Quotes from Charles Baudelaire

How convenient it is to declare that everything is totally ugly within the habit of the époque, rather than applying oneself to extract from it the dark and cryptic beauty, however faint and invisible it is.

The poet resembles this prince of cloud and sky Who frequents the tempest and laughs at the bowman; When exiled on the earth, the butt of hoots and jeers, His giant wings prevent him from walking.

A vida é um hospital cujos pacientes são obcecados pela troca das camas. Este quer sofrer frente a fornalha, aquele outro pensa que melhorará caso se mantenha perto da janela. Sempre me pareceu que eu estaria melhor em qualquer outro lugar exceto o lugar em que estou agora, e esta questão de seguir adiante é uma questão que muito discuto com minha alma.

I love to think of those naked epochs Whose statues Phoebus liked to tinge with gold. At that time men and women, lithe and strong, Tasted the thrill of love free from care and prudery, And with the amorous sun caressing their loins They gloried in the health of their noble bodies.

Derrière les ennuis et les vastes chagrins Qui chargent de leur poids l'existence brumeuse, Heureux celui qui peut d'une aile vigoureuse S'élancer vers les champs lumineux et sereins

Je préfère au constance, à l'opium, au nuits, L'élixir de ta bouche où l'amour se pavane ; Quand vers toi mes désirs partent en caravane, Tes yeux sont la citerne où boivent mes ennuis.

Genius is merely childhood recollected at will.

Multitude, solitude: identical terms, and interchangeable by the active and fertile poet. The man who is unable to people his solitude is equally unable to be alone in a bustling crowd.

Mes bras sont rompus pour avoir étreint des nuées.

Swan-white of heart; I smile not ever neither do I weep. I am as lovely as a dream in stone.

Comme les anges à l'oeil fauve, Je reviendrai dans ton alcôve Et vers toi glisserai sans bruit Avec les ombres de la nuit; Et je te donnerai, ma brune, Des baisers froids comme la lune Et des caresses de serpent Autour d'une fosse rampant. Quand viendra le matin livide, Tu trouveras ma place vide, Où jusqu'au soir il fera froid. Comme d'autres par la tendresse, Sur ta vie et sur ta jeunesse, Moi, je veux régner par l'effroi.

I love recalling those antique, nude times

Ä°ÅŸte onlar gibi biri, Venüs heykelinin altl???na büzülmüÅŸ, ölümsüz tanr?çaya bak?p gözyaÅŸlar? döküyor... Gel gör ki insafs?z Venüs, uzaklara bilmediÄŸim bir ÅŸeylere bak?yor mermer gözleriyle.

Es hermosa y más que hermosa: es sorprendente. Lo negro en ella abunda; y es nocturno y profundo cuanto inspira. Sus ojos son de astros en que centellea vagamente el misterio, y su mirada ilumina como el relámpago: es una explosión en las tinieblas.

Hypocrite lecteur, – mon semblable, – mon frère !

Prisoned in glass beneath my seals of red.

For the merchant, even honesty is a financial speculation.

Il n'y a de grand parmi les hommes que le poète, le prêtre et le soldat; l'homme qui chante, l'homme qui bénit, l'homme qui sacrifie et se sacrifie. Le reste est fait pour le fouet.

What matter, if thou comest from the Heavens or Hell, O Beauty, frightful ghoul, ingenuous and obscure! So long thine eyes, thy smile, to me the way can tell Towards that Infinite I love, but never saw. From God or Satan? Angel, Mermaid, Proserpine? What matter if thou makest – blithe, voluptuous sprite Ã¢â'¬â€œ With rhythms, perfumes, visions – O mine only queen! Ã¢â'¬â€œ The universe less hideous and the hours less trite.

The Sky; that black lid of a mighty pot, Where, vast and minute, human Races boil.

There lay but the sweetness that charms, and the joy that destroys.

O pallid seasons, mistress of our climes

Man—all mankind, that is to say—is so naturally depraved that he suffers less from universal degradation than from the establishment of a reasonable hierarchy.

Avalanche, veux-tu m'emporter dans ta chute?