J'implore ta pitié, Toi, l'unique que j'aime, Du fond du gouffre obscur où mon cœur est tombé. C'est un univers morne à l'horizon plombé, Où nagent dans la nuit l'horreur et le blasphème ; Un soleil sans chaleur plane au-dessus six mois, Et les six autres mois la nuit couvre la terre ; C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire ; -- Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois ! Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace, Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos ; Je jalouse le sort des plus vils animaux Qui peuvent se plonger dans un sommeil stupide Tant l'écheveau du temps lentement se dévide !
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Les Fleurs du mal, Spleen et Idéal, Paris: Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, 1857, pages 69-70. Also confirmed with Les Fleurs du mal, Spleen et Idéal, Paris: Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, 1861, pages 70-71. Also confirmed with Œuvres complètes de Charles Baudelaire, vol. I : Les Fleurs du mal, Spleen et Idéal, Paris: Michel Lévy frères, 1868, page 130. Punctuation follows 1857 edition. Note: this was number 28 in the 1857 edition of Les Fleurs du mal but number 30 or 31 in subsequent editions.
First published April 9, 1851 as "La Béatrix" in Le Messager de l'Assemblée. Also published June 1, 1855 as "Le Spleen" in Revue des Deux Mondes.
Authorship
- by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), title 1: "De profundis clamavi", title 2: "Le Spleen", title 3: "La Béatrix", appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 1. Spleen et Idéal, no. 30, Paris, Le Messager de l'Assemblée, first published 1851 [author's text checked 4 times against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)
- by Germain Desbonnet (1938 - 2007), "De profundis clamavi", 1978, published 1985 [ high voice and piano ], from Mélodies, no. 3, Éd. du compositeur [sung text not yet checked]
- by Poul Rovsing Olsen (1922 - 1982), "De profundis", 1981, published 1999 [ low voice and piano ], from Deux Mélodies, no. 2, Copenhagen, Samfundet til udgivelse af Dansk Music (The Society for the publication of Danish Music) [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Stefan George (1868 - 1933) , first published 1891 ; composed by Alban Maria Johannes Berg.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "De profundis clamavi"
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "De Profundis clamavi", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ROM Romanian (Română) (Alexandru I. Philippide) , "De profundis clamavi"
Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-06
Line count: 14
Word count: 122
Îți cer acuma mila ta, tu, singura-mi iubire, Din hăurile-n care greu inima mea geme. E-o lume plumburie și fără strălucire În care noaptea-i plină de spaime și blesteme; Un soare fără vlagă pe cer stă șase luni Iar șase luni e noapte din zare până-n zare. E mai pustiu aicea ca-n țările polare: Nici vietăți, nici ape, nici crânguri, nici pășuni! O groază mai adâncă nu poate fi în viață Decât cruzimea rece a soarelui de gheață Și bezna asta care-i cu Haosul la fel; Râvnesc la soarta celor mai josnice-animale Ce pot să se scufunde în somnul lor tembel, Așa de-nceată-i vremea pe nesfârșita-i cale!
Authorship
- by Alexandru I. Philippide (1859 - 1933), "De profundis clamavi" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
- a text in French (Français) by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), title 1: "De profundis clamavi", title 2: "Le Spleen", title 3: "La Béatrix", appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 1. Spleen et Idéal, no. 30, Paris, Le Messager de l'Assemblée, first published 1851
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this text: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-07-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 107