th em b efor e N o on e b efor e him
.

had e v e r so r e alis e d th e p erv ers e charm of

th e sordi d th e p erv e rs e charm of th e arti
,

fi c ial . E xc eptional always it is for such ,

q ual i ti e s as th e s e rath e r,than for th e ordi

nary qualiti e s of th e nov elist that h e is ,

r e markabl e Hi s stori e s a . re without inci

d e nt th e y a
,
r e construct e d to go on until

th e y stop th e y a , re almost without charac

t ers His psychology is a matt e r of th e

.

s e nsations and chi e fly th e visual s e nsations

,
.

T h e moral n a tur e is ignor e d th e e motions ,

r e solve th ems elv e s for th e most part in to a

sordid e nnui rising at tim e s into a ra
,
g e at
e xist e nc e T h e protago ni st of e v ery book
.

is not so much a charact er as a bundl e of im

—
pr e ssions and s e nsations th e vagu e outlin e
of a singl e conscio usn e ss his own B ut it is ,
.

—
that singl e consciousn e ss ih thi s morbidly
p e rsonal writ er with which w e a
— re con
c e rn e d F or Huysm a
. ns nov els with all
’
,

th e ir strang e n ess th e ir charm th e ir repul

, ,
 J ORI S KARL
-
H U YS M A NS 26 1

sion typic a
, l too as th e y a
,
re,
of mu c h b e sid e
hi ms e lf a
,
re c e rtainly th e expr ession of a
p e rsonality as r e markabl e a s that of a ny

cont emporary writ e r .

1 8 92 .
 II . T H E LA T E R H U Y S M AN S

IN th e pr efa c e to hi s fir st nov e l M a r the ,

hi s toi r e d u n c fi lle thirty y e ars ago H uy s

’
, ,

ma ns d efin e d his th e ory of art in thi s d efiant

phras e : “
I writ e what I see what I f ee l , ,

and what I hav e e xp eri enc e d and I writ e it ,

”
as w ell as I can : that is all T en or tw elv e
.

y e ars ago h e could still say in answ er to

, ,

a n int e rvi e w e r w h o ask e d him his opinion of

A t bottom th e r e a
“
N aturalism : , r e writ ers

who hav e tal e nt and oth ers who hav e not ;

let th em b e N atur a lists R om a
, ntics D e ca ,

d e nts what you will it is a

, ,
ll th e sam e to
m e : I only w a nt to k now if th e y hav e tal e nt ”
.

S u c h th e or e tical lib e ra lity in a writ er of

,

original tal e nt is a littl e disconc erting : it

,

m e ans that h e is without a th e ory of hi s

o wn ,
that h e is not ye t conscious of having
chos en hi s own way A n d ind ee d it is only
.
, ,

with E n Rou te that Huysmans c a n b e said

to hav e discov er e d th e dir e ction in whic h h e

had r e ally b ee n trav el ling from th e b e ginnin g .

26 2
26 4 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VEM E NT

aword a spiritual N aturalism

, This is .

almost a d efinition of th e art of E n Route ,

wh er e thi s spiritual re alis m is appli e d to th e

history of a soul a consciousn e ss ; in L a ,

Ca thedra lc the m e thod has still furth e r d e

’

velop e d and Huysmans b e com e s i n his own

, ,

way a S ymbolist
,
.

To the stud ent of psychology fe w mor e ih

t eres tin g cas e s could b e pr e s e nt e d than th e
d e v elopm e nt of Huysmans F rom th e fir s t .

“
h e has b e e n a man for whom th e visibl e
”
world exist e d ind e e d but as th e sc en e of
, ,

a slow martyrdom T h e world has always .

app e ar e d to him to b e a profoundly uh

comfortabl e unpl easant and ridiculous plac e ;
, ,

and it has b een a n e c e ssity of his t emp era

m ent to ex a min e it minut ely with all th e ,

pati enc e of disgust and a n e c e ssity of hi s ,

m e thod to r ecord it with an almost e cstatic

hatr e d In his first book Le D ra
.
g eoi r ,
a
E pi ces publish e d at th e a
“

, g e of tw e nty s ix -
,

w e fi nd hi m s e e king his colour by pr ef e r

’
e nc e in a drunkard s ch ee k or a carcas e out

sid e a butch e r s shop M a ’

r the publish ed at .
,

B russ els in 1 8 76 anticipat e s L aF i lle E lis a

,

and N a na but it has a crud e brutality of

,
 T H E LA TER H U YS M A NS 26 5

obs ervation in which th er e is hardly a touch

of pity L es S ceurs Va
. tar d is a fram e with

out a pictur e but in E n M en a h e dr e ary

’

, g e t
t e dium of e x ist enc e is chr onicl e d in all its
in sig nifi ca n ce with a kind of w e ary and
“
ac hi ng hat e W e too
.
”
is its conclusion
, , ,

“
by l e av e of th e e v e rlasting stupidity of
thi ngs may lik e our fellow citiz e ns liv e
, ,
-
,

”
stupid and r esp e ct e d T h e fantastic u h r e
.

ality th e e x quisit e a
,
rtifi cia lity of A Rebou rs ,

th e br e viary of th e d e cad e nc e is th e fi rst ,

sign of that possibl e e scap e which Huysmans

has always for e s ee n in th e dir e ction of art ,

but which h e is still unabl e to mak e into

more than an artificial paradis e in which ,

b e auty turns to a cru el hallucination and

imprisons th e soul still more fatally T h e .

e n d is a cry of hop el e ss hop e in whi c h H uys ,

mans di d not und erstand th e m e aning till

“
lat er : Lord hav e pity of th e C hristian
,

who doubts of the sc eptic who would fai n

,

b eli e v e of th e convict of life who s ets sail

,

alon e by night und er a fi rma ,

m ent light e d
only by the consoling watch li ghts of th e old -

hop e
a
.

In L B a s we a
-
re in yet anoth e r stag e of
26 6 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM E NT

’
this strang e pilgrim s progr ess T h e disgust .

which onc e manif e st e d its elf in th e m er ely

e xt e rnal r e volt against th e uglin e ss of str ee ts ,

th e imb e cility of fac e s has b e com e mor e and

,

mor e int ernalis e d and th e attraction of what

,

is p erv ers e in th e unusual b e auty of art has

le d by som e obscur e rout e to th e p erilous
, ,

h alfway hous e of a corrupt mysticism T he .

book with its monstrous pictur e s of the

,

B lack M ass and of th e spiritual abo mi na

tions of S atanism is one st ep furth er in th e
,

dir e ction of th e sup ernatural ; and this too , ,

has its d esp erat e unlo c k e d for conclusion

,
-

C hristian glory is a laughing stock to our -

a it contaminat s th sup rnatural and

a
g ;
e e e e

casts out th e world to com e ”

In L B a s .
-

w e go down into th e d e e p e st gulf ; E n Rou te

s ets us on e stag e along a new way and at ,

this turning point b e gins th e lat er Huysmans

-
.

T h e old conc eption of th e nov el as an

amusing tal e of adv e ntur e s though it has ,

still its apologists in E ngland has long sinc e ,

c e as e d in F ranc e to m ean anything more

actual than powd e r e d wigs and lac e ruffl es .

“
Lik e childr e n who cry to th eir e ld ers for a
”
s tory a story,
th e E nglish public still wants
,
26 8 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

of th e sub conscious s elf no lon ger the in

-
,

t ellig e n ce but th e soul

,
H er e th e n purg e d .
, ,

of th e di straction of incid e nt lib erat e d from ,

th e bondag e of a too r e a
,
listic conv ersation ,

in which th e aim had b een to conv ey th e

v ery g estur e of br e athing lif e int ernalis e d to ,

a compl et e lib erty in which j ust b e caus e it

, ,

is so absolut ely fr e e art is abl e to acc ept , ,

without limiting its elf th e expr essiv e m e dium ,

of a conv e ntion w e hav e in th e nov el a n ew

,

form which may b e at onc e a confe ssion and

,

a d e coration th e soul and a patt ern

,
.

This story of a conv e rsion is a n ew thing

in mod ern F r e nch ; it is a conf ession a s elf ,

auscultation of th e soul ; a kind of thinking

aloud It fix es in pr e cis e words all th e
.
, ,

unc ertainti es th e contradictions th e absurd

, ,

unr e asonabl en ess and not l ess absurd logic ,

w hi ch distract man s brain in th e passing ’

ov er him of s ensation and circumstanc e A n d .

all this thinking is conc entrat e d on on e

end ,
is conc ern e d with th e work ing out in ,

his own singular way , of o n e man s salva ’

tion Th er e is a c ertain dry hard ca

. suistry ,

a subtl e ty and clos en e ss almost e c cl esiasti c al ,

in th e inv estigation of an obscur e and ye t

 T
T H E LA E R H U Y S M A NS 26 9

d efi nit e r egion whos e int ell e ctual passions

.

a r e as vari e d a n d as t umultuous as thos e of

th e h e art Ev ery step is tak en d elib erat ely

.
,

is w eigh e d a pp rov
, e d cond e mn e
, d vi e w ed ,

from this sid e a nd from that and at th e sam e ,

tim e o n e f eels b ehind all this r e asoning an

impulsion urging a soul onward against its
will I n this astonishing passag e through
.
,

S atanism to faith in which th e cry ,

“
I am ,

so w e ary of mys e lf so si c k of my mis erabl e

,
”
e xist e nc e e cho e s through pag e aft e r pag e
, ,

until d espair di e s into convi c tion th e co nvi c ,

tion of th e us el e ssn ess of conc e rning o n e

s elf about anything but mysticism and th e
liturgy of thinking about anything but about
,

Go d ,
it is impossibl e not to s e e th e sin
c erity of an actual uni qu e exp eri enc e T h e
,
.

forc e of m er e curiosity can go far can p en e ,

trat e to a c ertain d epth ; ye t th er e is a point

at which m er e curiosity e v e n that of g e nius
, ,

come s to an e n d ; and w e a r e l e ft to th e

individual soul s appr eh ension of what s ee ms

’

to it th e r e ality of spiritual things S uch .

a p ersonal appr e h ension com e s to us out o f

this book and at th e sam e tim e j ust as in
, ,

th e days wh e n h e forc e d languag e to e xpr e ss ,

270 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVE M ENT

in a mor e colour e d and pi c torial way than

it had e v er expr ess e d b efor e th e last e sca ,

ping d etails of mat erial things so in this , ,

analysis of th e ab errations and warfar es th e ,

conf essions and trials of th e soul in p e nit e nc e ,

Huysmans has found words for e v e n th e most

subtl e and illusiv e asp e cts of that inn er life
which h e has com e at th e last to appr eh end
, , .

I n L aCa thedrale we a r e still occupi e d with

’

this s ensitiv e l e thargic p ers ev ering soul but

, , ,

with that soul in o n e of its long est halts by

th e way as it und ergo e s th e slow p erm e ating
, ,

influ enc e of laCa thédra le mys ti qu e p a

r esc
”
ccllen cc ,
th e cath e dr al of C hartr e s An d .

th e gr e at e r part of th e book is tak e n up with

a study of this cath e dral of that elaborat e ,

“
and profound symbolism by which th e so ul
”
of sanctuari e s slowly r e v e als its elf (qu el
la coni s me her meti qu c! ) with a sort of parall el
int erpr etation of th e symbolism which th e
C hurch of th e M iddl e A g e s c onc eal e d or
r e v e al e d in colour s pr e cious ston es plants
, , ,

a ni mals numb ers odours and in th e B ibl e

, , ,

its elf in th e s e tting tog eth er of th e Old and

,

N e w T e stam ents .

N o doubt to som e ext ent this book is l ess

,
2 72 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVE M ENT

as his own What is Symbolism if not an

.

e stablishing of th e links which hold th e world

tog e th er th e a
,
fli rm ation of an e t ernal mi nut e , ,

intricat e almost invisibl e lif e which runs

, ,

through th e whol e univ ers e ? E v ery a g e has

its ow n symbols ; but a symbol onc e p erf e ctly
e xpr e ss e d that symbol r emains as G othic
, ,

archit e ctur e r emains th e v e ry soul of th e

M iddl e A g e s To g et at that truth which
.

is all but th e d eep est m eaning of b eauty to ,

find that symbol which is its most ad e qua te

e xpr e ssion is in its elf a kind of cr e ation ;
,

and that is what Huysmans do es for us in

L aCa thedr alc M or e and mor e h e has put
’

asid e all th e profan e and acc e ssibl e and

outward pomp of writing for an inn er and
mor e s ev e r e b e auty of p erf e ct truth H e has .

com e to r e alis e that truth can b e r e ach e d and

r e v e al e d only by symbol H enc e all that .
,

d e scription that h e aping up of d etail that

, ,

passionat ely pati e nt e laboration : all m eans

to a n e n d not as you may hastily inclin e to
, ,

think e nds in th e ms elv e s

,
.

It is curious to obs erv e how oft en an artist

p erf e cts a particular m e ans of e xpr e ssion long
b efor e h e has any notion of what to do with
 T
T H E LA E R H U Y S M A NS 273

it . Huysmans b egan by ac quiring so aston

ishin g a mas t ery of d e scription that h e could
d escrib e th e insid e of a cow hanging in a .

butch e r s shop as b eautifully as if it w e r e

’

a cask e t of j e w els T h e littl e work girls of

.
-

his e arly nov els w er e tak e n for long walks ,

in whi c h th e y would hav e s ee n nothing but

th e arm on which th e y l e ant and th e millin ers
’

shops which th e y pass e d ; and what th ey did

not se e was d escrib e d marv ellously in tw e nty
, ,

pag e s .

Huysmans is a brain all e ye a brain which ,

s ee s e v en id e as as if th e y had a sup erfi c ie s .

His styl e is a lways th e sam e wh e th er h e ,

’
writ e s of a butch e r s shop or of a stain e d
gl a ss window ; it is th e imm e diat e e xpr e s
sion of a way of s eeing so mi nut e a ,
n d so

int e ns e that it b e come s too e mphatic for ele

ganc e a n d too colour e d for atmosph e r e or

composition always r eady to sacrific e eu

,

phony to e ith e r fact or colour H e c a r es only

.

to giv e you th e thing s ee n exactly a

, s h e s ee s it ,

with a ll his lov e or h a t e and with a ,

ll th e
e xagg e ration whi c h th a t f eeling brings into
it A n d h e lov e s b e a
. uty as a bulldog lov es its
mistr e ss : by growling at all h er e n e mi es H e .
274 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

honours wisdom by annihilating stupidity .

His art of p a inting in words r es embl e s M on et s ’

art of painting with his brush : th er e is the

sam e pow e r of r e nd e ring a vivid e ff e ct almost ,

d e c e ptive ly with a crud e and ye t s e nsitiv e

,

C es t p our lagou rma

“
re alism .
’
n di se dc l cei l
’

u n ga ladc tei n tes

”
h e says of th e provision
,

c ella r s at Hamburg ; and this gr e e d of th e eye

ha s ea t e n up in him almost e v ery oth e r s ens e .

E v e n of music h e writ e s as a d e af man with an

e ye for co lour might w rit e to whom a musician
,

had explain e d c ertain t echnical m e ans of ex

pr ess ion in music N o on e has e v er inv ent e d
.

s uch b a rb a rous and e xact m e taphors for th e

re nd ering of visual s e nsations P rop erly th ere
.
,

is no m e taphor ; th e words say e xactly what

th e y m e an ; th e y b e com e fi gurative as we ,

call it in th eir insist enc e on be ing th ems elv e s

,

fact .

Huysmans knows that th e motive forc e of

th e se n te n c e li e s in th e v e rbs and his v e rbs,

a r e t h e mo st singular pre cis e and expr e ssiv e

, ,

in a n y languag e B u t in subordinating as
.
,

h e do e s e v ery quality to that of sharp t elling

, ,

truth the truth of e xtr e m e s his styl e l os es

, ,

charm ; yet it can b e dazzling ; it has th e

2 76 T HE S Y M B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

s e tting it turns crimson and ris es up li ke a

, ,

monstrous a n d d e licat e shrin e ros e and gr e e n ; ,

and at twilight turns blu e th e n s ee ms to

, , ,
”
e vaporat e as it fad e s into viol e t Or again .
, ,

in a passag e which com es n ear er t o th e con

v e n t io n a
l id e a of e lo qu e nc e how absolut e a , n

avoidanc e of a conv e ntional phras e a word ,

“
us e d for its m e r ely oratorical valu e : High
up in spac e lik e s a
,
lamand ers human b eings
, , ,

with burning fac e s and fl a ming rob e s liv e d in a ,

fi rma me n t of fi re ; but th es e c on fl a g r a
t i o n s

w e re circumscrib e d limit e d by a n in co mb u s
,

tibl e fram e of dark e r glass which b e at b a ,

ck
t h e cl e ar young j oy of th e flam e s ; by that kind
of m elancholy that more s erious and mor e
,

ag e d asp e ct which is tak e n by th e dull er col

,

ours T h e hu e and cry of r e ds th e limpid

.
,

s e curity of whit e s th e r e it erat e d h a,

lleluia s

of y ellows the virginal glory of blu es all th e

, ,

q uiv e ring h e arth glow of paint-

e d glass di e s ,

away as it cam e n ear this bord er colour e d with

th e rust of iron with th e russ e t of s a
,
uc e with ,

th e harsh viol e t of sandston e with bottl e ,

gr e e n with th e brown of touchwood with

, ,
”
sooty black with ash e n gre y
,
.

This in its exc e ss of e xactitud e (how me

,
 T
T HE LA ER H U Y S M A NS 7

dia
ev a
l a q u ality ! ) b e com e s ,on o n e pag e ,

a comparison of th e tow er without a spire to

an unsharp e ne d p encil which cannot writ e
th e pr a y ers of e arth upon th e sky B u t for .

th e most part it is a consist e nt hum a nising

of too obj e ctiv e ly visibl e things a dis e ng a ging
of th e s e ntim e nt which exists in th e m which ,

is one of th e s e cr e ts of th e ir app e al to us but ,

which for th e most part we ove rlook as w e

set ours elv e s to add up th e shap e s a n d colours

which hav e enchant e d us To Huysmans this

.

artistic discove ry has com e p erh a ,

ps in th e
most effe ctual way but c e rtainly in th e w a
, y
l e ast probabl e in th e s e days through faith a
, ,

d efinit e r eligious faith ; so th a t b e ginning

,

t entatively h e has c om e at last to b eli e v e in

, , ,

t h e C atholic C hurch as a monk of th e M iddl e

A g e s b eli e v e d in it . A n d th er e is no doubt
that to Huysmans this abandonm e nt to r eligion
has brought among oth e r gifts a c ert a
, ,
in
human charity in whi c h h e was notably l a c king ,

r e moving at onc e o ne of his a rtisti c limit a tions .

I t has softe ne d his cont e mpt of humanity ; it

has broad e n e d his outlook on th e world A n d .

th e s e ns e di ffus e d through th e whol e of this

,

book of th e living and b en efi c ent r e ality of th e

,
278 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

V irgin , of r e al pre s e nc e in th e cath e dral

h er
built in h e r honour and aft er h er own imag e ,

brings a strange and touching kind of po etry

into th e s e clos ely and sob erly wov e n pag e s .

F rom this tim e forward until his d e ath

, ,

Huysmans is s e e n purging hims elf of his

r e alism coming clos er and clos er to that
,

spiritual N aturali sm whi ch h e had inv ent e d ,

an art mad e out of an appreh e nsion of th e

inn e r m e aning of thos e things which h e still
saw with th e old t e nacity of vision N othing .

is chang e d in him and yet all is ch a ng e d .

T h e disgust of the world d eep ens through

L O bla t which is th e last stag e but one in
’
,

th e pilgrim a ge which b e gins with E n Rou te .

I t s eeks an e scap e in poring with a dre adful

,

dilig e nc e ov e r a saint s r e cord e d miracl es in

,
’

th e lif e of S ai n te L ydwi nc dc S chi eda m which ,

is m e dia eval in its pr e cis e acc eptanc e of e v e ry

horribl e d e tail of th e story L es F ou les dc

.

L ou r des has th e sam e minut e att e ntiv e n ess to

horror but with a new pity in it and a way of
, ,

giving thanks to th e Virgin which is in H uys

,

ma ns ye t anoth er e scap e from his disgust of

th e world B ut it is in th e gr e at chapt er on
.

