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Lives

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BY ARTHUR RIMBAUD
TRANSLATED BY WALLACE FOWLIE
I
Oh! the huge avenues of the holy land, the terraces of the temple! What has
happened to the brahmin who taught me the Proverbs? From then and from there I
can still see even the old women! I remember silvery hours and sun near rivers, the
hand of the country on my shoulder, and our caresses as we stood in the fiery
fields. A flight of red pigeons thunders around my thoughtsIn exile here I had a
stage on which to perform the dramatic masterpieces of all literatures. I might tell
you about unheard-of wealth. I follow the story of the treasures you found. I see the
next chapter! My wisdom is as neglected as chaos is. What is my void, compared
with the stupefaction awaiting you?

II
I am a far more deserving inventor than all those who went before me; a
musician, in fact, who found something resembling the key of love. At present, a
noble from a meager countryside with a dark sky I try to feel emotion over the
memory of mendicant childhood, over my apprenticeship when I arrived wearing
wooden shoes, polemics, five or six widowings, and a few wild escapades when my
strong head kept me from rising to the same pitch as my comrades. I dont miss
what I once possessed of divine happiness: the calm of this despondent countryside
gives a new vigor to my terrible scepticism. But since this scepticism can no longer
be put into effect, and since I am now given over to a new worryI expect to
become a very wicked fool.

III
In an attic where at the age of twelve I was locked up, I knew the world and
illustrated the human comedy. In a wine cellar I learned history. At some night
celebration, in a northern city, I met all the wives of former painters. In an old back
street in Paris I was taught the classical sciences. In a magnificent palace,
surrounded by all the Orient, I finished my long work and spent my celebrated
retirement. I have invigorated my blood. I am released from my duty. I must not
even think of that any longer. I am really from beyond the tomb, and without work.
Arthur Rimbaud, "Lives" from Complete Works, Selected Letters, translated by
Wallace Fowlie. C by Wallace Fowlie. Reprinted by permission of The University of
Chicago Press.
Source: Complete Works, Selected Letters (The University of Chicago Press, 2005)

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