by
Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
À cette terre
See originalLanguage: French (Français)
À cette terre, où l'on ploie
Sa tente au déclin du jour,
Ne demande pas la joie.
Contente-toi de l'amour !
Excepté lui, tout s'efface.
La vie est un sombre lieu
Où chaque chose qui passe
Ébauche l'homme pour Dieu.
...
L'espoir c'est l'aube incertaine ;
Sur notre but sérieux
C'est la dorure lointaine
D'un rayon mystérieux.
C'est le reflet, brume ou flamme,
Que dans leur calme éternel
Versent d'en haut sur notre âme
Les félicités du ciel.
...
Va, si haut nul ne s'élève ;
Sur terre il faut demeurer ;
On sourit de ce qu'on rêve,
Mais ce qu'on a, fait pleurer.
...
Souffrons ! c'est la loi sévère.
Aimons ! c'est la douce loi.
Aimons ! soyons deux ! Le sage
N'est pas seul dans son vaisseau.
Les deux yeux font le visage ;
Les deux ailes font l'oiseau.
Soyons deux ! - Tout nous convie
À nous aimer jusqu'au soir.
N'ayons à deux qu'une vie !
N'ayons à deux qu'un espoir !
Dans ce monde de mensonges,
Moi, j'aimerai mes douleurs,
Si mes rêves sont tes songes,
Si mes larmes sont tes pleurs !
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2,7-8,12-16 of the original text.
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Text Authorship:
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Amy Pfrimmer) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Jacques L'oiseleur des Longchamps
This text was added to the website: 2009-03-18
Line count: 64
Word count: 329
Language: English after the French (Français)
In this land, where one raises
his tent at the end of the day,
Do not ask for joy.
Be content with love!
Except for him, everything fades away.
Life is a somber place.
Where every passing thing
depicts man as God.
...
Hope is the uncertain dawn;
Before our serious purpose.
It is the distant
mysterious golden beam of light.
It is the reflection, mist or flame,
that in their eternal calm
Pours the bliss of heaven
from above onto our souls.
...
Go, so high that no one rises higher;
On earth one must remain.
One smiles at what one dreams,
but what one has, makes one cry.
Since the Savior bled on Calvary,
believe that we must not complain.
We must suffer! It is the severe law.
We must love! It is the sweet law.
Let us love, let us be two, the wise man
is not alone in his vessel.
Two eyes make a face;
Two wings make a bird.
We are two! Everything invites us
to love each other until the evening.
Let us have only one life.
Let us have only one hope!
In this world of lies,
I will love my sorrows,
If my dreams are your dreams,
if my tears are your tears!
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2,7-8,12-16 of the original text.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2023 by Amy Pfrimmer, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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This text was added to the website: 2023-06-04
Line count: 64
Word count: 209