S atan as th e cre ator of uglin e ss that his work

 ART H U R R I M B A U D

T H A T story of th e Ar abian N ights which is ,

at th e sam e tim e a tru e story th e life of ,

R imbaud has b e e n told for th e first tim e

, , ,

in th e e xtravagant but valuabl e book of an

anarchist of l e tt e rs who writ e s und er th e
,

nam e of P at ern e B errichon and who has sinc e ,

marri e d R imbaud s sist er L aVi e dc J ca

’
. n

A r thur Ri mba u d is full of curiosity for thos e

who hav e b ee n mystifi e d by I know not what

l eg ends inv e nt e d to give wond e r to a care er
, ,

its elf more wond e rful than any of th e inve n

tions T he man who di e d at M ars eill es at
.
,

t h e Hospital of th e C onc eption on M arch 1 0 , ,

1 8 9 1 at th e a
, g e of thirty s e v e n n ég oci a n
-
t as , ,

th e r e gist e r of his d e ath d e scrib e s him was a ,

writ e r of g e nius an innovator in v e rs e and

,

pros e who had writt e n all his po e try by th e

,

a g e of ni n e t ee n and ,
all his pros e by a y e ar or
two lat e r H e had giv e n up lit eratur e to
.

trav el hith er and thith er first in E urop e th e n , ,

in Africa ; h e had b ee n an e ngin ee r a l e ade r of ,

28 0
 T I
AR H U R R M BAU D 28 1

caravans a m erch a
,
nt of pre cious m erchandis e .

A n d this man who h a d n e v e r writt e n down a

,

lin e aft e r thos e a stonishing e arly exp erim ents ,

was h ea rd in his l a
,
st d elirium talking of pre ,

c is e ly such visions as thos e which had haunt e d

“
his youth and using says his sist e r e xpr e s
, , ,
”
sions of a singular and p e n e trating charm to
r e nd e r th e s e s e nsations of visionary countri e s .

H ere c ertainly is o ne of the most curious prob

le ms of lit eratur e : is it a probl e m of which w e
can discove r the s e cre t ?
J e an N icolas A rthur Rimbaud was born at
- -

C harl e vill e in th e Ar d e nn e s O ctob er 2 8 1 854

, , ,
.

His fath er of whom h e saw littl e wa

,
s a cap ,

tain in th e army ; his moth e r of p e asant origin , ,

wa s s ever e rigid and unsymp a

,
th e tic At .

s c hool h e was an unwilling but brilliant scholar ,

a n d by his fift e e nth y e ar was w e ll ac quaint e d

with Latin lit e rature and intimat ely with

F r e nch lit e ratur e I t was in that ye ar th a
. t he
b e gan to writ e po ems from the first curiously
origin a l : el e ve n po e ms dating from that ye a r
a r e to b e found in his coll e ct e d works Wh e n .

h e was sixt ee n h e d e cid e d that h e had h a d

e nough of school and e nough of hom e , O nly .

P aris e xist e d : he must go to Paris T he .

28 2 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VE M ENT

first tim e h e w e nt without a ticke t ; h e sp e nt ,

ind ee d fift ee n days in P aris but h e sp e nt th e m

, ,

in M azas from which h e was r el e as e d and

,

r e store d to his home by his schoolmast er .

T h e s e cond tim e a fe w days lat e r h e sold his

, ,

watch which paid for hi s railway tick e t

,
.

This time h e thre w hims elf on th e hospitality

of A ndré Gill a paint e r and v ers e writ er of
,
-
,

som e littl e notori e ty th en whos e addre ss b e ,

had happ e n e d to com e across T h e unin .

v ite d gu e st was not w e lcom e d and aft e r som e ,

p e nni l e ss days in P aris h e tramp e d back to

C harl e vill e T h e third tim e (h e had wait e d
.

fi ve months writing po ems and discont e nt e d

, ,

to b e only writing po e ms ) h e mad e his way

to P aris on foot in a h e at of r e volutionary
,

sympathy to o ffe r hims elf to the insurg ents

,

of the C ommun e A gain h e had to re turn .

on foot F inally having l e arnt with d iffi

.
,

culty that a man is not tak e n at his own

valuation until h e has prov e d his right to b e so
acc ept e d h e s e nt up the manuscript of his
,

po ems to V e rlain e T he manuscript con .

a Lc B a
t in e d teau I vrc L es ,
P remi er es Com
mani ons M aB oheme Roma
,
n , ,
Les Efi ‘
a
r és ,
and ,

ind ee d all but a

,
f ew of th e po ems he ev e r
284 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

B e lgium , E ngland , and again B elgium from ,

July 1 8 72 to August 1 8 73 wh e n th ere oc

, , , ,

curr e d that tragic parting at B russ els which

l eft V e rlain e a prison e r for e ight een months ,

and s e nt R imbaud back to his family H e .

had alr e ady writt en all th e po etry a n d pros e

that h e was e v e r to writ e and in 1 8 73 h e ,

print e d at B russ els Un e S a i s on en E nf er .

I t was the only book he himself e ver gav e to

t h e pr e ss and no soon er was it print e d than h e
,

d e stroye d th e whol e e dition with th e ex cep ,

tion of a few copi e s of which only V e rlain e s

,
’

c opy ,
I b e li ev e still exists S oon b e gan n ew
,
.

wa nd erings with th eir invari a

,
bl e r eturn to
t h e starting point of C harl e vill e : a f e w days in
-

P aris a y e ar in E ngl a
,
nd four months in S tutt
,

gart (wh er e h e was visit e d by V e rlain e) Italy , ,

F ranc e again V i e nna Java Holland S w e d en

, , , , ,

E gyp t C yprus A byssinia and th e n nothing

, , ,

but A frica un til the final r e turn to Franc e

,
.

H e had b een a t e ach e r of F r e nch in E n gland a ,

s e ll e r of k ey rings in th e stre e ts of P a
-
ris had ,

unlo a d e d v ess els in th e ports and h elp e d to ,

ga th er in th e harv est in th e country ; h e had

b ee n a volunt ee r in the D utch army a mi litary ,

e ngin ee r a trad e r ; and now physical sci enc e s

,
 T
AR H UR R M B A U D I 28 5

had b e gun to attract his insatiabl e curiosity ,

and dr e ams of th e fabulous E ast b egan to

r e solv e th e ms elv e s into dre ams of a romantic
comm e rc e with th e r e al E ast H e b e cam e a .

m erchant of coff ee p erfum es ivory and gold

, , , ,

in the int erior of Afric a ; th e n an e xplor e r a ,

pre d e c e ssor and in his own r egions of M a

,
r ,

chand A ft er tw e lv e y e ars wand ering and e x

.
’

p o s u r e in A frica h e was attack e d by a malady

of th e k n e e which r a ,
pidly b e cam e wors e .

H e was transport e d first to A d e n th e n to ,

M ars eill e s wh er e in M a
, y 1
,
8 9 1 his le g w as
, ,

a mputat e d F urth er c omplications s et in H e

. .

insist e d first on b eing re mov e d to his hom e

, , ,

th en on b eing tak en b a ck to M ars eill e s His .

su ff e rings w e re a n intol erabl e torm e nt and ,

mor e cru el to him w as th e torm ent of his d e sir e

to liv e H e di e d inch by inch fighting ev e ry ,

inch ; and his sist e r s qui e t narrativ e of thos e

’

last months is agonising H e di e d at M a . r

“
s e ill e s in N ov e mb e r proph e sying says his
, ,

sist er and rep ea

,
ting “
A llah K erim ! A llah
,
”
K erim l
T he s e cre t of R imbaud I think and th e , ,

r e ason why h e was abl e to do th e uni qu e

thing in lit e rature which he did and th e n ,
28 6 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVE M ENT

to disapp e ar quietly and b ecom e a l eg e nd in

th e E ast is that his mind was not th e mind
,

of th e artist but of th e man of action H e .

was a dre am er but all his dr e ams w er e dis

,

c overies To him it was an id entical act of

.

his t emp eram ent to writ e th e sonn e t of th e

Vowels and to trad e in ivory and frankin
c ens e with th e A rabs H e liv e d with all his
.

faculti e s at e v ery instant of his lif e aban ,

doning hims e lf to hims elf with a co nfid enc e

which was at onc e his str ength and (looking
at things l ess absolut ely ) his w e akn ess To .

th e stud e nt of succ e ss and what is r elativ e ,

in a chi e v em e nt h e illustrat e s th e dang er of

,
’
on e s ov er poss ession by on e s own g enius
’
-
,

j ust as aptly as th e saint in th e cloist er do es ,

or th e mystic too full of Go d to sp eak int el

ligib ly to th e world or th e spilt wisdom of
,

th e drunkard T h e artist who is abov e all

.

things an artist cultivat es a littl e choic e corn e r

of hims elf with elaborat e car e ; h e brings
mi raculous flow ers to growth th er e but th e ,

r e st of th e gard e n is but mown grass or tan

gl e d bush e s That is why many exc ell e nt
.

writers v ery many paint ers and most musi

, ,

c ia ns a
_

r e so t e dious on any subj e ct but th e ir

28 8 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVEM E NT

way ; h e has no tim e to go round and no ,

r e sp e ct for tr espass boar ds and so h e b e come s

-
,

th e enf a n t ter r i ble of lit eratur e playin g pranks ,

(as in that sonn e t of th e V owels ) knocking ,

down barri ers for the m er e amus em ent of th e

thing g e tting all th e possibl e advantag e of
,

his barbarisms in mi nd and conduct An d .

so in lif e h e is first of all conspicuous as a dis

, ,

ord erly liv er ar e volt er against morals as

,

against prosody though we may imagin e that

, ,

in his h eart morals m e ant as littl e to hi m on e

, ,

way or th e oth er as prosody Lat er on his

, .
,

r e volt s e ems to b e against civilisation its elf a s ,

h e di sapp e ars into th e d e s erts of A frica And .

it is if you lik e a r evolt against civi lisation

, , ,

but th e r e volt is instinctiv e a n ee d of th e ,

organism ; it is not doctrinal cyni cal a con , ,

vi c ti on a s entim ent
, .

Al ways as h e says r éva

, nt u ni vers f a n ta
s

ti qucs h e is conscious of th e dang er as w ell as

,

th e e cstasy of that divin e i mitation ; for h e

“
says : M y life will always b e too vast to b e
giv e n up wholly to forc e and b e auty J a ”
ttcnds .
’

D i eu a vec gou r ma n di s e h e cri es in a fi n e rap

, ,
“
tur e ; and th e n sadly enough :,
I hav e cr e
at e d all th e fe as ts a ll th e triumphs a
,
ll th e ,
 T
AR H U R R M B AU D I 28 9

dramas of the world I have set mys elf to .

inv ent n ew flow ers a n e w fl e sh a n e w lan , ,

guag e I hav e fanci e d that I hav e attain e d

.

sup ernatural pow er Well I hav e now only to .

,

put my imagination and my m e mori e s in th e

grav e What a fi n e artist s and story t ell er s
.
’
-
’

”
fam e thrown away ! S ee how compl e t ely h e
is conscious and how compl et ely h e is at th e
,

m ercy of that hallucinatory rag e of vision

, ,

vision to him b eing always forc e pow er cre , ,

ation which on som e of his pag es s ee ms to

, , ,

b ecom e sh eer madn ess and on oth ers a kind ,

of wild but absolut e insight H e will b e s il e nt .

,

h e t ells us as to all that h e contains within his

,

mind gree dy as th e se a for oth erwis e po e ts

,
“ ”
,

and visionari e s wo uld e nvy him his fantastic

w ealth And in that N ui t d E nf er which do e s
.
,
’
,

not b ear that titl e in vain he exalts hims elf as ,

a kind of saviour ; h e is in th e circl e of prid e in

’
D ant e s h ell and h e has lost all s e ns e of limit
, ,
“
r e ally b eli eve s hims elf to b e no one and
som e one ”
Th en in the A lchi mi e daVer be
.
, ,

h e b e com e s th e analyst of his own hallucina

“ ”
tions . I b eli e v e in all th e e nchantm e nts ,

“
h e t ells us ; I inv e nt e d th e colour of th e
vow els ; A black ; E whit e ; I re d ; 0 blu e ;
, , , ,
290 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM E NT

U gr ee n I r e gulat e d the form and th e mov e

,
.

m ent of e v ery consonant and with instinctiv e , ,

rhythms I flatt er e d mys elf that I had ih

,

v ent e d apo e tic languag e acc essibl e one day or ,

anoth er to e v ery shad e of m e aning I r e

,
.

s erv e d to mys elf th e right of translation 1

1
Hefa r
is th e
e mous s onn et , whi h c mus t ak en a s it
be t
w d ri
,

wa s mea
nt , ith out un ue s e ous nes s , a
n d yet a
s s omethin g

m r tha a
o e m r j k n e e o e .

V oYE L Es L
A r E bla I r g U rt O bl
noi nc, y ll ou e, ve eu , vo e es ,

J d ira j r
, ,

i q lq
e a i a ue lat t ue ou v os n s s n ces en es

ir r t l d m h é latat
.

A no co s e ve u es ou c es c n es

Q i b mb ill t at r d p at r r ll
,

u o en u ou es u n eu s c ue es ,

G lf d mb ; E ad r d ap r t d
’
o e o re t t c_ n eu es v eu s e es e n es ,

L a d glai r fi r i bla fri

,

d mb ll ;
’
nc e es c e s ers , o s n cs , s sons o e es

I p rp r ag rah é rir d le b ll
ou es , s n c c e es vres e es

D a la ler l i r
, ,

ns pé i t t
co e ou es v es s es n en es

U y l c ib m t di i
c es , v d m r d
re en s v ns es e s v1r1 es ,

ix d ix d rid
,

Pa mé d aima p a
‘ ’

p iti es z s se s n ux es es

l h mi imp rim a grad fr t t di

,

Q la
’
ue c e e ; e ux n s on s s u eux

O p r em su lair pl i d t ide c é trag on e n e s r eurs n es ,

m d
,

S il t a e d t d A g ;
—O l Omégaray i l t d S Y x !
en c es r v ers s es on es e es n es
’
,
on v o e e es eu

C i id o nc rigi it halat ly b p i t d t tha

e n ce or o t
n, s e e en o n e ou

Rimb ad ma y f r m rly h a
u a ld A B C b k i whi h
o e ve s e en n o oo n c

th w l a l r d f th m t part ahi a (A blak ;

e vo e s re c o ou e or e os s s re c

E whit ; I d ; 0 bl ; U gr
,

e re ) I th littl ill ue een n e e us

pi t r r d th m m a ddly i k pi g
, , , , .

t a
r ti ve a c u es oun e so e re o n ee n

with th imag f Rimbad

e e o u .
292 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM E NT

so e asily ; for what has com e to him p erhaps ,

through his impati e nc e but imp erf e ctly H e ,

.

is a dr e am e r in whom dr e am is swift hard in ,

o utlin e coming sudd e nly and going sudd enly

, ,

a r e al thing but s ee n o nly in passing Visions

,
.

rush past him h e cannot arre st th e m ; th ey

,

rush forth from him h e cannot r e strain th eir ,

hast e to b e gon e as h e cr e at e s th e m in th e
,

m ere indiscriminat e i dle n ess of e n ergy A n d .

so this s ee k er aft er th e absolut e l e av e s but

a brok e n m e dl e y of fragm ents into e ach of ,

whic h h e has put a littl e of his p ersonality ,

which h e is for e v er dramatising by multi ,

plying on e fac e t so to sp eak aft er anoth er

, ,
.

V e ry g en ui n ely h e is now a b e at e n and wan

,

d ering ship flying in a sort of intoxication

,

b e fore th e wind ov er undiscov er ed s eas ; now

,

a starving child outsid e a bak er s window in ’

,

th e v ery e cstasy of hung e r ; now la vi cti me et la

i of h fi rst communion now

’

p e t te c p ou s c t e ;

Jc ar l r a
i a j r a
i ri
dans l a
ne
p e p s e n e p e n s e en ;

mour in fini me monte ra

,

Ma is l a me
’ ’

E t j ir a
,

i lo in b ien loin c mme un bo h é mien

’
o

tur e heure ux c omm e a v e c un e fe mme !

, , ,

Pa r la Na ,

He catch es at v ers e at pros e inv ents a , ,

sort of ver s li bre b efor e an y one els e not ,

 T
AR H U R R M B A U D I 29 3

q uit e k nowing what to do with it inv e nts ,

a quit e n ew way of writing pros e which ,

Laforgu e will turn to account lat er on ; and

having sugg est e d with som e impati e nc e half
, ,

th e things that h i s own and th e n e xt g e n era

tion a r e to busy th e ms e lv e s with d e v e loping ,

h e giv e s up writing as an inad e quat e form

,

to which h e is also inad e quat e .

What th en is th e actual valu e of Rim

, ,

baud s work in v e rs e and pros e apart from

’
, ,

its r elativ e valu e s of so many kinds ? I

think consid erabl e ; though it will probably
,

come to r e st on two or thr ee pi e c e s of v ers e ,

and a still vagu er accomplishm e nt in pros e .

H e brought into F r ench v e rs e som e thing of

“
that gipsy way of going with natur e as ,
”
with a woman ; a v ery young v ery crud e , ,

v ery d efiant and som e tim e s v ery mast erly

s e ns e of j ust th e s e r e al things which a r e too

clos e to us to b e s een by most p e opl e with

any cl earn ess H e could r e nd er physic a
. l s en
sation of th e subtl est kind without making
, ,

any compromis e with langu a g e forcing lan ,

guag e to sp eak straight taming it as one would

,

tam e a dang erous animal A n d h e kn e ad e d .

pros e as h e kn e ad e d v ers e making it a dis ,

294 T HE S YM B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

articulat e d abstract math e matically lyrical

, ,

thing In v ers e h e point e d th e way to c er

.
,

tain n e w spl endours as to c ertain new n a , i

tea
vetes ; th e r e is th e B a u I vr c without which ,

w e might n ev er hav e had V erlain e s C ri men

’

A mori s . A n d int ertangl e d with what is in

,

g e n u ou s and with what is spl endid th er e is a

, ,

c ertain irony whi ch com es into that youth

,

ful wor k as if youth w er e alr e ady r eminisc ent

of its elf so conscious is it that youth is youth
, ,

and that youth is passing .

In all th es e ways R imbaud had his ih ,

fl u en c e upon Verlain e and his influ e nc e upon ,

V e rlain e was abov e all th e influ e nc e of th e

man of action upon th e man of s ensation ;
th e influ enc e of what is simpl e narrow , ,

e mphatic upon what is subtl e compl ex

, , ,

growing V erlain e s rich s e nsitiv e natur e was

.
’
,

j ust th en trying to r e alis e its elf Just b e caus e .

it had such d elicat e possibiliti es b e caus e ,

th er e w er e so many dir e ctions in which it

could grow it was not at first quit e sur e of
,

its way R imbaud cam e into the life and

.

art of Verlain e troubling both with that

, ,

troubl e which r e v e als a man to hims elf .

Having h elp e d to mak e V erlain e a gr eat

 J ULES LAF O R G U E

J U LE s LA F O R G E U
was born at M ont evi d eo ,

of B r e ton par e nts A ugust 2 0 1 8 6 0 H e di e d

, ,
.

in P ar is in 1 88 7 two d a ys b efor e hi s tw enty

,

s ev e nth birthday F rom 1 880 to 1 8 8 6 h e

.

had b e en r e ad er to th e E mpr ess A ugusta at

B e rlin H e marri e d only a f ew months b e
.

for e his d eath D a llu rcs ? says M Gustav e

.
’
.

Kahn f ort corr ectes dc ha

,
u ts gibu s ,des cr a ,

va
tes s obr es , dcs ves tons a
ngla
is ,
dcs p a
r des s u s

c lergy ma
ns, et a r les n eces si tes
dc p un p aa ’ ’

,
r

l i i mmu a
bleme n t p la s ou s le bra His
’

p u e c s e .

portraits show us a cl e an shav e d r etic e nt -

,

fac e b e traying littl e With such a p erson

,
.

ality an e cdot e s hav e but small chanc e of

appropriating thos e d etails by which ex
p a n s iv e natur e s e xpr e ss th e ms e lv e s to th e

world W e know nothing about L aforgu e

.

whi ch hi s work is not b ett er abl e to t e ll us ,

e v e n now that w e hav e all his not e s un ,

fi ni sh e d fragm ents and th e l ett ers of an

,

almost virginal n a i vete which h e wrot e to

2 96
 J ULES LA FORGU E 29 7

th e woman whom h e was going to marry .

His e ntir e work apart from th e s e additions, ,

is contain e d in two small volum es on e of ,

pros e the M ora li tcs L egen da i r es , th e oth er

’ ’

of v ers e L es Comp la L I mi ta
’
,
i n tes ti on dc ,

N otre D a
-
me laLu n e and a f e w oth e r pi e c es , ,

all publish e d during th e last thr ee y e ars of

his life .

