“Ant-swarming city, city abounding in dreams,
Where ghosts in broad daylight accost the passerby!”
Fourmillante cité, cité pleine de rêves,
Où le spectre en plein jour raccroche le passant!
"Les Sept Vieillards" [The Seven Old Men] http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Les_sept_vieillards
Les fleurs du mal (Flowers of Evil) (1857)
Original
Fourmillante cité, cité pleine de rêves, Où le spectre en plein jour raccroche le passant!
Les fleurs du mal (Flowers of Evil) (1857)
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Charles Baudelaire 133
French poet 1821–1867Related quotes
“The city is a fact in nature, like a cave, a run of mackerel or an ant-heap.”
Introduction
The Culture of Cities (1938)
Context: The city is a fact in nature, like a cave, a run of mackerel or an ant-heap. But it is also a conscious work of art, and it holds within its communal framework many simpler and more personal forms of art. Mind takes form in the city; and in turn, urban forms condition mind.
“The fiercest serpent may be overcome by a swarm of ants.”
Statement in opposition of the planned construction of the Yamato class battleships, as quoted in Scraps of paper: the disarmament treaties between the world wars (1989) by Harlow A. Hyde. In this statement, Yamamoto implies that even the most powerful battleships can be sunk by a huge swarm of carrier planes. This remark also proved prophetic as both Yamato and Musashi would be sunk by overwhelming air attacks.
“New York is like my dream city. That's where I'm going to live, I'm convinced of it.”
" High School Musical Starring Frances Bean Cobain http://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/red-carpet-dresses/a235/frances-bean-cobain-0308/" (2008)
“It's easier to dismiss ghosts in the daylight.”
Source: Dragon Bones
Variant: We live in a world where we have to hide to make love, while violence is practiced in broad daylight.
“Broad daylight does not encourage the apprehension of horror.”