Source: Andre Cornelis (1886), Ch. 4
Context: I once spoke to my aunt of the vow I had taken, the solemn promise I had made to myself that I would discover the murderer of my father, and take vengeance upon him, and she laid her hand upon my mouth. She was a pious woman, and she repeated the words of the gospel: "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord." Then she added: "We must leave the punishment of the crime to Him; His will is hidden from us. Remember the divine precept and promise, 'Forgive and you shall be forgiven.' Never say: 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.' Ah, no; drive this enmity out of your heart, Cornelis; yes, even this." And there were tears in her eyes.
My poor aunt! She thought me made of sterner stuff than I really was. There was no need of her advice to prevent my being consumed by the desire for vengeance which had been the fixed star of my early youth, the blood-colored beacon aflame in my night. Ah! the resolutions of boyhood, the "oaths of Hannibal" taken to ourselves, the dream of devoting all our strength to one single and unchanging aim — life sweeps all that away, together with our generous illusions, ardent enthusiasm, and noble hopes.
“Ah well, towards happiness others will lead me
With their tresses knotted to the horns of my brow:
You know, my passion, that purple and just ripe,
The pomegranates burst and murmur with bees;
And our blood, aflame for her who will take it,
Flows for all the eternal swarm of desire.”
The Afternoon of a Faun (1876)
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Stéphane Mallarmé 36
French Symbolist poet 1842–1898Related quotes
“My banks they are furnish’d with bees,
Whose murmur invites one to sleep.”
A Pastoral, part II, "Hope".
THE DESIRE FOR DESIRÉE http://www.c3.hu/~mediumar/PETVERS1.HTM (1993).
András Petőcz: In Praise of the Sea (1999, ISBN 963 9101 51 6).
Poems
Original: Prendi la mia mano e portami lontano. Lontano dai guai, dai cattivi pensieri e dalle difficoltà. Portami con te, solo io e te, in un mondo chiamato felicità.
Source: prevale.net
“I know not the way God leads me, but well do I know my Guide.”