T h e pros e and v ers e of Laforgu e scrupu ,

lou sly c orr e ct but with a n e w mann er of

,

corr e ctn ess o we mor e than any one has r e al

,

is e d to th e half unconscious pros e and v e rs e

-

of R imbaud V ers e and pros e a

. r e alik e a

ki nd of trav esty making subtl e u se of collo ,

q u iali s m ,
slang n e ologism t,
e chnical t e rms , ,

for th e ir allusiv e th e ir factitious th eir r e , ,

fl ec te d m e anings with which on e can play , ,

v ery s eriously T h e v ers e is al ert troubl e d

.
, ,

swaying d elib erat ely unc ert a

,
in hating rh e t ,

ori o so piously that it pr e f ers and finds its ,

pi quancy in th e ridic ulously obvious I t is

,
.

r e ally ver s li bre but at th e sam e tim e corr e ct

,
'

v ers e b e for e vers li bre had b e en inv e nt e d

, .

A n d it carri es as far as that th e ory h as

,

e v e r b e e n carri e d th e th e ory which d e mands,

an instantan eous notation (Wh istl er let us ,

s a
y 8 g u r e Of a
n sc a
pe W 0 O ne

has b e en accustom e d to d efin e with such

rigorous exactitud e V ers e always el e gant is .
, ,

brok e n up into a kind of mock ery of pros e .

r
E nco e un d e mes p ie ots mo t ; rr r
M rt d o
’
r q
un ch oni u e orp h elin is me ;

C é ta
’
it u n coeu r pl i e n de dady m n s e

L a
un ir e , en uh d r6 1e d e co rp s;

he will say to us with a famili arity of man ,

n er ,
as of on e talking l a nguidly in a low ,

voi c e th e lips always t e as e d into a slightly

,

bitt e r smil e ; and h e will pass sudd enly into

th e ironical lilt of
rni
H o tel g a
D e l in fi ni,
’

S p hin x tJ e o c on d e

D es dé f t un s mon d es ;

and from that into this sol emn and smil

ing e n d of one of his last po ems his own ,

e pitaph if you will :

,

1 1 p r it fr oid l a utr e a u tomn e

’

rdi v rs l s peines des cors

,

S é ta nt a t ta
’
e e

u j ou r
,

S ur la fi n d un b e a
’

O h ! c c f ut p our vos cors e t c c fut p our l a

.

utomne
’

r r d r
, ,

Q u il n o
’
u s m on t a q u o n m e u t
’
am o u
“
!
’ ”

O n ne le verr a p l u s a u f et es n a t i o n alesx

S enf erm er d a t t ir er les v e rr ous

,

n s l H is t oi e
’ ’
r e

Il vint tr op ta rd il e t r p ar ti sans andale ;

,

s e sc

O vous qui m é c oute r n tr e z ch a c un ch ez vous

,
’
z, e .
3 00 T H E S YMB OL S I T M OVEM ENT

be as strongly its opposit e as its elf and that ,

is why this balanc e d chill collo quial styl e , ,

of L aforgu e has in th e paradox of its in

,

t ensity th e e ss e ntial h e at of the most ob

,

vi ou sly e motional pros e T he pros e is mor e .

pati e nt than th e v ers e with its mor e com ,

passionat e laught er at univ ersal e xp eri enc e .

It can l augh as s eriously as profoundly , ,

as in that grav e yard monologu e of Haml e t ,

L aforgu e s Haml e t who M a e t erlinck v en

’
, ,
“
tur e s to say is at mom e nts more Haml e t
,
”
than th e Haml e t of S hak e sp e ar e Let me .

translat e a fe w s e nt e nc es from it .

“
P e rhaps I hav e still tw e nty or thirty
y e ars to li v e and I shall pass that way like
,

th e oth ers L ik e th e oth ers ? 0 Totality

.
,

th e mi s e ry of b e ing th er e no long e r ! Ah !
I would like to set out to morrow and s e arch -
,

all through th e world for th e most adaman

tin e proc ess e s of e mbalming Th ey too w er e .
, , ,

th e littl e p e opl e of History l e arni ng to r e ad , ,

trimming th e ir nails lighting th e dirty lamp

,

e v ery e v e ning in lov e gluttonous vain fond

, , , ,

of comp lim e nts handshak e s and kiss e s lit ing

, , ,
r

‘
on b e ll tow e r gossip saying What sort of
-
, ,

w e ath er shall w e have to morrow ? W in t er -

 JULES LA FORGU E 30 1

has r e ally com e W e hav e had no plums

.

this ye ar Ah ! e v erything is good if it would

.
’
,

not com e to an end An d thou S il e nc e .

, ,

pardon the E arth ; the littl e madcap hardly

knows what sh e is doing ; on the day of th e
gr e at summing u p of consciousn e ss b e fore th e
-

I d eal she will b e lab ell e d with a pitiful i dem

,

in th e column of the miniature e volutions

of the Uni qu e E volution in the column ,

of n eglig eabl e q uantiti es To die ! E vi .

d e ntly one di es without kn owing it a

,
s , ,

e v e ry night one e nt ers upon sl ee p O ne

,
.

has no consciousn ess of th e passing of th e

last lucid thought into sl eep into swooning , ,

into d e ath E vid e ntly B ut to b e no more

. .
,

to be h ere no more to b e ours no mor e ! ,

N ot e v e n to b e abl e any more to pr e ss , ,

against one s human h e art som e idl e aft e r

’
,

noon the anci e nt sadn ess c ontain e d in one

,
”
littl e chord on the piano !
In th es e always lunar parodi e s S a lome
’

, ,

L ohengri n Fi ls dc P a r s ifal P ers ee c t A n

’

, ,

dr omedc e ach a kind o f m e taphysical myth

a
, ,

he r e alis e s that lacr ea tu r e vaha r di men t

’

cm c ér ébr a le a n ti n a
turelle and h e has in
,
-
,

v ent e d th e s e fantastic pupp ets with a h al

3 02 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

most Japan es e art of spiritual dislocation .

Th e y a re in part a way of taking on e s

, ,
’

r e v enge upon sci e nc e by an ironical borrow ,

ing of its v ery t erms which danc e in his ,

pros e and v ers e d erisiv ely at th e end of a

, ,

string .

In his acc eptanc e of th e fragility of things

as actually a prin c ipl e of art L aforgu e is a ,

sort of transform e d Watt eau showing his ,

disdain for th e world which fascinat e s him ,

in q uit e a di ff er e nt way H e has c onstruct e d .

his own world lunar and actual sp e aking

, ,

slang and a stronomy with a constant dis ,

e ng a ging oi th e visionary a sp e ct und er which ,

frivolity b e com e s an escap e from th e arro

ganc e of a still mor e t emporary mod e of
b e ing th e world as it app e ars to th e sob e r
,

maj ority H e is t erribly conscious of daily

.

lif e cannot omit m e ntally a singl e hour of

, , ,

th e day ; and his flight to th e moon is in sh e er

d esp eration H e s e e s what h e calls l I ncon
.
’

s oi en t in e v e ry g e stur e but h e cannot see it ,

without th e s e g e stur e s A n d h e s e e s not only.

,

as an imposition but as a con qu est th e pos

, ,

s ib ilities for art whi c h com e from th e sickly

mod ern b e ing with his cloth e s his n erv es :

, ,
304 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM E NT

m er e cl e arn ess of vision across th e world , .

His laught er which M a e t erlinck has d efin e d

,
“
so admirably as th e laught er of th e soul ,

is th e laught er of P i errot mor e than half a ,

sob and shak e n out of him with a d eplorabl e

,

g e stur e of th e thin arms thrown wid e H e is , .

a m e taphysical P i errot P i errot lu na i re and , ,

it is of abstract notions th e whol e sci e nc e of ,

th e unconscious that h e mak e s his showman s

’
,

patt er A s it is part of his mann er not to

.

distinguish b etw een irony and pity or ev en ,

b eli ef w e n e e d not att empt to do so H ein e

,
.

should t e ach us to und erstand at l east so

much of a po e t who could not oth erwis e
r es embl e him l e ss In Laforgu e s entim ent .
,

is s qu e e z e d out of th e world b e for e one b egins

to play at ball with it .

An d so of th e two h e is th e mor e hop e

, ,

l e ss H e has inv ent e d a n ew mann er of

.

b eing R en é or W erth e r : an infl exibl e polit e

n e ss towards man woman and d e stiny H e , ,
.

compos e s lov e po e ms hat in hand and smil e s

-
,

with an e xasp erating tol eranc e b efor e all

th e transformations of th e e t ernal f e mi nin e .

H e is v ery conscious of d e ath but his bla gue ,

of d e ath is above all things g entl emanly

, ,
.
 J U LE S LAF ORG U E 305

He will not p ermit hims elf at any mom e nt , ,

th e luxury of dropping th e mask : not at

any mom e nt .

R e ad this A u trc Comp la

i n te dc L ord P i errot ,

with the singular pity of its cru elty b efore ,

such an imagin e d dropping of th e mask

d
C elle qu i oit m e me tt e u cou a r a
nt d e l F emme ! r a
N o us lui i on s d a
’
dr
b or d , d e m o n ir le moins oi a fr d
La somme d e s a n gle s d u n t ia
’
n gle , c h e e Ame , r r
E st éga
le a
d x dr ieu o ts .
”

Et si c c cr i a r t: D ie u d e D ie u que je t a
lui p ime !
’ ”

—“ D ieu re co n na itra les s ien s O u p iq u é e au vif

”

v ie rs o n t d u c oeu r t u se r a
.

M es cla mon se ul theme

T out es t r e latif
.
,

M oi “ '
.
”

D e t o us s e s e u , a y x
lo s ! se se n ta r
n t t op b a na le r
Ah ! t u na ma im e p as ; ta nt d a u tre s son t j a
“
loux !
’ ’

’ ’
r
E t moi, d un (E ll q u i ve s l In co n s c ien t s e mb lle
’
a
“
M e c i, p s ma r a
l; e t v ous ?

a — q
J ouons u plus fid ele !
”
A uoi b on , 6 N tu e ! ar
“
a a rd a
A u t nt qu i p e g gn e Alo s , a u t e c ouplet r r
a ra r r
. .

- “
Ah ! t u te l s se s le p e mie , j e n s u is s fi re
’ ”

r
.

“
A p es vo us , s
’
il vo us p l it a .
”

E nfi ns , a r u n s oir e lle m eu rt d a
s i, p ns mes livr es

D o u ce ; f e ig n a s c r oir e e n c or m es yeu x
, ,

n t d e n en p a
’

ur a A h ca v ion s D e Q uoi v ivr e !

,

Ja ma is n o us a
’ “
i un :
it d on c s é r ieu x ?
, ,

C é ta
’ ”

A n d ye t r ealis e s if one but r e ads him

one ,

att e ntiv ely e nough how much su ff ering and ,

3 06 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

d e spair and r esignation to what is aft er all

, , ,

th e in e vitabl e a r e hidd e n away und e r this

,

di sguis e and also why this disguis e is possibl e

, .

L aforgu e di e d at tw e nty s e v e n : h e had b e e n -

a dying man all his lif e and his work has th e ,

fatal e vasiv en e ss of thos e who shrink from

r e m e mb ering th e on e thing which th e y a re

unabl e to forg e t C oming as h e do es aft er

.

R imbaud turning th e divination of th e oth e r

,

into th e ori es into achi e v e d r e sults h e is th e

, ,

e t ernally grown up matur e to th e point of

,

—
s elf n e gation as th e oth er is th e e t e rnal
,

enf a n t terri ble H e thinks int e ns ely about

.

lif e s ee ing what is automatic path e tically

, ,

ludicrous in it almost as on e might who has

,

no part in th e com e dy H e has th e doubl e .

advantag e for his art of b eing cond e mn e d

, ,

to d e ath and of b eing in th e ad mirabl e phras e

, ,

“
of V illi ers o n e of thos e who com e into th e
,
”
world with a ray of moonlight in th eir brains .
30 8 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VE M ENT

vourin g to cloth e mystical conc eptions in

concr e t e form has inv e nt e d a drama so
,

pr e cis e so curt so arbitrary in its limits

, , ,

that it can saf ely b e confid e d to th e masks

and f eign e d voic es of marion e tt e s His .

th e atr e of artifi cial b eings who a re at onc e

,

more ghostly and more m e chanical than th e

living actors whom we a re accustom e d to see ,

in so curious a parody of life movi ng with ,

a c ertain fr ee dom of action across th e stag e ,

may b e tak en as its elf a symbol of th e asp e ct

“
und er which what w e fantastically t erm r eal
”
life pr e s e nts its elf to th e mystic A re w e .

not all pu pp e ts in a th e atr e of marion e tt es

, ,

in which th e parts w e play th e dre ss e s w e ,

w e ar the v e ry e motion whos e dominanc e

,

giv e s its e xpre ss form to our fac e s have all ,

b ee n chos e n for us ; in which I it may b e , ,

with curl e d hair and a S panish cloak play ,

th e romantic lov e r sor e ly against my will

, ,
“ ”
whil e you a fair p e nit e nt for no re p ent e d
,

sin pass q ui etly und er a nun s habit ? A n d

,
’

as our parts hav e b ee n chos e n for us our ,

motions controll e d from b ehind th e curtain ,

so th e words we s ee m to sp e ak a re but spok e n

through us and we do but utt e r fragm e nts

,
 M AETE RLIN C K AS A M YS TI C 3 09

of som e e laborat e inv e ntion plann e d for large r ,

e nds than our p e rsonal display or conv e ni e nc e ,

but to which a ll the sam e w e a

,
r e in a humbl e ,

d e gr ee n e c e ssary This symbolical th e atr e

.
,

its v e ry e xist e nc e b eing a symbol h a s p er ,

p le x e d many minds to som e of whom ,

it has
s e e me d pu e ril e a c hild s mystifi c a,
tion of small
’

words a nd r e p e titions a thing of attitud e s ,

and omissions ; whil e oth ers ye t mor e uh ,

wis ely hav e compare d it with the viol e nt

, ,

rh e torical most human drama of th e E liza

,

b e th a n s with S hak e sp e ar e hims elf to whom

, ,

all the world was a stag e and th e stag e a ll ,

this world c ertainly A s e nt e nc e alr e ady

,
.
,

famous of th e T r és or des H u mbles will t ell

, ,

you what it signifi es to M a et e rlinck hims elf .

“ ”
I hav e com e to b e li ev e h e writ e s in , ,

L e T ra
“
i
g qu e Q u oti di en that an old man ,

s e ate d in his armchair waiting qui etly und e r ,

th e lamplight list e ning without knowing it

,

to all th e e t e rn a l la ws which r e ign about his

hous e int e rpre ting without und erstanding it
,

all that th e re is in th e sil e nc e of doors and

windows and in th e little voic e of light e n
, ,

durin g the pre s e nc e of his soul and of his

d e stiny bowing his h ead a littl e without
, ,
3 10 T HE S YM B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

susp e cting that all th e pow ers of the e arth

i nt erv e n e and stand on guard in th e room lik e
att e ntiv e s e rvants not knowing that th e sun
,

its e lf susp ends abov e th e abyss th e littl e tabl e

on which h e r ests his elbow and that th er e is ,

not a star in the sky nor a forc e in th e soul

which is indi ff er ent to th e motion of a fall
—
ing e y elid or a rising thought I hav e com e
to b eli e v e that this motionl ess old man
liv e d r e ally a mor e profound human and , ,

univ e rsal lif e than th e lov er who strangl e s

his mistr ess th e capt a
,
in who gains a victory ,

or th e husband who av e ng e s his ‘

That it s ee ms to m e says all th e r e is

, ,

to b e s aid of the int e ntion of thi s dr ama

which M a e t erlinck has e vok e d and of its ,

styl e this oth e r s e nt e nc e which I tak e from

, ,

th e sam e e ssay :
“
I t is o nly th e words that
a t first sight s ee m us el ess w hi ch r e ally count
in a work .

This drama the n is a drama found e d on

, ,

philosophi c al id e as appre h e nd e d e motionally ;

,

on th e s e ns e of th e myst e ry of th e univ ers e ,

of th e w e akn e ss of humanity that s ens e which ,

Pa scal e xpr e ss e d wh e n h e s a
id : Ce qui m étonn c ’

te p lus es t de voi r qu e tou t le monde ’

n es t p a
s
3 12 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

ce ns e pour e d on a flam e M orality too .

, ,

is burnt away no long er ex ists any mor e

, ,

than it do e s for chi ldr e n or for God .

M a et erli nck has r e alis e d b ett er than any,

one e ls e th e signi fi canc e in lif e and art of

, , ,

myst ery H e has r ealis ed how uns e archabl e

.

is th e darkn ess out of whi ch we hav e but

j ust st epp ed and the dar kn ess into whi ch
,

we a re about to pass A n d h e has re alis e d

.

how th e thought and s e ns e of that twofold

darkn e ss invad e th e littl e spac e of light in
which for a mom ent w e mov e ; th e d epth to
, ,

which th ey shadow our st e ps e v e n in that ,

mom ent s partial e scap e B ut in som e of his

’
.

plays h e would s eem to hav e appr eh end e d

this myst ery as a thing m er ely or mainly ter
rifyi n g ; th e actual physical darkn ess sur
roundi ng blind men th e actual physical a
, p
proach of d e ath as th e intrud er ; h e has shown
us p e opl e huddl e d at a window out of which ,

th ey a r e almost afraid to look or b e ating at a ,

door th e op eni n g of which th ey dr e ad F ear

,
.

shivers through th es e plays cr eeping across

.
,

our n erv e s li k e a damp mist coiling up out of a

vall ey An d th ere is b eauty c ertai nly in

.
, ,
”
thi s vagu e spiritual f ear ; but a l ess obvious
 M AET ERLIN C K AS A M Y S T I C 3 13

kind of b e auty than that which giv e s its pro

found pathos to A gla vai n c c t S élysctte th e on e
,

play writt e n sinc e th e writing of the e ssays .

H ere is myst ery which is also pur e b e auty in

, ,

th es e d elicat e approach e s of int ell e ctual pathos ,

in which su ff ering and d e ath and e rror b e c om e

transform e d into som e thing almost happy so ,

full is it of strang e light .

An d th e aim of M a e t erlinck in his plays

, ,

is not only to r e nd er th e soul and th e soul s ’

atmosph ere but to r e v e al this strang e n ess

, ,

pity and b e auty thr ough b e autiful pictur e s

,
.

N o dramatist has e v e r b e en so car e ful that

hi s sc en e s should b e in th e ms elv e s b e autiful ,

or has mad e th e actu a l spac e of for est tow er , ,

or s eashor e so e motionally signi fi cant H e has .

r e alis e d aft er W agn er that th e art of th e stag e

, ,

is th e art of pictorial b e auty of th e corr e

,

s p on d en ce in rhythm b e tw e e n th e sp e ak ers ,

th eir words and th eir surroundings H e has

,
.

s ee n how in this way and in this way alon e

, , ,

the e motion which it is but apart of th e

,

po e tic drama to ex press c a n be a

, t onc e inten
s ifi e d and purifi e d .

It is only aft er hi nting at many of th e

things which he had to say in th e s e plays ,
3 14 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

whi ch hav e aft er all b een a k ind of sub ter

, ,

fuge that M a et erlinck has car e d or b een abl e

, , ,

to sp eak with th e dir e ct utt eranc e of th e

e ssays A nd what may s ee m curious is that
.

this pros e of th e e ssays whi ch is th e pros e of ,

a doctrin e is incomparably mor e b eautiful

,

than th e pros e of th e plays which was th e ,

pros e of an art Holding on this point a

.

diff er ent opini on from one who was in many ,

s ens es his mast er V illi ers d e l Isle A dam h e

, ,
’
-
,

did not admit that b eauty of words or ev e n ,

any e xpr ess ed b eauty of thoughts had its ,

plac e in spok en dialogu e e v en though it was ,

not two living actors sp e aki ng to on e anoth er

on th e stag e but a soul sp eaking to a so ul
, ,

and imagin e d sp eaking through th e mouths of

marion ett es B ut that b e auty of phras e which
.

mak es th e profound and som etim es obsc ur e

pag es of A x el shin e as with th e crossing fir e
of j ew els r ej oic es us though with a soft er a
, , ,

mor e e quabl e ra di anc e in th e pag e s of th es e

, ,

e ssays in which e v ery s ent enc e has th e in

,

dw elling b eauty oi an int ell e ctual e motion ,

pr es erv e d at th e sam e h eight of tran quil

e cstasy from fi rst pag e to last Th er e is a .

sort of r eligious calm in th es e d elib erat e s en

3 16 T HE S Y M BO L S I T M O VEM E NT

him unawar e s is l ess at the m ercy of visiting

,

ang els .

A lso it may b e said that h e surr end ers

,

hims elf to th e m mor e absolut ely with l ess ,

r es erv e and discr etion ; and as h e has infinit e ,

l eisur e his cont emplation b eing subj e ct to no

,

limi ts of tim e h e is r e ady to follow th e m on

,

unknown rounds to any distanc e in any direc

, ,

ti on r e ady also to r e st in any waysid e inn

, ,

without f e aring that h e will hav e lost th e

road on th e morrow .

This old gosp el o f which M a et erli nck is

,

th e n ew voic e has b e e n qui e tly waiting until

,

c ertain bankruptci es th e bankruptcy of S ci ,

e nc e of th e P ositiv e P hilosophi e s should allow

, ,

it full cr e dit C onsid ering th e l ength e v e n of

.

tim e it h a
, s not had an unr e asonabl e spac e of
wa it ing ; and r e m e mb er that it tak e s time but
littl e into account W e have s ee n many littl e
.

gosp els d emanding of e ve ry e motion of e v e ry ,

“
instinct its c e rtificat e at the hand of som e
,
”
r e sp e ctabl e authority Without confid e nc e in
.

th e ms elv e s or in things and le d by S ci e nc e , ,

which is as if one w ere led by on e s not e book ’

-
,

th e y d e mand a r e asonabl e explanation of

e v e ry myste ry N ot fi nding that explana
.
 M AETE RLIN C K A S A M Y S TI C 3 17

tion th e y re j e ct the myst ery ; which is as if

,

th e fly on th e wh ee l r e j e ct e d th e wh e e l b e caus e
it wa s hidd e n from his e y e s by th e dust of its

own raising .

T h e mystic is at onc e th e proud e st and th e

humbl e st of me n H e is as a child who re signs
.

hims elf to th e guidanc e of an uns ee n hand ,

th e hand of on e w a lking by his sid e ; h e r esigns

hims e lf with t he child s humility A n d h e
’
.

has th e prid e of th e humbl e a prid e manife sting

,

its elf in th e calm r e j e ction of e ve ry acc ept e d

map of th e ro a ds of e ve ry o ff e r of assist a
,
nc e of ,

e v e ry paint e d signpost pointing out t h e smooth

est w a ys o h w hich to trave l H e d e mands no .

authority for t h e uns ee n h a nd whos e fing e rs

h e f e els upon his wrist . H e conc e iv e s of lif e ,

not ind e e d so much as a road on which on e

, ,

walks v e ry much at on e s own discr e tion but

,
’
,

as a blow n and wand e ring ship surround e d by ,

a s e afrom which th e re is no glimps e of land ;

and h e conc eiv e s that to th e curre nts of that
se a he may saf e ly trust hims e lf L et his hand
.
,

ind e e d b e on th e rudd er th e r e will b e no

, ,

miracl e worke d for him ; it is e nough miracl e

that th e se ashould b e th e re and the ship , ,

and he hims e lf H e will n e ve r know why

.
3 18 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

his hand should turn the ru dd er this way

rath er than th a t .

“
Jacob B o ehm e has said v e ry subtly that
, ,

man do es not p erc e iv e th e truth but Go d

p erc e iv e s th e truth in man that is that ,

wh a t ev er w e p e rc e iv e or do is not p erc eiv e d

or don e c onsciously by us but unconsciously
,

through us O ur busin e ss th e n is to t end

.
, ,

th a “
t inn er light by which most mystics
hav e symbolis e d that which at onc e g uid e s us
in tim e and attach e s us to e t e rnity This .

inn er light is no mir a culous d e sc e nt of th e

Holy S pirit but th e p erf e c tly natur a
,
l though ,

it may finally b e ov e rcoming asc e nt of th e ,

spiri t within us T h e spirit in all men b eing

.
, ,

but a ray of th e univ e rs a l light it can by , ,

c ar e ful t e nding by t h e r e mov a

,
l of all ob s tru c
tion th e cl e ansing of th e v e ss el th e trimming
, ,

of th e wick as it w er e b e incr e as e d mad e to

, , ,

burn with ast e adi e r a bright e r flam e

,
In .

th e l a st raptur e it may b e com e dazzling may ,

blind th e watch er with e xc e ss of li ght shutting ,

him in within th e circl e of tr a n s fi gu r at io n ,

whos e extr em e radianc e will l e av e all th e

r e st of th e world h e nc eforth on e darkn e ss .

A ll mystics b e in g conc ern e d with what is

3 20 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

“
And it is characte ristic of him of his con ,
”
fi d e n c e in myst ery that h e sp e aks always
,

without raising his voic e without surpris e or ,

triumph or th e air of having said a

,
nything
mor e than th e simpl e st obs ervation H e .

sp e aks not as if h e kn e w mor e than oth e rs or

, ,

had sought out more e l a bor a t e s e cre ts but as ,

if he h a d lis te n e d more att e ntiv ely .

“
L oving most thos e writ ers whos e works
a re n e ar e st to sil e nc e
”
h e b e gins his book
, ,

significantly with an e ssay on S il e nc e an

, ,

e ssay which l ik e all th es e e ssays has the

, ,

re s erv e th e e xpre ss iv e re tic e nc e of thos e

, ,
“
activ e sil e nc e s of which h e succ ee ds in
re v e aling a fe w of the s e cre ts .

E
“
S o u ls
”
h e
,
t e lls us “
a
r e w e igh e d in sil e nc e
, ,

as gold and silve r a re w e igh e d in pur e wat e r ,

and the words which we pronounc e have no

m e aning e xc ept thr ough the sil e nc e in which
th e y a r e bath e d W e s ee k to know that we
.

”
may l e arn not to know ; k nowle dge that ,

which can b e known by th e pure re ason me ta ,

“
physics ,
indisp ensabl e o n this sid e of th e
”
fronti e rs b e ing aft er all pre cis ely what is
,

l e ast e ss ential to us sinc e l east e ss e ntially

,

ours elv e s “
.W e poss ess a s elf more profound
 M AET ERLIN C K AS A M YS TI C 3 21

and mor e boundl e ss than the s e lf of the pas

sions or of pure r e ason . Th er e com e s a
mom e nt wh en th e ph e nom ena of our cus
toma r y cons c iousn e ss
,
what we may call th e
consciousn e ss of the passions or of our normal
tionships no longe r m e a
r el a ,
n anything to us ,

no long e r touch our re al lif e I admit that .

this consciousn e ss is oft e n int e re sting in its

way and that it is oft e n n e c e ssary to know it
,

thoroughly B ut it is a surfac e pl a
. nt a nd ,

its roots fe ar th e gre at c e ntral fi re of our b eing .

I may commit a crim e without the l e ast br ea th

stirring th e tini e st flam e of this fi re ; and on ,

th e oth er hand th e crossing of a singl e glanc e

, ,

a thought which n ev er com e s into b e ing a ,

minut e which pass e s without th e utt er a nc e

of a word may rous e it into t erribl e agitations
,

in th e d epths of its r etre at and caus e it to

,

ov erflow upon my lif e Our soul do e s not

.

j udg e as w e j udg e ; it is a capri c i ous and

hidd en thing . I t can b e re ach ed by a bre ath
a n d unconscious of a t emp e st Le t us find out
.

wh a t r e ach e s it ; e v e rything is th er e for it is

,

the r e that we ours elv e s a re

”
.

A nd it is towards this point that all th e

w ords of this book t e nd M a e t erlinck unl ik e
.
,
3 22 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

most men ( What is m a

“
n but a Go d who is
“ ”
is not mis erly of immortal thi ngs .

H e utt ers th e most divin e s e cr e ts without

f e ar b e traying c ertain hi ding plac es of th e
,
-

soul in thos e most n e arly inacc essibl e r e tre ats

which li e n e ar est to us All that h e says we
.

know alr eady ; we may d eny it but we kn ow ,

it It is what w e a
. r e not oft e n at l e isur e

e nough with ours elv e s sinc er e e nough with

,

ours elv es to r e alis e ; what we oft en dar e not

,

r e alis e ; but wh en h e says it w e know that

, ,

it is tru e and our knowl e dg e of it is hi s

,

warrant for saying it H e is what h e is

.

pr e cis ely b e caus e h e t ells us nothing which

w e do not alr e ady kn ow or it may b e what
, ,

w e hav e kn own and forgott en .

T h e mystic let it b e r e m e mb ere d h a

, s ,

nothing in common with th e moralist H e .

sp e a ks only to thos e wh o a r e alr e ady pr e par e d

to list e n to him and h e is indiffer ent to th e

,
“ ”
practical eff e ct whi ch th es e or oth e rs may
draw from his words A young and profound
.

mystic of our day has figur e d the influ enc e of

wis e words upon th e foolish and h e adstrong
“
as torch e s thrown into a burning city .

T he mystic knows w ell that it is not always

 C O N CLU SI O N

O U R o nly chanc e , in this world , of a compl e t e

happin e ss li e s in th e m easur e of our succ ess
,

in shutting th e e y e s of th e mind and d e ad ,

en in g its s e ns e of h e aring and dulling th e

,

k ee nn ess of its appr eh ension of th e unknow n .

Kno wing so much l ess than nothi ng for w e ,

a r e e ntrapp e d in smiling and many colour e d -

app earanc e s our lif e may s e em to b e but a

,

littl e spac e of l eisur e in whi ch it will b e th e

,

n e c e ssary busin ess of e ach of us to sp e culat e

on what is so rapidly b e co ming th e past and
so rapi dly b e coming th e futur e that scarc ely ,

e xisting pr e s e nt which is aft er all our only

poss ession Y et as th e pr e s ent pass e s from

.
,

us hardly to b e enj oye d e xc ept as m emory

,

or a s hop e and o nly with an at b est partial

,

r e cog nition of the unc e rtainty or inutility of

both it is with a kind of t error that we wak e
,

up e v ery now and th en to th e whol e knowl

, ,

e dg e of our ignoranc e and to som e p er

,

c e p ti on of wh e r e it is l e ading us To liv e .

3 24
 CO N CLUS I O N 3 25

through a singl e day with that ov erpow ering

consciousn ess of our r e al position which in , ,

th e mom e nts in which alon e it m e rcifully

com es is like blinding light or th e thrust
,

of a flaming sword would driv e any man

,

out of his s e ns es I t is our h esitations th e

.
,

e xcus e s of our h e arts th e compromis es of

,

our int ellig e nc e which sav e us W e can

,
.

forg e t so much w e can b ear susp e ns e with

,

so fortunat e an e vasion of its r e al issu e s ;

we a r e so admirably finit e .

A n d so th er e is a gr e at sil e nt conspiracy ,

b e tw ee n us to forg e t d e ath ; all our liv es a

re

sp ent in busily forg e tting d eath That is . .

why w e a r e activ e about so many things

which we know to b e u ni mportant ; why w e

a r e so afraid of solitud e and so thankful for
,

th e company of our f ellow cr e atur e s Allow -

.

ing ours elve s for th e most part to b e but

, ,

vagu ely conscious of that gr e at susp e ns e in

whi ch we live we find our e scap e from its
,

st eril e annihilating r e ality in many dr e ams

, ,

in r eligion passion art ; e ach a forg e tfuln ess

, , ,

e ach a symbol of cr e ation ; r eligion b eing th e

cre ation of a n ew h e av en passion th e cr e ation
,

of a new earth and art in its mingling of

, ,
3 26 T HE S Y M B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

h e av e n and e arth the cr e ation of h e ave n out

,

of e arth E ach is a kind of sublim e s el

.

fi sh n ess th e saint th e lov e r and th e artist

, , ,

having e ach an incommunicabl e e cstasy which

h e e st e e ms as his ultimat e attainm e nt how ,

ev er ,
in his low e r mom e nts h e may s erv e ,

G o d in action or do th e will of his mistr e ss

, ,

or minist er to m en by showi ng th e m a littl e

b e auty B ut it is b e for e all things an escap e
.
, ,
:

and th e proph e ts who hav e r e d eem e d th e

world and th e artists who hav e mad e th e
,

world b e autiful and th e lov ers who hav e ,

q uick e n e d th e puls e s of th e world hav e r e ally , ,

wh eth er th e y kn e w it or not b ee n fl ee ing ,

from th e c ertainty of one thought : that we

hav e all of us only our one day ; and from
, ,

th e dr e ad of that oth er thought : that th e day ,

how e v er us e d must aft er all b e wast ed

,
.

T h e f e ar of d e ath is not cowardic e ; it is ,

rath er an int ell e ctual dissatisfaction with an

,

e nigma which has b ee n pr e se nt e d to us and ,

which can b e solv e d only wh e n its solution

is of no furth er u s e All we hav e to ask .

of d eath is th e m e aning of lif e and we a re ,

waiting all through life to ask that qu estion .

That life sho uld b e happy or unhappy as ,

3 28 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

thos e instincts which mak e for r eligion pas ,

sion and art fr eeing us at onc e of a gr e at

, ,

bondag e T h e final unc ertainty r emains but

.
,

we s ee m to knock l e ss h elpl e ssly at clos e d

d oors coming so much clos er to th e onc e
,

t errifying e t ernity of things about us as we ,

c om e to look upon th es e things as shadows ,

through whi ch we hav e our shadowy passag e .

“ ”
F or in th e particular acts of human lif e ,
“
P lotinus t ells us it is not th e int erior soul
,

and th e tru e man but th e e xt erior shadow

,

of th e man alon e w hi ch lam ents and w eeps

, ,

p erforming hi s part on th e e arth as in a

mor e ampl e and e xt e nd e d sc e n e in whi ch ,

many shadows of souls and phantom sc en es

”
app ear A n d as w e r e alis e th e id entity of
.

a po em a pray er or a kiss in that spiritual

, , ,

univ ers e whi ch we a re w e aving for ours elv e s ,

e ach out of a thr e ad of th e gr e at fabric ; as

we r e alis e th e infinit e in sig ni fi c a
n c e of action ,

its imm e ns e distanc e from th e curr e nt of life ;

a s w e r e alis e th e d elight of f e e ling ours elv e s

carri e d onward by forc e s which it is our

wisdom to ob ey ; it is at l east with a c ertain
r eli ef t hat we turn to an anci ent doctrin e ,

s o much th e mor e lik e ly t o b e tru e b e caus e

 CO N C LUS I O N 3 29

it ha s s o much th e air of a dr e am . On this

th e ory alon e do es all life b e com e worth living ,

a ll art worth making ,

all worship worth
o ff ering A nd b e caus e it might slay as w ell
.

as sav e b e caus e th e fr ee dom of its sw ee t

,

captivity might so e asily b e com e d e adly to

th e fool b e caus e that is th e hard e st path to
,

walk in wh ere you a r e told only,

walk w ell ;
it is p erhaps th e only couns el of p erfe ction
which can ev er really mean much to th e
artis t
.
 B I BLI OGRA P H Y AN D N O TE S

T HE a
essys conta ine d in this b ook a re not inte nd ed to

give inf orma tion T hey a

. re conce rne d wi th id ea s ra the r

tha n wi th f a cts ; ea ch is a s tudy of a pr ob lem only in pa

,
rt
alitera ry one in which I ha
,
ve en d e avour e d to con sid e r

writers a s pe r sona lities und e r the ac tion of spir itua l f or ces ,

or as themselves s o ma n y for ces B ut it ha

. s ee me d to
s

me tha t r ea d e r s ha ve ar ight to d ema n d informa tion in

rega rd to writer who ae so often likely to be unfa
s r milia r
to them .I ha ve the r ef or e given a
, ,
b ibliogra p hy o f th e

wor ks of ea
“
ch writer with whom I h a ve d ea lt a nd I h a
,
ve

a dd ed anumber of notes giving va , rious pa r ticula rs w h i h

c

I think a e lik ely to be u ef ul in fi x ing mo r e d efinitely

r s

the persona l cha racteristics of these writers .

3 36 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

S cenes de l Vie a Pa
ri sienne

F erra
gus , 1 833 a ngea LaDu
i s 1 834 ; La chess e dc L ,

Fi lle a LaGra ndeu r ct la De a dence dc

’
u x yeu x d or 1 8 34 , c

Cesa
’

r Birotwau 1 837 LaM aison N uci ngen 1 837 S plen

, ,

deurs t mi eres dcs cou r ti sa

c s nes 1 8 3 8 Les S ecrets de la ,

Pri ncesse dc Ca di gna

n 1 839 ; F a ci no Ca ne 1 8 3 6 ; S a
r
, ,

ras i ne 1 830 ; Pi erre Gr a

,
s sou 1 8 39 ; L a Cousi ne B ette 1 846 ; , ,

Le Cousi n Pons 1 84 7 ; Un Pri nce dc laB oheme 1 8 39 ;

, ,

Ga udi ssa rt II 1 844 Les Employés 1 836 Les Comédiens

, ,

sans lc sa voi r 1 845 ; Les Peti ts B ourgeoi s 1 8 45 ;

, ,

a
S c m s de laVi e M ili t ri e a
Les Chou a
ns ,
1 8 27 ; s i on da
Une Pa ns te des ert
s , 1 83 0 .

S cenes de l Vi e a Poli tique

Uh Epi sode s ous a r ur l T er e ,
1 83 1 ; Une T éné breuse Af
i re
fa rca 1 840 ;
Ma ’
L E nvers dc l H i stoi rc
’
, 1 84 1 ; Z . s, con

a
tempor i nc, 1 84 7 ; Le Député d A rci s
’
.

a
S ci nes de l Vi e dc Ca
mpa
gne

Le M édeci n dc c mpa
a gne 1 83 2 , Le Cure dc vi lla
ge, 1 837
Di s Pa
ys a
ns , 1 84 5 .

Etudes Philosophi ques

L aPca
u dc Cha gr i n ,
1 8 3 0 ; esus -
Ch i st en Fl nd es , J r ar
r
1 83 1 ; M elmoth é con ci li é , 1 8 3 5 ; Le Chef -d ceu vrc i nconnu ,
’

1 8 3 2 ; Ga mbaa ,
r
1 837 ; M a s si mi ll Doni , 1 8 39 ; L Rech a a
1 834 ; L E nf a nt M a
’
erche dc l A bs olu , udi t, 1 83 1 Les
’

M aa r nas , 1 8 32 d
A i eu, 1 83 0 ; Le Réqu i si ti on na i re, 1 83 1 ;
 I I
B BL OGRA PH Y AN D N O T ES 3 37

El Verdugo, 1 829 ; Un Dr a mc c u bord de lamer, 1 8 34 ;

L A ubergc rouge, 1 83 1 ; L Eli x i r dc longue vi e, 1 83 0 ;
’ ’

Ma i trc Corneli us , 1 8 3 1 ; Ca theri ne dc M édi ci s , 1 8 36 ;

Les Proscri ts, 1 8 3 1 ; Loui s La r
mbe t, 1 832 S era
p hi
’

ta,
1 8 33 .

Etudes A na
lyti ques

L aPhysi ologic du m ri a
a ge,
1 829 Peti tes mi seres de la
vi e conjuga
lc .

Va r
u t i n , Dra
mc 5 A ctcs , 1 84 0 ; Les Ressources dc Qui nol , a
d
Come i c 5 A ctcs , 1 842 ; Pa mel Gi aa r a
ud , Dr mc 5 A ctcs ,

1843 ; L aM a
rd t e r ,
a
Dr mc 5 A ctcs, 1 848 ; LaF a i seu r
(M erca d a
d et) , Comé i e 5 A ctes , 1 85 1 ; Les Con tes Drol ti qucs ,
338 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM EN T

PR O SPER M E RI M E E
—
(1 803 1 8 70)

L aGu zla1 827

’
,
La J aq
c uer i e, 1 828 ; Le Ch r on i que a
d
Temps dc Chales I X r ,
1 8 29 ; LaVa
s e E tru squc , 1 8 29 ;

Venus d I llc , 1 83 7
’
Colomba
,
1 84 6 ; Ca r
men , 1 84 5 ; L ohi s ,
1 86 9 ; teo Fa
Ma lcone ,
1 8 76 ; M cla
ngcs H i stori ques ct Li tte
ra
i rcs ,
1 8 55 ; a
Les Cos ques d A u tre-f oi s , 1 8 6 5 ; Etu e sur
’
d
les A ts r a n a
M oyen-A ge, 18 75 ; Les F ux D emet i us , 1 853 ; r
Etud a
l H i stoirc Rom i ne , 1 8 44
’
H i stoi e dc Dom r
aI
e s ur

P dre o, 1 848 Lettres unc neonn e, a 1 874 .

340 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

Fa yolle (with E Go ges ) , 1 856 ; (Ha. r

vres Cm p létes , 6 vols .

(1 , Les Deux Fa us t dc Goethe ; 2 , 3 , Voya ge en O ri en t; 4 ,

Les I llumi nes, Les F a
ux S a
uln iers ; 5 , Le Re ve et l Vie , Les a
Fi lles daF eu , LaB oheme ga lan te ; 6 , P oési es Completes ) ,

1 86 7 .

T he s onn ets , wr itten t diff er ent period s a

a nd publishe d
“
for the fir s t time in the collection of 1 8 54 , Le s Filles d u
Fe u ,
”
hich a w
ls o conta
“
ins S lvi e, ”
e e ep in te in the y wr r r d
volume of Poé si es Comp letes , h e e the re im e e in w r y a b dd d
d d rb j
the mi st of eplo ale uvenili a a a
All, or lmost ll, of the .

r w rth pr r i g wa ll t d 1 897 by tha

v e se o e se v n t s co ec e , In ,

d li a
e t ac ma t r f th
e ri iti f b aty M R my
eu o e cu os es o e u , . e

d G rm t i
e ou ati y l m a
on ,
ll d L
n Chi me n vo u e c e es res ,

whi h ta c i th
c on i t ns f L C himer
e s x th s onn e s o es es , e

t a ll d V r D r é f L C hr i t
“ ” “
s onne c e th fi e st o s, e ve sonne s o e s

a O li i r ad i fa imil f th at gr a
ux v e s, n , ph th
n cs e o e u o ,
e

all d C yd a T h tr fat f th lif

“ ”
ly ir c c L e li es se s . e ue c s o e e

of G e ad h a b r r t ld f th fi t tim fr m rig i a
ve ee n l
o or e rs e, o o n

d m t by M m A éd B a
ocu en s , ri i tw e ll t
. rv e ne , n o e x ce en

arti l i th R d D M d O t b r 1 5 ad
c es n e evue es cux on es , c o e n

N mb er 1 1897 ince rep inted in L N v é 1 8 98

ove , , s r es e ros s, .
 I I
B B L O GRAPH Y AN D N OT ES 34 1

T H E O P H ILE GA U T IE R

(1 8 1 1 1 8 72 )-

Les P oési es, 1 830 ; A lbertus , oil l emc t le

’ ‘

Péché , 1 8 33 ;
Les nes Fra
J ca ,
1
nce 8 3
- 3 M a emoi s elle d e M au p i n ,
1 8 35 ; d
Fortunio, 1 838 .

a
L Comedi c de laM ort, 1 8 3 8 ; Tra s les M on tc s , 1 839 ;

a
Une L rme daDi a ble, 1 83 9 ; Gis ele , ba llet, 1 84 1 ; Une
Voya ge en Es pagne, 1 84 3 ; Le Peri , ba lle t, 1 84 3 ; Les Gro
te sques, 1 844
a
.

Une N ui t dc Cleop t r 1 845 e, Premieres Poesi es ,

1 84 5 ;
a
Z i gz gs, 1 845 ; Le T i corne r Encha
nté ,
1 84 5 ; LaT u qui e, r
1 84 6 .

LaJ uive dc Cons t n ti ne dr a

a ma 1 84 6 ;
, , Jca
n ct Ja e n

nette , 1 846 Le Roi Ca

nda u lc 184 7 ,
.

Les Roués i nnocents , 1 847 ; H i s toi r e dcs Peintres , 1 84 7

Reg rde
a z, ma
is a
n s 1 8 47 ; L es F etes de M a
’
y touc hc p drid , ,

1 84 7 ; Pa rtie carr li a 1 8 52 ; L es Ema

I ta ée, 1 8 5 1 ; ux ct ,

Comics 1 8 52 L A rt M oder ne 1 8 59 ; Les B ea ux A r ts en

’
, ,

Europe 1 8 52 ; Ca pri ces ct Z i gzags 1 8 52 ; A riaM a rcella

ux —
, , ,

18 52 ; Les B ea arts en Europe 1 8 55 Constantinople

1 854 ; Thea
, ,

tre dc p che 1 8 55 ; Le Roma o n dc laM omi e

, ,

1 856 ; J etta tu ra 1 8 5 7 ; A va,

tar 1 8 57 ; S a kounta la B a lle t , , ,

1 8 58 ; H on or é dc B a lzac 1 8 59 Les Vosges 1 8 6 0 ; T r ésors

—
, ,

d A t dc la
’
r Rus ic 1 8 6 0 186 3 ; H i s t i re dc l a
s ,
rt théd t ale en o
’
r

F ra nce dep u i s vi ngt ci nq ans 1 8 6 0 ; Le Ca

-
pi tai ne F r a
ca
,
sse ,

1 8 6 3 ; Les Di eux et les Demi Di eux dc lapei n tr e 1 8 6 3 ; -

,
34 2 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

Poési es nouvelles , 1 86 3 ; Loi n de Pa

ri s ,
aB
1 864 ; L ell
e

J enny, a
1 8 6 4 ; Voy ge en Rus si e, 1 8 6 5 ; S p i ri tc , 1 86 6 ; Le
aa a
P l i s pompei en dc l A venue M ont igne, 1 86 6 ; R ppo t
’
a r
s ur lc p rogre r a
s dcs Lett es , 1 8 6 8 ; M en gere i n ti me, 1 8 6 9
’

LaN a tu r e chez E lle 1 8 70 ; Ta blea dc S i ege 1 8 7 1 ;

T hea
,
ux ,

tr e 1 8 72 ; Por tr a
,
i ts Con te mp r a i ne s 1 8 74 ; H i stoi r e
o ,

da Roma n ti s me 1 8 74 ; Portr a i ts ct S ouveni r s li ttera

i es
’

,
r ,

1 8 75 ;Poesies comp letes 1 8 76 : 2 vols ; L Ori en t 1 8 77 ;

’ ’

ux a
.
, ,

F u sine ct coa x F or te s
-
,
blea
1 8 8 0 ; Ta la P lume 1 880 ; ,

Ma demoi selle Daphne 1 88 1 ; Gu ide dc l A mateur a

,
n M usés
’

r
d u Louv e 1 8 82 ; S ouveni
. r s dc Théd tre d A rt et de
’
cri tique ,

1 8 83 .
344 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM EN T

C H ARLES B A U D ELAIRE

—
(1 82 1 1 8 6 7)

Sa lon dc 1 84 5, 1 845 ; S a lon de 1 846 , 1 846 ; Hi stoi es r

E x tra i rcs , t a
ordi na r
dui t dc P oe, 1 8 56 N ou vclle Hi stoi es r
Ex tra ordinai rcs , 1 8 57 Les Fleu s du M a r
l, 1 8 57 ; A ven
r rd
tu cs d A rthur Go on P ym (P oe) , 1 8 58
’
Theophi le Ga u

ti er , 1 85 9 Les Pa radi A rtifici cls : O pi um ct H a

s chi s ch,

aPari
s

1 86 0 Ri cha rd Wa
gne r ct T a
nn wuser s, 1 86 1 ;
Eu rek a
: P oe, 186 4 ; H i s toi r es Grotesques : P oe, 1 86 5 ;
Les Epa
ves dc Ch ale r s B udela
a i re , 1 86 6 .
 I
B BL OGRAP H Y AN D I N O T ES 34 5

ED M O N D AND JU LE S D E G O N C O URT

(1 822 1 896 — 1 8 30 1 8 70) -

En 1 8 , 1 85 1 lon de 1 852, 1 8 52 ; LaLorette , 1 8 53 ;

Sa
M ysteres des T he a
arev luti n da ns les M ceu
tres , 1 8 5 3 ; L o o rs ,

H i t i r d laS ci te F r a i s penden t laRevo

n ca
’

1 854 s o e e o e e

lu ti on , 1 854 ; H i s t i re d laS ci te F r a
n c i e p n dent la
’

al E
o c o e o s e

Di r ectoi e, r 1 8 55 Le Peinture p osi ti on de

’
x i s de r
Pa
1 8 55 , 1 8 55 Une Voi tu e dcs M a r sque s , 1 85 6 ; Les A ctri ces ,

1 8 56 S ophi e A nau l , 1 857 r

Po t a d
i ts i n ti mes du X VII I rr
S teele , —
1 8 57 1 8 5 8 ; H i stoi r e de M ai e A ntoi nette , 1 858 ;r
L A r t du
’
X VII I S i ecle , —
1 8 59 18 75 ; Les H ommes dc
Lett r es , 1 86 0 Les Ma i tresses dc L ou i s VI , 1 86 0 ; S tea
r

Philomene 1 86 1 ,
Les c mes a u X VI I I S iecle 1864 ; ,

Renee M a u peri n 1 8 6 4 ; Germi n i e La , ccrteu x 1 8 6 4 I dées ,

ct S ensa ti ons 1 86 0 ; M a nette S a

,
lomon 1 8 6 7 ; M a dame ,

Ger va i sai s 1 8 6 9 ; Ga ,
va rni 1 8 73 ; LaP a tri c en Da nger
, ,

1 8 79 ; L A mour a
’
u X VIII S i ec le 1 8 73 ; Ladu B a rry , ,

1 8 75 ; M a da mc dc Pompa dour 1 878 ; LaDuchesse de la

Cha
,

tea u r ou x 1 8 79 ; P a ges r etr ouvées 1 8 8 6 ; J ou r na l des

—
, ,

G ncour
o ts 1 8 8 7 1 8 9 6 9 Vols ; P r éf a
, ces et ma
,
nif estes .

li tté rai res 1 88 8 ; L I ta li e d hi er 1 8 9 4 ; E dmond dc Gon

’ ’
, ,

cour t: Ca talogue ra i sonée dc l oeuvrc pei n te dess i né ct gra

’
ve ,

d A ntoine Wa ttea 1 8 73 ; Ca talogue dc l a eu vre dc P

’ ’
u , .

P roudhun 1 8 76 LaFi lle Eli s a 1 8 79 Les F reres Z a

,
m ,

ga LaM a i son d u n A r ti ste 1 88 1 ; LaFa u s tin

’
nno 1 8 79 , , ,

1882 LaS a i nt-H u ber t 1 88 2 Cheri e 1 8 84 ; Germi nia

, ,

La cer teux pi ece 1 888 M a

, demoi scllc Cla
, i ron 1 890 ; O uta ,

mo r r
le pei nt e des m i sons vertes, 1 8 9 1 ; L
o, a aGumia
rd ,

a
18 93 ; A b s le progres, 1 8 93 ; H okousci , 1 896 .
34 6 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M O VEM E NT

VILLIERS D E L ISLE -AD AM

’

—
(1 8 38 1 88 9 )

P remieres Poésies , 1 8 59 I s is , 1 8 6 2 ; Elen ,

1 86 4 ; M or
a ar
g ne , 1 86 5 Cl i e Lenoi (in th e Revue des Lett es cl des r r
r ’
a
A ts) , 1 8 6 7 ; L E v si on , 1 8 70 ; L Ré volte , 1 8 70 ; Az el, a ra
'

a
1 8 78 ; Le N ou ve n M on e, 1 88 0 ; Con te s C ue ls , 1 8 8 0 ; d r
L E ve F u tu
’
r
1 8 86 ; A k cdyss éri l, 1 8 8 6 ; L A mour S up eme,
e,
'
’
r
1 8 86 ; a
Tribu l t B on homet, 1 8 8 7 ; H i s toi es I ns oli tes , 1 8 8 8 ; r
N ou vea
ux Con tes C r ue ls , 1 8 8 9 ; A x el, 1 8 90 ; Chcz les P a
P ropos d A u dcla
s

a His toi rc s S ouver a

’
s n ts , 1 8 90 1 893 ; -
, i nes ,

1 8 99 (as ele c tion ) .

Among o ks a wr
nnoun ce d ,
but n eve r p bli h d
it m y
u s e ,
a
b e inte r es ting mention : S ei
to d ,
m de S tra
Wi lli a lly, Fau st,

Poési es N cu velles (I n ter medes; Gog; ter Vi cta

A ve, M a ;
P oési cs di vers es ) ,
LaTen ta ti n su r laM o on t a
gnc ,
Le Vi eux
de laM on ta ti on des M a
L A d or a M edi ta
ti on s Li t
’ ’

gne, ges ,

a
tér i res , M é lo nges ,
T hed trc
’

(2 D ocu men ts sur les

Reynes dc Chales VI r . et de Chales VII r L I llusi oni sme,
’

a
De l Connai ssa
nce dc l Uti le , L E x éges e D i vi ne
’ ’
.

A sympa thetlc , b ut sligh tl va gu e , Li e of Villie y f w s r s a

w itt by
r en his c ou sin Vicomte Ro b e t d u r Ponta
vice d e

H eussey : Vi lli er s dc l I s le-A a m, 1 893 ; it wa s t a n sl te d r ad

in to E nglish by
La M a Llo , 1 8 94 dy yd
S ee Ve la ine s
’
rry .

P oétc s M aud i ts , 1 8 84 , nd hi s iog a p h a

o f V b r y
illi e s in L e sr
H ommcs d A ujou rd hui , the se ies of p enn
’ ’
riog a yb r
phies ,
with a
ri a
t rc c u e po it p bli h d by Vai r ; a
rtra s, l u s e n e so Ma
l
34 8 T HE S Y MB OL ST I MOVEM EN T

LE ON C LA D E L

—
(1 835 1 8 92 )

Les rtyrs Ridicules

Ma Prefa . ce pa r Cha rles Baudelaire ,

1 8 6 2 ; Pi erre Pa ti en t 1 86 2 ; L A mour Roma

’
,
n ti que 1 88 2 ; ,

Le Deux i cmc M ys terc dc l I n ca r na

’
ti on 1883 ; Le B ous ,

ca ssi e 1 88 9 LaF ete Voti ve de S a int B a rtholoméc Por te

’
-
,

Gla i ve 1 8 72 Les Va s n u Pi ed s 1 874 ; Celu i d e laCr oi x

-

—aux B oeuf s 1 8 78 ; B onshommes 1 8 79 ; Ompdrai llcs

, ,

, ,

Le T ombca u dc s I/utteu r s 1 8 79 ; N a
’ ’
, q u n O ei l 1 8 8 5 ; ,

Ti ty F a y ss a c I V 1
,
88 6 ; P eti ts C hi en s d e L eo n C lad e l ,

1 8 79 Pa r Deva nt N ota ire 1 8 8 0 ; Cr ete Rouge 1 8 80 ;

,
-
,

S ix M a rceaux dc laLittératu re 1 880 ; Kerka , des Ga rde

Ba rriere 1 884 ; Urbains ct Ru raux 1 884 ; Léon Cladel ct

, ,

s es Kyri elle dcs Chi en s 1 885 H éros ct P a

, nti ns 1 88 5 ; ,

Q qu e l ues S i r es 1 8,85 ; M i D i a ble 1 886 ; Gueux dc M a

-
, rque ,

1 8 8 7 ; Efii gic s d I nconnus 1 888 ; Ra ca 1 8 88 ; S ei ze

’
, ,

M orcca dc Li tté r a La nci en 1 88 9 ; J ui ve

’
ux ture 1 8 8 9 , ,

Erra
nte , 1 897 .
 I
B BL OG RAPH Y AN D I N OTES 34 9

EM I LE Z O LA

(1 840 -
1 9 02 )

Les Roug Ma cqua i , 1 8 71 1 893 ; L

on- Fortune da rs -
a
Rougons , 1 8 7 1 ; La Cu ée , 1 8 72 ; Le Ventrc dc P ai s , r r
1 8 73 ; LaConquéte dc P lu i sa LaF a ute dc l a
’
ns , 1 8 74 bbe
r
M ou et, 1 8 75 ; S on Ex cellence Eugene Rougon , 1 8 76 ;
L A ssommoir , 1 8 76 ; Une Pa ge d A mour , 1 8 78 ; N a na
’ ’
,

1 88 0 ; P ot -B oui lle, 1 8 8 2 ; A u B onheu dc s Da

. me s , 1 8 8 3 ; r
L aJ oi e dc Vi vrc, 1 884 ; M a
delei nc F ral 1 88 5 ; LaCon
aN i
e ,

f essi on dc Cl a
ude 1 88 6 ; Contes 1 89 1 ; N ou
a Con tes a
, non ,

vc ux N i n n 1 8 74 ; Le Ca pi ta
o i ne B r le 1 8 8 3 ;
,
u ,

La j i e d
oc vi vr 1 8 8 4 ; L Me,ys tc s de M a r i ll
ese 1 885 ; re se s,

M es H a ines 1 8 6 6 ; Le R ma ,
n E p eri m n ta l 1 88 1 ; N s
o x e ,
o

A uteu r dr a ma ti qu 1 8 8 1 ; D cumen ts li tté r a i r es 1 8 8 1 ;

a
s es , o ,

Une C mpa og n c 1 8 8 2 T he,

tr e: T he r es e
. Ra a i
g n Les ,

H ér i ti e s Ra b u di n LaB uton dc Rose 1 8 9 0 ; L A rg n t

’
r o r ,
o ,
c ,

1 8 9 1 ; L A tta qu du M ulin 1 8 9 0 ; La B éte H u ma i nc 1 8 90

’

LaDeba
e o , ,

l 1 8 92 ; L D ctor Pa a
c e, l 1 89 3 G mi nie 1885
e o sc ,
er ,

M n Sa o ln 1 88 6 ; Le n a
o ,
tur ali sme a u Théd t 1 889 re,

L Glu vre 1 88 6 ; Le Rév 18 9 2 ; Pa ri 1 8 9 8 ; R me 18 9 6 ;

’
,
e, s, o ,

L u rdes 1 8 94 ; Fécond i té 1 899 ; Tr a

o ,
va il 1 90 1 ; Veri té
, , ,

1 9 03 .
3 50 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

S T EPH AN E M A LL ARM E

—
(1 842 1 8 98)

Le Co bea r rd
u (t auit d e Poe ) , 1 8 75 La Derniere M o e, d
1 8 75 ; L A pr es-M i i d un F a
’ ’
d
u ne, 1 8 76 ; Le Va the k dc
d
B eckf or , 1 8 76 ; Peti te Phi lologi c d l Us a
’
g c des Cla s s es ci

d
daM on e : Les M ots A ng la i s , 1 8 77 Poésies Completes
(ph oto gra vées sur lama nus c it ) , 1 8 8 7 ; Les P oems dc r
P oe, 1 88 8 ; Le Ten o Clock de M Whi stle , 1 888 ; Pa
’
ges , . r
1 8 9 1 ; Les M i en s : Vi lli ers dc l I s le-A a
’
m, 1 8 92 ; Ve s d r
r
et P ose, 1 8 92 ; La M usi que cl les L ett es (O x f o , C a m r rd
bridg e ) ,
1 8 9 4 ; Di v g ti ons aa
,
1 897 ; Poési es ,
1 899 .

S ee , E mun Goss e, Questi ons

on thi s d ifli cult s ub ect, j d d
at I s sue , 1 8 93 , in w
hi ch ill b e oun the fir st s tu ofw f d dy
M llaa rmé tha t appe a e in E n glis h ; a rd
n d Vitto io Pi c , r a
Lette a r r
tu ad E ccez i one , 1 899 ,
’
hi ch c onta ins aca e ull w rf y
d ocu mente s tu d
of mo e th n a dyhu n e p a g es r
T he e a dr d . r
is ar t a ns la tion of the poem c a d lle r F leu s in M r .

J ry
ohn G a s S i lverp oi nts , 1 893 , a
’
r nd t a n slations of Hé
ro dia
d ad th e h r t r p m will b f
n r ee s d i th o e oe s e oun n e

fir t s l m f my
vo u ll t d p m
e o S ral f th co ec e oe s . e ve o e

p m i pr
oe s ha b n tr a la
t d i t E gli h ; my
ose ve ee n ns e n o n s

t r a la Pla tai d i
”
ti f th i t dA t m
’
ns on o e n e u o ne, con ne n
thi l m
s vo u wa ma d i m m tary f rg tf l tha
e, s t e n o en o e u ness

th am p m i pr
e s e ha d a
oe lr a
dy b tra la
n t d byos e e ee n ns e

M G rg M r i C f i
r . eo e f a Y
oo e g M a nM on es s ons o ou n n . r .

M r aoo e l t r a la
t d L Ph é mé
so F t
ns i th
e e no ne u ur n e

S ay J ly 1 8 9 6
vo , u ,
.
3 52 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

s uch a s the S ena te; in some c a ses the a rticles them

s elves a re tr a nsla te d int E nglish such a

“
s M y Visit to
o ,

Lond on in the S a voy f o A p r il 1 8 9 6 a

”
, nd N otes on
r , ,

Engla nd : M yself a s aF r ench M a te r a S ha

”
nd ke s ,

s p e ar e a n d R a cin e in t h e F ,
tn
”
i g h tly Revi ew fo July or r ,

1 894 a ,
nd S eptemb e r 18 94 T he fi s t E nglish tr a
, ns . r

la tion in ver se fr om Ve rla ine i A r thu r O S ha u ghnessy s

’ ’
s

rend ering f C lair d e Lune in Fetes Gala

o
“
n tes un d e r
”
,

the title Pa ste l in S n gs of a

,
”
W rk r 1 8 8 1 A volume
o o e , .

of t r a nsla ti n in v er e P ems f Ver la

o s s i ne by Ge r tr ud e
,
o o ,

Ha ll wa ,
s pub li he d in America s in 1 8 95 In M John . r .

Gra y s S i lv rpoints 1 893 there ae tra n sla tions f Pa

’
e ,
r o r

sif a A C r u cifi x Le Cheva li er M a lh eur

” ” ”
l , , S pleen , ,

C la M on Dieu m ad it a Gr een
“ ” ”
nd
’
ir d e Lune , ,
.

As I h a ve mentione d the r e ha ve b een ma ,

ny por

tr a its oi Ve rla ine T he thr ee p or tr a

. its dra wn on litho
r
g p a h ic p ap e r by M R o th en te in r a n d .
pu b lis h e d in s ,

1 898 a re b ut the la
,
te t if a ls a mong the b est of along
s ,
o ,

se r ies of whi ch M r Rothen stein hi mself h a

,
. s d one two

o r thr ee othe r s one of which wa ,

s r e p r od uced in the

Pa ll M a ll Ga tte in 1 8 9 4 when Verla

ze ine wa s in Lond on
, .

M F A Ca. za
. ls a
. young a , rtist who waone of Verlaine s s
’

most intima te fr ien d s ha s d one I should not lik e to

,

sa y h o w m an y p or tr ai ts s o m e of which he ha , s ga ther e d
togeth er in alittle b ook Pa u l V r la i ne ses P , tr ai ts e : or ,

T he r e a re por tr a its in nine f Verla ine s own b ook s

’
1 8 98 . o ,

s eve r a l of them by M C a za ls (r oughly j otted e pr essive

.
,
x

note s of moments) one by M Anquetin (a , str ong piece .

of thi nk ing fl esh a nd blood ) a nd in the Ch ix dc Poésies ,

o

ther e is ar epr od uction of the cloudy inspir ed poe t of ,

M Eugene C a
. rriere s pa inting Another p or tr a
’
it which .
,

I ha ve n ot s een but which Verla ,

ine hi mself c a lls in ,

the Ded ica ces uh portra

,
i t cnfin repo e wa s d one by s ,
 I
B B L OGRAPH Y AN D I N O TES 3 53

M Am n Jea
a au em ha d one ab ust M N iederh
‘

n - . . s s
.

in br n e M r Rothenst in apor tr a
o z ,
it med a
. llion A e .

new e di ti n f the C nf e i n 1 89 9 conta

o o in anumb er o ss o s , , s

of k t he ; V r la
s e c i n D si na s teu r 1 8 9 6 ma
e ny mor ; e es , ,
e

an d th r ae y t th rs in the e tremely bj ecti na

e e r e o ble e x o o

b k f M C ha
oo o rl D no V rla . i n I n ti m 1 8 98 es T he o s, e e e, .

H mm o d A uj u d hui conta
es in
’
a ca ri a
o r tur e p r tr a
’
it s c - o ,

ma ny ther p r tr a it ha
o ve a ppea red in French a
o nd s

Engli h a nd Ger ma
s n a nd Ita lia n ma g a z in e a nd ther e s,

i yet a
s n ther p r tr a it in the a
o d mirable little b ook f
o o

C ha rl s M r i e Pae ul V r la in e 1 8 8 8 whi h conta

o c ,
ins by e , ,
c

fathe b e t tudy th a
r t ha ver b n ma
s s d e f Verla ine a s e ee o s

apoet I beli ve M Ge rg M or a
. e r ti le A Grea rt . o e o e s
’
c ,
“

Poet r eprinted in I mp r i n a
,
”
nd O p ini n s 1 89 1 wa ess o s o , , s

the fi r t tha t wa wr itt n on Verla

s in in E ngla s nd ; my e e

own a rti le in the N ati nal R vi w in 1 892 wa I b lieve

c o e e s, e ,

the fi t d ta ile d tu dy of the wh ol of his w r k up to

rs e s e o

tha t da te A t la t in th Vi d Pa
. ul V r la i n of E d
s ,
e e e e e,

mund Lepell tie ther ha s m the a

e uth entic r
r, ord e co e ec .

A n hon t a nd instru t d lifes f Verla ine h along b e n c e e o s e

wa nte d if only a a ,
n a ntid t to the d ef a ma tory p o
s o e r

d u ti n a
c ll d V r la
o i ne I n ti m ma
c e d up ut f ma e ter ia ls e, e o o

c llect d by the pub li her Lé n Va

o e ni r i n hi wn d f n e s o e s o e e s ,

in ord er tha t aha rd takmat r might be pr nt d to s s e es e e

the w orld in the l ur s of ab en fa ct r leg end

“
A co o e o .

whi h ma c
y w ll h a v e s e em e d p lau ib
e l to t h e w h s e os o

knew Verla in only a t th nd of hi e lif e h a b ta in d e e s ,

s o e

curr en y ; a nd a ompa
c ri n of Verla in with Vill n c so e o ,

not nly a s a
o p et (whi h is t his h n ur ) but a o l c o o o , so

as ama n ha s b en ma d a nd b liev d Lepelletie

’
, e e, e e . r s

b ook i a n at chroni le of afri nd ship whi h la

s ex c s ted c e c
—
,

with ut abrea o k fo thi ty i yea r tha t i, from the

r r -
s x s s,

time when Verla ine wa s si teen to the tim of his d ea th ; x e

3 54 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

a nd am r e a ne l y a l a nd impa
o rtial ch onicle of a
s ,ny o r

ma n s life we ha ve n ev r r ea d It is writte n with full

’
e .

k nowle d ge f v ry pa rt f th a reer whi h it tra

o e e ces ; o e c c

a nd it i writt n by aman wh put d wn wha

s e tever he o s o

know e atly a h b li v it t ha
s x c v b een His c n
s e e e es o e . o

lu i n i tha on p eu t f u ill r avi a u micr o

“
e s o t s pe o e s e sco

o n y re conn a it ad e fa ut d es f li d e fa r ibl es s es , o es , s ess ,

bi n d e uffrances a
e u i a
s so ve d la fa litéa
ta u f nd pa ss ,
c e o , s

d e h nt ve ita o ble p a une vil e t ind ign e ation

e r Les ,
s e c .

vr ai a mi d u p ete p uv nt d onc r evend iquer p our lui

s s o e e

l épithete d h nnét h mme sa ns d u te tr e vulga ir

’ ’
o e o ,
o s e,

ma i qui a u y u de r ta
in a r d u p r ix ”
s , en x e x ce s, co e .

In 1 886 V rla ine d d i a t d L M mi ’

d un V uf
’

e e c e es c o res e

t o Le p ll ti affirming th r e lve n hi pa
e e er , rt t e so ,
o s , o

gard er intate laviell a mitié i f r t c t i belle e s o e e s .

”

Th mpat hab e n k ept n bly b y th urviv r

e co c s e o e s o .

a
It m y, in ee , b e questione d d
h ethe Le pelle tier oes dw r d
n ot ins ist a
little too much on the b ou geois element r
whi h h fi d i V rla
c e i Wh
n ama ha ff r d
s n e ne . en n s su e e

un edr j ta a ti
u n us it i at ra lf hi fr i d t
c c us on s , s n u or s en s o

d f d him d r wha
e en t r ap t m t th m m t
un e eve s ec s ee s o e os

g e nerally i i g S it i i t r ti g t k w tha
c onv n c n .t o s n e es n o no

for seven yar V rla i wa i am i ipa

e s l ffi e th ne s n un c o ce, e

B r ad
u e u B dg t t C mpt
es ad tha
u t la t r i 1 8 82
e s e o es , n e , n ,

h mae d aa pp li a
tie w h i
n h wa r f d fc l a t on , c s e use , or e ve o

r t r t hi f rm r p t L p ll ti r pr ah th
e u n o s o e os . e e e er e o c es e

ath riti f a ati whi h h ta

u o es or k t
n ha p c on c e es o ve re

c ipita t d V rla i i t th fi a
e e l mi ry f hi ne a gab da
n o g e n se o s v on e .

H w ld ha li d q i tly h
e ou a
ve y ad writt i ve u e , e s s, n en n

secu rity B th a mpti ma . oy b d b t d

s su W h a t ons e ou e .

wa b r g i
s ad
ou t t d wi th q i t wa a ma
eo s , n ll c on e n e u e , s s

p a r t f t h o at r f w
e nh w a t t r
u e o g a w ll a on e o s oo s on s e s

too wa k t r mae i withi limi t o T h t rr ibl f r

e n f n s . e e e o ce o
3 56 T H E S Y M B OL ST I M OVEM EN T

pitiless ; and ha ving done his w ors t, he w ent off c re a

less ly int A fr i a o c .

will rpri
It m r a
su d r t la se r tha so t V rla i e e e s o e n e ne

t k hi d g r bah li r é l ttr ad tha ”

oo s f e ee o t c e e -
s- e es , n on

l ai g th Ly é B a
e v n epa rt h r i d a rtifi a
c e on t e e ece ve ce c e

pla i g him a
c n mbr d j t di ti g é q mpt
u no e es su e s s n u s ue co e

l é ta H wa w ll gr d d i La ad
”
’
bli m t sse en . e ti s e oun e n n, n

fairly w ll i E gli h ad a e n t ra l i t r a
n s l i hi , n seve n e v s n s

lif ae tt mpt d t ma
e t r Spai h with th
e o ag d ir
s e n s , e v ue es e

o f tr a la ti g C a
ns ld r At a a
n rly p ri d h r ad
e on . n e e o e e

Fr h lit r a
en c t r lai ae l ad m d r u e, with aid ity ;
c ss c n o e n, v

tr a la ns ti f E gli h G r ma ad E a
ons o n t r lai ;
s , e n n s e n c ss cs

b k f riti i m ad phil phy

oo s o c c s n os o .

Il a d mira it b a p J ph d M a i tr
e u cou L R g ose e s e . e ou e

cl l N i r d S t d ha
e o l aa it pr d e
e en l i f rt v o uc sur u une o e

impr iess on Il aa it d i hé
. ait u
v Vi en c , on ne s o , une e

d a i t T her e q il li a it a r ai
”
e s n e se, m t u
’
s vec v ss e en .

H wa a
e b rb d i s B ad la ir
so G ati r
e L nt u e e, u e , e con e

d Li l B a ill ; h r a
e s e, d Petr B r l ad Al y i
nv e e e us o e n o s us

B r tr ad
e Th
n .ly p m tha t r ma
e i
on f thi a rly oe e ns o s e

p rei d io th sN t r P a
e r i i f t h P
o c u ne em S a t r s en o e o cs u

i
n ens , whi h d a t fr m a
c b t hi tw ti th y a es or Jl ou s en e e . u es

d G r t d fi d it a b a p ém i i tr mélat
aN tr Dam B ad lair a
e on c ou e ne s uh e u o e s n s e n

co mm e M rg u ne o ue o e- e .
”
u e e, s

Sa i t Bn e- i a ha
e uve ,rmi g l tt r f r al an ppr ia
c ti n e e o e ec on ,

i t d t i h r th i d t i t d d ep t p r
a “

ll r a d la
p o n e ou , sp e e e ev en o n e r , ou

a e u e .
”

Th ha pt r i whi h L p ll ti
e c e t ll th
n t ry f thc e e e er e s e s o o e

o rigi f th m t fa
n o m lit r a
e ry m m t i tha
os tous e ove en s n ce

o f 1 830 th Pa
,
ra i e f th m t n ss e , t r tai i g
”
s one o e os en e n n

i th b k ad gi
n e oo i it,
a rra
n ti f th r
ve s , p ti n s n ve o e e ce ons

h z N i a (a a
c e l
n whi h L p ll ti d rib a s on c e e e er es c es s

th a t r f th
e nces o C ha t N ir o a i id pi t r f
e o vv c u e o
 I
B BL OGRAPH Y AN D I N O TES 3 57

the d ay wh Villi r
s en rac i
e s de l Isle-Ada
’
m a
nd F n o s

COppée w r b gi r
e e t g th r eNi ad Villann e s r wa o e e . n e s s

o ne o f th dd t p pl
e o f h times h ma d aki d f
eo e o er e: s e e n o

p r i a
v t B h
e mia f o p t m
e i ia all k iord f art i t
oe s , us c ns , n s o s s

ad
n tri p pl h r lf th m t
e ccen c eo tr i
e, f th m e se e os e c cen c o e

a ll It waa
. t h h s th a t th m mb r er f th ouse Pa e e e s o e r

a ga
n s se th r d whil th y e el t d ath ir m r f r ma
, e l e se e c e s e o e o

m ti g pla th
ee n - al f Ma
ce da m Ri a e rd It i t
s on o e c . s no

gene r a l
l y k w th at V r
nolai Pn cm S a t r i wa e ne s
’
o es u n ens s

th third
e l m t b i vo u d by th h e f L m
o e ss ue e ouse o e erre ,

a ft rward t b m afa
e s m
o p b l
ecoi h r fp t e ou s u s e o oe s ,
”

ad it wai thi l m tha

n s n t th w la w f th Pa
s vo u e e ne s o e r

a wr
n sse fi t fr a
e e m l —
t d th a rst impa i ity o tha t u e ss v ,
“
ma rbl g i m whi h V rla
e e o s i wa , t r j t c e ne s s o s oon o e ec

for am r li i g imp l b t whi h ith r L

o e v n t d
u se , u c ne e e con e e

Li ls e Her d iawa
nor r t a e b ad Wh s eve o n on . en one

thi kn s o f th la t r V rla i eit i ri t t r t tha

e e t ne, s cu ous o u n o

fi t f rm la
rs o u :

Est-elle en ma
rvre ) non,
or le Vénus d e M ilo?

ra
Ve l in e s ve se su enl
’
ecomes hum n r ith L dd y b aw a
Bonne Cha n son , though the hum nit in it is not yet ay
a d aw
s lte s ith fir e It is the eco r rd
of the event hich ,
. w
as Lepelle tie sa ys d omina rte d his whole life ; the ma
, rriage
with M a thild e M a ute the y oung girl with whom he ,

ha d fa llen in love a t fir st sight a nd whose d eser tion of ,

hi m howeve r e x plica
, ble he never forgot nor forga ve , .

N othing could be mor e j u t or d elica te tha n Lepelletier s

’
s

tr ea tment of the whole s itua tion a nd the r e is no d oub t

tha t he is r ight in sa ying that the young wife efit une

g r an d e r e s p on s abili té d an s les d ésordr es d e l éx istence
’

d ésorbitée du poete Verla ine a s he s a ys éta

. it b on , , ,

a ima et c é ta it comme nu souff r a nt qu il f a lla

’ ’
nt , it le
3 58 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM E NT

tra
it r e .
”
Vous n
’
a
ve z ri en c omp ri s ama impli ité s c ,

h w t
e ro e afterwa
long rd a d dr essing the woma s, n of wh om
Lemlletie sa ys Il l a ima touj ours il n a ima
’ ’ ”
l
’
r , qu e le , .

W ith his ma rria ge Verla ine s d isa s ter s b egin Rim

’
.

ba u d ente r s his life a nd tur ns the curr ent of it ; the

va ga bondage begin in Fra n ce a nd E n gla
s, nd a nd the ,

lette rs wr itten fr om Lon d n a e a mong the mo t vivid o r s

d ocume nts in the boo k thumbna il s k etches full of k een

:

ob serv a ti m T h en c mes his impr is onment a

. o n d c on

ver sion t Ca tholici m

o H er e Lepe lletier s while he
.
,

g ives us a n infinity of d eta ils which he a lone could give ,

a d opts a n a ttitud e whi h we c a nnot thi nk to b e jusc

tifi ed a,
nd whi ch a s a ma tte r of f a
,
ct Ver la ine pr otested ,

a g ns t d ur in g hi s lifetime
ai C e tte conver sion f ut elle -
.

p r of ond e e t vér id ique ? he a sk s ; a nd h e a ns w e r s Je ,

ne le c r ois pa T ha t hi conver ion ha

”
s . d much infl uence
s s

on V er la ine s c ond uc t ca nnot be c ontend e d but c on d uc t

’
,

a nd b eli ef a re two d iffe r ent thing s S incerity of the .

moment wa s hi funda mentas l cha ra c ter istic but the ,

moments ma de a nd r ema d e his moods in their pa s sing .

T he r eligi on of S a g e ss e is n o t th e le ss g e nu in e b ec a u se

tha t gra ve a nd s a c r e d b oo k wa s f ollowe d by the r e volt

of P a a
r lle me nt Verla in e tried to e pla
.
—
in in the poems x

themselves in pr ef a ,
c es a n d in c onve r sa tion with fr ie nd s
,

h ow na tu ra l it wa s to sin a n d to r epe nt a nd to use the ,

sa me child lik e word s in the immed ia te r nd ering of s in e

a nd of r epenta T hi s na i vete which ma d e any regular ’

n ce .
,

e iste nce a
x n impo sib ili ty wa s a
s p art o f h i m w hic h
, g a v e

aqua lity to his w or k unlike th a t of a ny othe r po et of

our time At the end of his life ha

. rdly a nyth ing b ut

the ma i v té wae s lef t a nd the p oems be ca ,

me mere out
c r ies a nd g es tur es Le pelletier is j ustly indigna
. nt a t
the a ction of Va nier in p ub lishing a fter Verla ine s d ea th
’
36 0 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

J O RI S KARL H U Y S M A N S
-

—
(1 84 8 1 907)

Le Dr a
geoi r aE i p ces , 1 8 74 ; r
M athe: Hi stoi r d
e
’
u ne

Fi lle , 1 8 76 ; Les S oeu r s V t aard 1 8 79 ; Cr oqui s Pa

,
ri si ens ,

a
M en ge, 1 88 1 A Va u l Ea u 1 8 8 2 ; L A rt M o
’ ’
1 880 ; En -
,

d 1 8 8 3 ; A Rebou s , 1 8 84 ; r Un Di lemme , 1 88 7 ; En
a
e rne ,

a
R de , 1 8 87 ; a
Cert i ns , 1 88 9 ; a r L Ba
B iev e, 1 8 90 ; L - s,

E n Route , 1 8 95 ; L aCa
th d a l 1 8 98 ; LaBiev e
’

1 89 1 ; e r e, r

a r
ct S i n t-S eve i n , 1 8 9 8 ; Pag Ca th li qu
es 1 900 ; S a
inte o es ,

Lydwi ne de S chi e dam ,

1 90 1 ; De Tout, 1 902 ; L Obl t, 1 9 03 ;
’
a
T roi s Pri mi tif s ,
1 905 ; Les F oules dc Lou rd es , 1 90 6 ; S ee
a l o the shor t s to ry S a c a u D in the o de M eda S ir
’

s ,
n os , ees ,

1 8 80 a ,
nd th p an to
e mim e P i e ot S ep q e 1 88 1 in col
ti u ,
rr c , ,

la b a tion wi th Lé n H e nn ique
or o En R u te wa s tr a
ns . o

la te d into English b y M Kega n Pa ul in 1 896 ; a

r nd L a

ra
.
,

Ca thédra le by Miss Cla Bell in 1 898 ,

.
 I I
B B L OGRAP H Y AN D N O T ES 36 1

A RT H U R R I M B A U D

—
(1 8 54 1 89 1 )

Une S a r
i son en Enfe , 1 8 73 ; Les I llumina tions , 1 8 8 6 ;
Reli qua r
i e, 1 89 1 (conta ining s eve a l p oems a lsel r ttri f y a
d
b u te to Rimb a d
u ) ; Les I llu mi n a ti ons : Une S a i son en
r
Enf e , 1 8 92 ; Poési es Comp letes , 1 895 Of uvrcs, 1 8 9 8
arthur
.

S ee a lso Pa ter ne B err ichon LaVi e dc J ca ,

Ri mba ud 1 8 9 8 a
,
n d L ttr es dc J ca
,
e n A thu r Ri mba ud 1 8 99 ;
- r ,

Pa ul V erla ine Les P oétes M a

,
ud i ts 1 8 84 a n d the b iog
, ,

ra h
p y by V e r lain e in L es H a
m m es d A uj ou r d hu i M r
’ ’
. .

G eor ge M oor e wa s the fi r st to wr ite a b out Rimba u d in

Engla nd T wo U nkn own Poets (Rim b a ud a

”
,
in nd

La forgue) in I mpressi ons and Opini ons 1 8 9 1 In M ,

. r .

John Gra y s S i lver points 1 893 there a

’
, re tr a
, nsla tions of
Ch a rleville and S ensa “
tion T he la tte r a
. nd Le s ,
“

C her cheu ses d e Poux a re tr a

,
nsla te d by M r T S tur ge . .

M oore in The Vinedresser a nd other Poems 1 8 99

, , .
36 2 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM EN T

J ULES LAF O RGU E

—
(1 86 0 1 887)

Les Compl i ntcs, 1 885 ; a a

L I mi t tion de N otre-D me l
’
a a
Lune, 1 8 8 6 ; Le Conci le F ée i que, 1 88 6 ; M ora
li tés Legenr
da r r
i res , 1 8 8 7 ; De ni e s Ve s , 1 8 90 ( p iv tel p inter ar ay r d
volume , c on ta r
ining Des Fleu s dc B onnc Volonté , Le Con
ci le
F ée i que , n r
e n e s e s ad D r i r V r ) ;
P oési cs Completes , 1 894 ;
(Euvrcs Completes , P oési cs , M or li tés Légen i es , M él ngcs a dar a
Posthumes (3 1 9 02, 1 90 3 .

An e diti li tés Légenda

M ora on of the i es wa
s pu lishe r b d
, dr
in 1 8 9 7 u n e the cae of M Lucien Pissao a r t the S ign . rr
,

of the D ia r d
l; it is p inte in M r Rick etts ami ale t pe , .
’
d rb y
a nd ma k es one of the most ea uti ul volumes issue in b f d
r
F ench u ing this centu d r In 1 8 9 6 M C a ry
mille M a u. .

c la
i r w
ith his supple instinct for contemp o a va
,
lues r ry ,

wr ote atudy o r a sther a n eulog y of La

,
r forgue to which , ,

M . e te rlinck c ontr ib ute d a

Ma few s earching and d elica
te
w rdo s a
by w y of pre fa ce .
3 64 T H E S YMB OL S I T M OVEM E NT

mo r tr a
egi c r rd ry
th n Ma
a cbeth ,
m o e ex t a
o r
in a in thought
tha H a n ml t M r r rd d
e .
”
r . W illia
m A che in t o uce M .

M at rli k t E glad i a ati l a

e e nc ll d A P
o imi t
n n n n r c e c e
“
ess s

Pla ywright i th F rt ightly R i w S pt mb r 1 8 9 1

n e o n ev e , e e e , .

L th ia
ess en ti tha M M i b a h d fi d th ath r
us s c n . r e u, e e ne e u o

o f LaPr i Ma
li a aW b t r wh ha
ncess e d r ad e ne s e s e o e

Alfr d d M A fr ly a d apt d r i f L I t ’
e t e uss e . ee e ve s on o n ru se

wa gi s by M T r aven t th H a yma rk t T h atr rJa . ee e e e e, n

u ary 27 1 892 ad i tha ,

t tim may f M M at r
,
n s nc e e n o . e e

li k pla
nc y ha b at d with t t
’
s s with b t
ve e en c e , ou cu s , or u

f w
e t at
cu s ,ari L d th a tr S
v ra
l f hi ous on on e es . eve o s

b k ha a
oo s l b tra la vet d i t E gli h Th P i
so ee n ns e n o n s : e r n

cesse Ma li (by G r ard H a rry) ad Th I tr d (by

e ne e n e n u er

W illi a m W ilson) 1 8 92 ; Pellea s a nd M eli sa, nde and T he

S i ghtless ( Lau en ce Alma by -T a ema r

) 1 89 2 ; Ruysbroeck d ,

a nd the M ys ti cs (b y T S to a t) 1 8 94 ; T he T ea J
s u e of . . dd r ,
r r
the H umble (by A S u t o) 1 8 9 7 ; A gla va inc and S elysette
. r ,

(by A S ut o ). 1 8 9 7 ; W i r
s om an d
, D es ti ny (by A S ut o) d . r ,

1 8 9 8 A lla di ne a nd P a lomi des ( A S ut o) I n te i o ( by . r ,

r r by
W illia m A che ) a r r
nd The D ea th of T i nta ,giles ( A S ut o) by r .
,

1 8 99 .

I ha p k i thi l m hi fly f M at rli k
ve s o en , n s vo u e, c e o e e nc
’
s

ess ay ad b t li ttl f hi pla

s, n u y ad I ha aid all tha e o t s s, n ve s

I ha d t a
y wi th
o s t p ia l r f r t t h ou d l s ec e e enc e o e s e con vo

u m f e o ay LaS a es s g t laD ti é
s, Lik L T r é esse e es n e . e e sor

d H mbl
es th a
u t b k i a es , m a g a d tri oom r s ess e, oc ne , even o e

th a it i a
n p i fs li t r a
t r I t
e ce o i a t r at i wi d m e u e . s e se on s o

ad ha
n pp i th a r h
ness , on f h a
pp i b a it i e se c or nes s e c use s

wi d m t f wi d m b a it i ha
s o ,
no or ppi It i a
s o ec use s ness . s

b k f pa
oo ti t ad r ig d phil
o en ph y a n ry F l m i h es ne oso ,
ve e s

p hil p h
osoy m r r ig d
, t h a o e L T r d H
es m ne n even e esor
’

es u

bles asen e it see ms to a

. In im le s hi gh An s s . e cs t a
tic
mysticism has gi ven way t a kind of pru d enc o e . Is this
 I I
B BL O GRAPH Y AN D N OTES 36 5

comi ng n e r er
a to the arth rea
e lly a n intelle ctua l a s ce nt

or d es cent ? A t lea s t it is a d ivergence a n d it p r ob a

,
bly
in dica tes ad ive r genc e in a t a rs well a s in me d ita tion .

Y e t while it is quite po ssible to a

,
t lea s t in d ic ate M a ete r

linc k s po sition a s a philosopher it s eems to me pr ema

’
,

tur e to a ttempt to d e fine his po sition a s adr a ma tist .

Interesting a s his dr a ma tic wor k ha s a lwa ys been there ,

is in the la
, ter dr a ma s so s ingula
, r an adva n ce in a ll the
qua lities tha t g o to ma k e gr eata rt tha t I fin d it impossib le
,

a t this sta ge of his d evelopme nt to tr e a , t his dr a ma tic

w or k a s in a ny s ense the fi na l ex pr ession of a p e r s o n a lity .

Wha t the ne x t s ta ge of his d evelopment ma y b e it is

imp ossible to s a y . H e will not wr ite mor e b ea u tif ul

dra ma s tha n he h a s wr itte n in A gla va i ne t S ély ette a e snd

in P lea s et M éli s an de B ut h e ma y a nd h e p r ob a bly

’

e .
,

will wr ite something which will move the genera

,
l world
mor e pr ofound ly touching it mor e closely in the ma
, ,
nne r

of the g r ea t wr iter s in wh om b ea
,
uty ha s not b e en mor e

b eautiful tha n in wr iter s less g r ea t b ut h a s come to men

,

with am ore S plendid energ y .

 F rom S tép ha
n e M ll r mé aa

I . H ER O D IA D E

H E RO D I A D E .

To min e own s elf I am a wild ern e ss .

You know it am ethyst gard e ns numb erl ess

,

E nfold e d in th e flaming subtl e d ee p , ,

S trang e gold that through th e r e d e arth s

’
,

h e avy sl eep
Has ch erish e d anci e nt brightn ess lik e a dr e am ,

S ton e s wh enc e min e e y e s pur e j ew els hav e , ,

th eir gl eam
O f icy and m elodious radianc e you , ,

M e tals which into my young tr e ss e s dr e w

,

A fatal spl endour and th e ir manifold grac e !

Thou woman born into th e s e evil days
, ,

D isastrous to th e cav e rn sibyllin e ,

Who sp e ak est proph e sying not of o ne divin e

, ,

B u t of a mortal if from that clos e sh e ath

, ,

M y rob e s rustl e th e wild e nchant e d br e ath

,

In th e whit e quiv er of my nak e dn ess ,

In th e warm air of summ e r O proph e t ess , ,

36 9
3 70 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

(And woman s body ob eys that anci ent claim)

’

B ehold me in my shiv ering starry sham e ,

I d ie !
T h e horror of my virginity
D e lights me and I would e nv elop me
,

In th e t error of my tr ess es that by night , , ,

Inviolat e r eptil e I might f eel th e whit e

,

A n d glim mering radianc e of thy fro z en fire ,

Thou that art chast e and di e st of d esir e ,

Whit e ni ght of ice and of th e cru el snow !

E t ernal sist er my lon e sist er 10
, ,

M y dr e ams uplift e d b efor e th ee ! now apart , ,

S o rar e a crystal is my dr e aming h eart ,

I liv e in a monotonous land alon e ,

A n d all about me liv e s but in min e own

Imag e th e idolatrous mirror of my prid e
, ,

M irroring this H é ro d iae

d diamond -
ey e d .

I am ind ee d alon e 0 charm and curs e ! ,

N URS E .

O lady would you die th en?

,

H E RO DIA DE .

N o, poor nurs e ;
B e calm and l e av e me ; prith ee pardon me
, , ,

B ut ere thou go clos e to th e ea

,
s ement ; s e e
,
3 72 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

II . S I GH

M y soul calm sist er towards thy brow

, , ,

wh e r e on scarc e gri e v e s
A n autumn str e wn alr e ady with its russ e t
l e av e s ,

A n d towards th e wand ering sky of thi n e ang elic

eye s ,

M ounts as in m elancholy gard ens may ari s e

,

S om e faithful fountain sighing whit ely towards

t h e blu e !
Towards th e blu e pal e and pur e that sad
O ctob er kn e w ,

Wh en in thos e d epths it mirrore d languors

, ,

An d agonising l eav e s upon th e wat ers whit e ,

Win d ily drifting trac e d a furrow cold and dun

, ,

Wh ere in one long last ray lingere d th e yellow

, ,

sun .
 TRAN S LATI ONS 3 73

III . S A WI N D
E -

T he fl esh is sad alas ! and all th e books a

, re

r e ad .

Flight only flight ! I f ee l that birds a

,
r e wild

to tr e ad
T he floor of unknown foam and to attain th e ,

ski e s !
N ought ,
n eith er anci ent g a
rd e ns mi rror ed
in th e e ye s ,

S hall hold this h e art that bath e s in wat ers its

d elight ,

O nights ! nor yet my waking lamp whos e ,

l on ely light
S hadows the vacant pap er whit e n e ss profits ,

b est ,

N or th e young wife who rocks h er baby on h er

bre ast .

I will d e part ! O st e am er swaying rop e and ,

spar ,

Lift anchor for e xotic lands that lie afar !

A w e arin ess outworn by cru e l hop e s still
, ,

clings
’
To th e last farew ell handk e rchi ef s last b e ckon
ings !
3 74 I
T HE S Y M B OL ST M OVEM E NT
And a
not th e s e the masts inviting storm s
re , ,

not th e se
That an awak ening wind b ends over wr ec king
s e as ,

L ost not a sail a sail a fl ow ering isl e ere long ?

, , , ,

B ut O my h e art h e ar thou h e ar thou th e

, , ,

s ailors song !
’
3 76 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVE M ENT

F r om P a
ul Ver la
i ne : F etes G l aa
ntes

I . I
C LA R D E LU N E

Y our soul is a s e al e d gard en and th er e go

,

With m a s qu e and b ergamas qu e fair compani es

P laying on lut es and dancing and as though
Sa d und er th e ir fantastic fripp eri es .

Though th ey in minor k eys g o carolling

O f lov e th e con qu eror and of lif e th e boon
Th e y s e e m to doubt th e happin ess th ey sing
An d th e song m elts into th e light of th e moon ,

T he sad light of th e moon so lov ely fair

,

That all th e birds dr eam in th e l eafy shad e

A n d th e slim fountains sob into th e air
A mong th e mar bl e statu es in th e glad e .
 TRAN S LAT ION S 3 77

II . PAN TO M I M E

P i errot ,
no s entim ental swain ,

Wash e s a pat e down again

With furtive fl a g o n s whit e,
and red .

C assandr e , with d emur e cont ent ,

Gr e e ts with a t e ar of s e ntim ent

His n eph ew disinh erit e d .

That blackguard of a Harl e qui n

P irou e tt e s and plots to win
,

His C olumbin e that fli ts and fli e s .

C olumbin e dr e ams and starts to find

,

A sad h e art sighing in th e W ind ,

And in h er h e art a voic e that sighs .

3 78 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

III . SUR L
’
H ERB E

T h e A bb é wand e r s —M ar quis now ,

a
S e t fitr igh t your pe riwig , and sp e ak !
— T hi s C yprus win e is h e av enly, how
M uch l ess C amargo than your ch eek !
, ,

M y godd e ss —D o mi sol la si, , ,

.

—A bb é such tr e ason who 11 forgiv e you ?

,

—M a y I d i e ladi e s if,
th e r e b e ,

A star in h e av e n I will not giv e you !

—I d b e my lady s lapdog ;
’
then ’

—Sh eph erd ess kiss your sh eph e rd soon

, ,

S h eph erd com e k iss —

Well g entl em en ?
—D o mi so —
, ,

,
H ey goo d night good moon !
, .
,
-
,
380 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVE M ENT

V . A LA P R O M E N A D E

T he sky so pal e and th e tr ee s such frail things

, , ,

S ee m as if smiling on our bright array

That fl its so light and gay upon th e way
With indol e nt airs and flutt ering as of wings .

T he fountain wrinkl e s und er a faint wind ,

A n d all th e sift e d sunlight falli ng through

T h e lim e tr ee s of th e shadowy av e nu e
-

C om es to us blu e and shadowy pal e and -

thinn e d .

F aultl e ssly fickl e and ye t fond e nough

, ,

With fonds h e arts not too t e nd e r t o b e free ,

W e wand er whisp e ring d eliciously ,

A n d e v ery lov e r l e ads a l a

dy lov e-
,

Whos e imp e rc eptibl e and rogui sh hand

D arts now and th e n a dainty tap th e li p ,

R e v e ng e s on an e xtr e m e fi n g er tip -
,

T h e tip of th e l e ft littl e fing e r and , ,

T hed e e d b e ing so e xc e ssiv e and uncouth ,

A duly fr e e zing look d e als pu ni shm e nt ,

That in the instant of th e a c t is bl e nt

With a shy pity poutin g in th e mouth .

 TRAN S LAT ION S 38 1

VI . DAN S LA G ROTT E

S tay , let me die ,sinc e I am tru e ,

!

F or my distr ess will not d elay ,

A n d th e Hyrcani an tigr e ss rav e ning for pr e y

Is as a littl e lamb to you .

Y e s,h er e within cru el C lym en e

, ,

Thi s st e el which in how many wars

How many a C yrus sl e w or S cipio now
, ,

pare s
To end my life and end my pain .

B ut nay what n ee d of st eel hav e I

,

To hast e my passage to th e shad e s ?

D id not Lov e pi erc e my h e art b eyond ,

mortal aids ,

With the first arrow of your eye ?

3 82 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

VII . LE S I N GE N U S

High h eels and long skirts interc epting th em ,

S o that according to th e wind or way

, ,

A n ankl e p e ep e d and vanish e d as in play ;

A n d w ell we lov e d th e malic e of th e gam e .

S om etim e san ins e ct with its j e alous sting

’
S om e fair on e s whit e r n e ck dis qui e t e d ,

F rom w hi ch th e gl e ams of sudd en w hi t e n ess

sh e d
M et in our e y e s a frolic w elco mi ng .

T he st ealthy autu mn e v e ni ng fad e d out ,

A n d th e fair cr e atur e s dr e ami ng by our sid e

Words of such subtl e savour to us sigh e d
That sinc e that tim e our souls tre mbl e and
doubt .
3 84 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

IX . LE S C O QUI LLA GE S

E achsh ell incrust e d in th e grot

Wh ere we two love d e ach oth er well
An asp e ct of its own has got .

T he purpl e of a purpl e sh ell

’
Is our souls colour wh e n th e y make
’
Our burning h e art s bloo d visibl e .

This pallid sh ell a ffe cts to tak e

Thy languors wh e n thy lov e tir e d e yes
,
-

R ebuk e me for my mock ery s sake

’
.

This count erf eits the harmoni e s

Of thy pink e a r and this mi ght b e
,

Thy plump short nap e with rosy dyes .

B ut one , among th e s e troubl e d me f

,
 TRANS LATI O NS 38 5

X . E N PA TI N A N T

W e w ere th e victims you and I , ,

M adam e of mutual s elf d e c e its ;

,

A n d that which s e t our brains awry

Ma y w e ll hav e b e e n th e summ e r h e ats .

A n d th e spring too if I r e call , ,

C on trib u te d to spoil our play

'

A n d ye t its share I think was small

, ,

In l e ading you and me astray .

air in springtim e is so fre sh

F or
That ros e buds L ov e has sure ly m eant
-

To mat c h th e ros e s of th e fl e sh
Have odours almost innoc e nt ;

A nd ev e n th e lili e s that outpour

Th e ir biting odours wh e re th e sun
Is n e w in h eav e n do but th e more
,

E nliv e n and e nlight e n o n e ,

So ste althily the z e phyr blows

A mocking br e ath that r e nd e rs bac k
T h e h e art s r es t and th e soul s r e pos e
’ ’

An d th e fl ower s aphrodisia c
’
,
3 86 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVE M ENT

A n d th e fi ves e ns e s p eeping out

, ,

Tak e up th e ir station at th e f e ast ,

B u t b eing by th e ms elv e s without

, ,

Troubling th e r e ason in th e l e ast .

That was th e tim e of azur e ski e s ,

(M adam e do,
you r e m e mb e r it ?)
A n d sonn e ts to my lady s e y e s
’
,

A n d cautious kiss e s not too sw ee t .

’
F r eefrom all passion s idl e poth er ,

F ull of m er e kindlin e ss how long

, ,

H ow w ell w e lik e d not lov e d e ach oth er ,

Without on e r a ptur e or one wrong !

Ah , happy hours ! B u t summ er cam e
F are w ell fr esh br ee z e s of th e sp ri ng !
,

A wind of pl e asur e lik e a flam e

Le apt on our s e ns e s wond ering .

S trang e flow ers fair crimson h e art ed fl ow ers

,
-

P our e d th e ir rip e odours ov e r us ,

A n d e vil voic e s of th e hours ,

Whisp er e d abov e us in th e b ougns .

~

W e yi eld e d to it all ah me !
,

What v ertigo of fools h eld fas t

O ur s ens e s in its e cstasy
Un til th e h e at of summ e r pass e d ?
3 88 T HE S YM B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

X I . FA N TO C H E S

S caramouch e wav es a thr e at e ning hand

To P ulcin ella and th e y stand
, ,

Two shadows black against th e moon

, .

T he old doctor of B ologna pri es

F or s impl e s with impassiv e e y es ,

A n d mut ters o er a magic run e

’
.

T he whil e his daugh te r scarc e half dr ess e d

,
-
,

Glid es slyly n e ath th e tr ees in qu est

’
,

O f h er bold pirat e lov er s sail ;

’

H erpirat e from th e S panish main ,

Whos e pas sion thr ills h er in th e p a

in
Of the loud langu o ro us nightingal e .
 TRAN SLAT ION S 38 9

X II . OYT H ERE

By favourabl e bree z es fann e d ,

A tr ellis e d harbour is at hand

To shi eld us from th e summ er airs ;

T he sc e nt of ros e s fainting sw ee t
, ,

A float upon th e summ e r h e at ,

B l e nds with th e p erfum e that she w e ar s .

Tru e to th e pro mise h er e ye s gav e ,

S he v e ntur e s all and h er mouth rain s

,

A dainty fe v e r through my v eins ;

A n d , L ov e fulfilling all things save ,

Hung er we scap e with sw eets and ic es

,
’
, ,

T h e fo lly of Lov e s sacrifi c e s

’
.
3 90 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

X II I
. EN B AT EAU

T he
’
sh eph erd s star with tr embling glint
D rops in black wat er ; at th e hint
T h e pilot fumbl e s for his fli nt .

N ow is th e tim e or n ever sirs , .

N o hand that wand ers wis ely errs

I touch a hand and is it h e rs ?
,

T he kn ightly A tys strik e s th e strings ,

An d to th e faithle ss C hloris fl in g s
A l ook that sp e aks of many thi ngs .

T he ab b é has absolv e d again

E gl e th e V iscount all in vain
,

Has giv e n his hasty h e art th e r ein .

M e anwhil e th e moon is up and str e ams

Upon th e ski ff that fli e s and s e ems
t upo n a
To fl o a tid e of dr eams .
3 92 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M O VE M ENT

X V . M AN D O LI N E

T he sing ers of s er enad e s

Wh isp er th e ir fad e d vows
Unto fair list e ning maids
Und er th e sin ging bough s .

Tir eis ,
A min te , a
re th er e ,

C li t a
n dre h a
s wait e d long ,

A n d D amis
for many a fair
Tyrant mak e s many a song .

Th eir short v e sts s ilk e n and bright

, ,

Th e ir long pal e s ilk en trains ,

Th eir el eganc e of d elight ,

Twin e soft blu e silk e n c hains .

A n d th emandolin es and th ey ,

Fa intlier br e athing swoon ,

Into th e ros e and gr ey

E cstasy of th e moon .
 T RANS LATI ONS 393

X VI . A C LY M EN E

M ystical strains unh e ard ,

A song without a word ,

D eare st b e caus e thin e ey es ,

,

P al e as the ski e s ,

B e caus e thy vo i c e r e mot e ,

A s th e far clouds that float

V e iling for me th e whol e
H e av en of th e soul ,

B e caus e th e
stat e ly sc ent
O f thy swan s whit e n e ss bl e nt
’
,

With the whit e lily s bloom ’

Of thy p erfum e ,

Ah ! b e caus e thy d e ar lov e ,

T h e music br e ath e d abov e

B y ange ls halo crown e d
-
,

O dour and sound ,

Hath in my subtl e h e art

, ,

With som e myste rious art

Transpos e d thy harmony ,

S o let it b e !
 X V II . LE TT RE

F ar from your sight r e mov e d by thankl e ss car e s

(T h e gods a witn e ss wh re
e n a lov e r sw e ars)

I languish and I d ie M adam e as still , ,

M y u se is which I punctually fulfil

, ,

And go through h e avy h e art e d wo e s conv ey e d

,
-
,

A tt e nd e d e v er by your lov e ly shad e ,

B y day in thought by night in d r e ams of h ell

, ,

A n d day and night M adam e adorabl e ! , ,

S o th a ta t l e ngth my dwindling body lost

I n v ery soul I too b e com e a ghost
, ,

I too and in th e lam entabl e stress

,

O f vain d e sir e s r e m e mb e ring happin e ss ,

R e m e mb e r e d kiss e s now alas unf e lt , , , ,

M y shadow sh a ll into your sh a dow m elt .

M e anwhil e d e ar e st your most ob e di e nt slav e

, , .

How do e s th e sw ee t soci e ty b ehav e ,

Thy cat thy dog thy parrot ? and is she

, ,

S till as of old th e black ey e d Silva

, ,
n ie -

(I had lov e d black e yes if thin e had not b een

blu e)
Who ogl ed me at moments palsambl eu ! ,
396 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

X VII I . LES I N DO LEN T S

a
B h! spit e of F at e that says us nay
, ,

S uppos e w e die tog eth er eh ? ,

—A rar e conclusion you discover

—What s rar e is good
’
. L et us die so ,

L ik e
lov ers in B occaccio .

—H a! ha ! ha ! you fantastic lov e r !

Na
y, not fantastic I f you will .
,

F ond sur ely irr e proachabl e

,
.

S uppos e th en that w e di e tog e th er ?

, ,

—G ood sir your j ests a

, re fi tlier tol d

Than wh e n you sp e ak of lov e or gold .

Why sp eak at all in this glad w e ath er ?

,

Wh er e at b ehold th e m onc e again

, ,

Tir e is b e sid e his D orimén e ,

N ot far from two blith e rustic rov ers ,

F or som e capric e of idl e br e ath

D e f erring
a d elicious d eath .

Ha ! ha ! ha ! what fantastic lov ers !

 TRANS LATI O N S 397

X IX . C O LO M B I N E

T he foolish Le and er ,

C ap e cov e r e d C assand e r
-
,

An d which
Is P i e rrot ? tis h e ’

With the hop of a fl ea

Le aps th e ditch ;

A nd Harl e quin who

R e h e ars e s an ew
His sly task ,

With his dre ss that s a wonder,

.

A nd e ye s shining und er
His mask ;

M i sol mi fa do !
, , , ,

How gaily th e y go ,

And th e y sing
A nd th e y laugh and th e y twirl
R ound th e fe e t of a girl
Lik e th e S pring ,
3 98 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

Whos e eyes a r e as gr ee n

A s a cat s a
r e and k ee n
’
,

As its claws ,

A n d h er e y e s without frown
B id all n ew com ers
-
D own
With your paws !

On th e y go with th e forc e
O f th e stars in th eir cours e ,

A n d th e sp ee d
O t ell me toward what
D isast e r unthought ,

Without h ee d
T he implacabl e fair ,

A ros e in h er hair ,

Holding up
H er skirts as sh e runs
L e ads this danc e of th e dunc e
A nd the dup e ?
400 T H E S Y MB OL S I T M OVEM EN T

X X I . E N S OURD I N E

C alm wh ere twilight l e av e s hav e still ed

With th e ir shadow light and sound ,

Le t our sil e nt lov e b e fill e d

With a sil e nc e as profound .

Le t our ravish e d s ens e s bl end

H e art and spir it thin e and min e
, ,

With vagu e languors that d esc e nd

F rom th e branch e s of th e pin e .

C los e thin e e y e s against th e day ,

F old thin e arms across thy br east ,

A n d for e v er turn away

A ll d e sir e of all but r e st .

lulling br e aths that p a

L e t th e ss

In soft wrinkl e s at thy f ee t ,

Tossing all the tawn y grass ,

This and only this re p e at .

An d wh en sol emn e v e ning

D ims th e for e st s dusky air
’
,

Th e n th e nightingal e shall sing

T h e d elight of our d e spair .
 T RA N SLATI ON S 40 1

X X II . C O LLO QUE S E N TI M EN TAL

In th e old park solitary and vast

, ,

O ve r the froz e n ground two forms onc e pass e d .

Th eir lips w ere languid and th e ir e ye s w er e

d e ad ,

And hardly could b e h e ard th e words th e y said .

I n the
old park solitary and vast
, ,

Two ghosts onc e me t to summon up the past .

—D o you r e m e mb er our old e cstasy ?

—
Why would you bring it back again to me ?
—
D o you still dr e am as you dr am e d long a eg o ?
D o e s your h e art b e at to my h e art s b e a
ting ? ’

No .

—Ah ,thos e old days what j oys hav e thos e

,

days s e e n
—
Wh e n your lips met my lips It may have
b ee n .

How blu e th e sky was and our hop e how

-
,

light !
—
Hop e has flown h elpl e ss back into th e night .

Th e y walke d through w ee ds withe re d and

grass e s d e ad ,

A nd only th e night h e ard th e words th e y said .

40 2 T H E S Y M B OL S I T M OVE M ENT

a
Fr om P oemes S tu rni ens

I . S O LE I LS C O U C H A N T S

P al e dawn d elicate ly
Ov er e arth has spun
T h e sad m elancholy
Of the s e tting sun .

Sa d m elancholy
B rings oblivion
In sad songs to me
With the s etting sun .

A n d th e strang e st dre am s ,

D r e ams lik e suns that s et

O n th e banks of th e stre ams ,

G host and glory me t ,

To my s e ns e it s ee ms ,

P ass and without le t

, ,

Lik e gr e at suns that set

On the banks of stre ams .
404 I
T H E S Y M B O L S T M O V EM E NT

III . FE MM E E T C H ATT E

Th e y w er e at play she and h er cat

, ,

And it was marv ellous to mark

T h e whit e paw and th e whit e hand pat
E ach oth e r in th e d eep ening dark .

T he st e althy littl e lady hid

’
Und er h er mitt ens silke n sh e ath
H er d e adly agat e nails that thrid
T h e silk li k e dagg e r points of d e ath
- - .

T he cat purr e d primly a n d dr e w in

H er claws that w e r e of st eel fil e d thin

T he d evil was in it all th e sam e .

An d in th e boudoir whil e a shout

,

O f laught e r in th e air rang out ,

F our sparks of phosphor shon e lik e fl am e .

 TRAN SLATI ONS 405

From LaB onne Cha

nson

T he whit e moon sits

An d s ee ms to brood
Wh ere a swift voic e flits
F rom e ach branch in th e wood
That th e tree tops cov er
-
.

O lov e r my lov e r !
,

T he pool in th e m e adows
Lik e a looking glass -

C asts back th e shadows

That ov e r it pass
O f th e willow bow er-
.

Le t us dr e am : tis ’
th e hour .

A t end er and vast

Lull of cont e nt
Lik e a cloud is cast
F rom th e fi rma me nt
Wh ere one plan e t is bright .

’
Tis th e hour of d elight .
4 06 T HE S Y M B O L S I T M O VEM ENT

T he fire side ,
th e
lamp s littl e narrow light ;
’

T he dr e am with h e ad on hand and th e d elight

,

O f e y e s that los e th e ms elv e s in loving looks ;

T h e hour of st e aming te a and of shu t books ;
T h e solac e to kn ow e v ening almost gon e ;
T he dainty w e arin e ss of waiting on
T h e nuptial shadow and night s soft e st bliss ;
’

Ah it is this that without r e spit e this

, ,

That without stay my t end er f a,

ncy s e eks ,

Ma d with th e months and furious with the

w eeks .
4 08 I T
T H E S Y M B OL S M OVEM ENT

I divin e throu gh th e v e il of a murmurin g

, ,

T h e subtl e contour of voic es gon e,

An d I see in th e glimm ering lights that sing

, ,

T h e pro mi s e pal e lov e of a futur e dawn

, , .

An d my soul and my h e art in troubl e

What a re th e y but an e ye that s e e s
,

A s through a mi st an eye s ee s doubl e ,

A irs forgott e n of songs lik e th es e ?

O to die of no oth er dying ,

L ov e thanthis that comput es th e show ers

,
-

O f old hours and of n ew hours flying :

O to d ie of the swing of the hours '
 I
T RAN S LAT ON S 4 09

T e ars in my h e art that w eep s,

Lik e th e rain upon th e town .

What drowsy languor st ee ps

In t ears my h e art that w eeps ?

O sw eet sound of the rain

On e arth and on th e roofs !
’
F or a h eart s w e ary pain
O th e song of th e rain !

V ain t e ars vain t e ars my h ea

, , rt !
What non e hath don e th ee wrong ?
,

a
T e ars without r e ason start
F rom my dish e rt e n e d h e art .

This is th e we arie st woe ,

0 heart of lov e and hat e

,

T oow e ary not to kno w

,

Why thou hast all thi s woe .

4 10 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVE M ENT

A frail hand in th e ros e gr e y e v ening

-

Kiss e s th e shining k e ys that hardly stir ,

Wh il e with th e light small flutt e r of a wing

, , ,

A n d old song lik e an old tir e d wand e r er

, ,

G o es v ery softly a,
s if tr e mbling ,

A bout th e room long r e dol e nt of H er .

What lullaby is this that com es again

To dandl e my poor b eing with its bre ath ?
What wouldst thou hav e of me gay laughing ,

a
strain ?
What hadst thou d esultory f int r e frain
,

That now into th e gard e n to thy d e ath

Floatest through th e half op en e d window pan e ?
- -
4 12 T HE S YM B OL S I T M OVEM EN T

VI
We arily the plain s ’

E ndl e ss
l ength e xpands ;
T h e snow shin e s lik e grains
Of th e shifting sands .

Li ght of day is non e ,

B raz e n is the sky ;

Ov erh e ad th e moon
S ee ms to liv e and di e .

Wh ere th e woods a r e s ee n ,

G r e y the oak tr e e s lift

-

Through th e vaporous screen

Lik e th e clouds that drift .

Light of day is non e ,

B raz e n is th e sky ;
Ov erh e ad th e moon
S e e ms to liv e and d ie .

B rok e nwind e d crow

-
,

An d you l e an wolv e s wh e n
, ,

T h e sharp north win ds blo w,

-

What do you do th e n ?
Wearily the plain s ’

E ndl e ss
l ength expands ;
T he snow shin e s li k e grains
Of the shifting sands .
 TRAN SLAT ION S 4 13

Th ere s a fli ght of gr ee n and red

’

In th e hurry of hills and rails ,

Through the shadowy tw ili ght sh e d

B y th e lamps as d a ylight pal es .

D im gold light flush e s to bloo d

In humbl e hollows far down ;
B irds sing low from a wood
Of barr e n tree s without crown .

S car c e ly
mor e to b e f elt
Than that autumn is gon e ;
Languors lull e d in me m el t
, ,

In the still air s m onot on e

’
.
4 14 T HE S Y M B OL S I T M OVEM ENT

V III . S P LEE N

T he ros es w er e all re d ,

T h e ivy was all black

D ear if you turn your h e ad
, ,

A ll my d e spairs com e back .

T he sky was too blu e too kind , ,

T he s e atoo gr e en and the air

,

Too calm : and I know in my mind

I shall wak e and not find you th ere .

I am tire d of th e box tr ee s shin e

-
’

A n d th e holly s that n e v e r will pass

’
, ,

An d th e plain s un ending li n e
’
,

And of all but you alas ! ,

 From J a
di s et Na
gu er e

I . A R T P O ET IQU E

M usic fi rs t and for emost of all !

C hoos e your m e asure of odd not e v en ,

Le t it m e lt in th e air of h e av en ,

P os e not pois e not but ris e and fall

, , .

C hoos eyour words but thi nk not wh e th er

,

E ach to oth e r of old b elong :

What so d e ar as th e dim gr e y song
Wh ere cl e ar and vagu e a re j oin e d tog e th er ?

’
Tis v e ils of b e auty for b eautiful e ye s ,

Tis th e tre mbling light of th e nak e d noon

’
,

Tis a m e dl e y of blu e and gold the moon

’
,

An d stars in th e cool of autumn ski e s .

Le t v ery shap e of its shad e b e born ;

e

C olour away ! com e to m e shad e !

, ,

O nly of shad e can th e marriag e b e mad e

Of dr e am with dre a m and of flut e with horn .
 T RA N SLATI ON S 4 17

S hun the P oint , l e st d e ath with it com e ,

Unholy laught er and cru el wit

(F o r th e e ye s of the angels w e ep at it )
An d all th e garbag e of scull e ry scum
-
.

Tak e E lo qu enc e and wrin g th e n e ck of him !

,

You had b ett er by forc e from tim e to tim e

, , ,

P ut a littl e s e ns e in th e h e ad of R hym e
If you watch him not you will b e at the heck
,

of him .

O,who shall t e ll us th e wron gs of Rh ym e ?

What witl e ss savag e or what d e af boy
Has mad e for us this twop e nny toy
Whos e b ells ring hollow a n d out of tim e ?

M usic always and music still !

Letyour v ers e b e th e w and ering thing
That flutt ers in flight from a soul on th e wing
Towards oth er ski e s at a n ew whim s will’
.

Let your ve rs e b e th e luck of th e lur e

A float on th e winds that at morning hint
O f th e odours of thym e and th e savour
mint
A nd all th e r e st is lit eratur e.
4 18 T HE S Y M B OL STI M OVEM ENT

II . M E ZZE T IN C H AN T AN T

Go, and with n ev e r a car e

B ut th e car e to k e e p happin ess !
C rumpl e a silk e n dr ess
An d snatch a song in th e air .

H e ar th e moral of all th e wis e

In a world wh er e happy folly
Is wis er than m elancholy :
F org e t th e hour as it fli e s !

T he onething n ee dful on earth it,

Is not to b e whi mp ering .

Is lif e aft er all a thing

R e al e nough to b e wor t h it ?
420 T H E S YM B O L S I T M OVEM ENT

O my God thou hast wound e d me with love

, ,

B ehold th e wound that is still vibrating

, ,

O my God thou hast wound e d me with lov e

, .

0 my G o d thy f ear hath fall e n upon me

, ,

B ehold th e burn is th e r e and it throbs aloud

, ,

O my G od thy fe ar hath fall en upon me

, .

O my G od I hav e kn own that all is vil e

,

A nd that thy glory hath station e d its elf in m e ,

O my G o d I hav e k nown that all is vil e

,
.

D rown my soul in floods floods of thy win e

, ,

M ingl e my life with th e body of thy br e ad ,

D rown my soul in floods floods of thy win e

,
.

Tak e my blood that I have not poure d out

, ,

Tak e my fl esh unworthy of su ff erin g

, ,

Tak e my blood that I hav e not pour e d out

,
.

Tak e my brow that has o nly l earn e d to blush

, ,

To b e th e footstool of th in e adorabl e fee t ,

Tak e my brow that has only l earn ed to blush

,
.
 TRAN SLATI ON S 421

Tak e my hands b e caus e th e y hav e laboure d

,

not
F or coals of fi re and for rar e frankinc ens e ,

Tak e my hands b e caus e th e y have laboure d

,

not .

Tak e my h e art that has b e at e n for vain things

, ,

To throb und er th e thorns of C alvary ,

Tak e my h e art that has b e at e n for vain things .

Tak e my fe et frivolous trav ell ers

, ,

That th e y may run to th e crying of thy grac e ,

Tak e my fee t frivolous trav ell ers

,
.

Tak e my voi c e a harsh and a lying nois e

, ,

F or the r e proach e s of thy P e nit e nc e ,

Tak e my voic e a harsh and a lying nois e

,

Take min e e y es luminari e s of d e c eit

, ,

That th e y may b e extinguish e d in th e

prayer ,

Tak e min e e ye s luminari es of d e c eit

, .

thou God of pardon and pro mis es

A las , , ,

What is the pit of min e ingratitud e ,

A las thou G o d of pardon and promi s e s

, , .
4 22 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VEM ENT

G od of t error and God of holin e ss ,

A las my sinfuln e ss is a black abyss

, ,

Go d of t e rror and God of holin ess .

Thou Go d of p e ac e of j oy and d elight

, , ,

All my t e ars all my ignoranc e s

, ,

Thou G o d of p e ac e of j oy and d elight

, , .

Thou O G od know e st all this all this

, , , ,

How poor I am poor er than any man

, ,

Thou O Go d know e st all this all this

, , , .

And what I hav e my Go d , ,

I giv e to th ee .
424 T H E S YM B OL S I T M OVEM E NT

Th e bo dy s sadn ess and th e languor th er eof

’

M elt and bow me with pity ti ll I could w e e p ,

A h ! wh e n th e dark hours br e ak it down in sl ee p

An d th e b e dcloth e s scor e th e ski n and th e hot
hands mov e ;
Alert for a littl e with the fev er of d a y ,

D amp still with th e h e avy sw e at of the night

that has thinn e d ,

Lik e a bird that tr e mbl e s on a roof in th e wi nd

A nd th e f e e t that ar e sorrowful b e caus e of th e

a
w y,

An d th e br e ast that a hand has scarre d with a

doubl e blow ,

A n d th e mouth that as an op e n wound is r e d ,

A n d th e fl e sh that shi v ers and is a paint e d

show ,

A n d th e e y es poor e y e s so lov ely with t ears

,

un sh e d
F or th e sorrow of s ee in g this also ov er and don e
Sa d body how w e a k and how punish e d und er
,

th e s un !
 T RAN SLATI ON S 4 25

V
Fair e r is th e se a
Than th e minst er high ,
F aithful nurs e is sh e ,

A n d last lullaby ,

A n d th e Virgin prays
O v e r th e s e a s ways
’
.

G ifts of gri e f and gu erdons

F rom h er bounty com e ,

A n d I h e ar h er pardons
C hid e h er ange rs home ;
N othing in h er is
Unforgivingn ess .

Sh e is pit e ous ,

Sh e th e p erilous !
Fri e ndly things to us
T h e wav e sings to us
Y ou whos e hop e is past ,

H ere is p e ac e at last .

An d b en e ath the ski es ,

B right er hu e d than th ey
-
,

S h e has azur e dy e s ,

R os e and gr e e n and gr e y .

B e tt er is th e se a
Than all fair things or we .
4 26 I
T H E S YM B OL ST M OVEM E NT

Fr om P a
rallelement

I M PRE S S IO N F AU S S E

Littl e lady mouse ,

B lack upon th e gr ey of light ;

Littl e lady mous e
:

Gr e y upon th e night .

N ow th e y ring the b ell ,

All good prison ers slumb er d eep ;

N ow th ey ring th e b ell ,

N othing n ow but sl eep .

Only pl easant dreams ,

Love s e nough for thin k ing of ;

’

Only pl easant dreams ,

Long liv e lov e !

M oonlight ov er a ll ,

S om e on e snoring h eavily ;
M oonlight ov er all
In r e ality .
428 T H E S YM B OL S I T M O VEM EN T

Fr om Cha
nsons p our Elle

Y ou b eli e v e that th ere may b e

Luck in strang ers in th e tea
I b eli e v e only in your e yes .

Y ou b eli e ve in fairy tal es

-
,

D ays one wins and days one fails

I b eli e v e only in your li es .

Y ou b eli e v e in h e av enly powe rs ,

In som e saint to whom one prays

m

O r in s o me A ve that one says .

I b e li e ve only in th e hours ,

C olour e d with th e rosy lights

Y ou rain for m e on sl ee pl e ss nights .

A nd so fir mly I r e c eiv e
Th e s e for tru th that I b eli eve
,

That only for your sak e I live .

 TRAN SLAT IONS 429

Fr om Ep igra
mmes

Wh e n we go tog eth er if I may s ee

,
h er again ,

I nto the dark wood and th e rain ;

Wh e n we a re drunk e n with air and th e sun ’
s

d elight
A t th e brink of th e riv e r of light ;

Wh e n we a r e hom el e ss at last for a mom e nt s

,
’

spac e
Without city or abiding plac e ;-

And if the slow good will of th e world still s ee m

-

To cradl e us in a dr e am ;

Th e n le t us sl e e p th e last sl eep with no l e av e

,

taking ,

A nd G od will see to th e waki ng .