French · Spleen and Ideal

Franciscae meae laudes

Praises of My Francisca

33 lines · 12 notes

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1
I will sing you on new strings,
Novisnewnovus · Latin adjective, ablative, pluralmodifies chordis
teyoutu · Latin pronoun, second-person, singular, accusativedirect object of cantabo
cantaboI will singcano · Latin verb, future, indicative, first-person, singularmain verb of the sentence
this poem's lines are in Latin, not French
chordisstringschorda · Latin noun, feminine, ablative, pluralablative of means, object of cantabo
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O young shoot that plays
Word«novelletum» — a coined diminutive «novelletum» is not classical Latin: Baudelaire invents a tender diminutive from «novellus» ('young, new'), roughly 'little new thing / fresh young sprout'. The whole poem is a deliberate pastiche of medieval church Latin, and coinages like this are part of the game — addressing the beloved as something newly budded and small.
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in the solitude of the heart.
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Be entwined with garlands,
GrammarFuture imperative «esto» «esto» is the future imperative of «esse» (to be): 'be / you shall be'. This solemn command form belongs to laws, prayers and oaths, which suits the hymn's liturgical tone — the praises are framed as a rite she is bidden to enter.
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O delicate woman,
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through whom sins are absolved!
GrammarPassive «solvuntur» «solvuntur» is the passive of «solvo» (to loosen, release, absolve): 'are loosed / are absolved'. «peccata» ('sins') is the subject. The phrasing «per quam» ('through whom') casts the woman in the role of a redeemer — sins are forgiven through her, language lifted straight from prayers to the Virgin.
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As from kindly Lethe,
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I would drink kisses from you,
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you who are steeped in magnetism.
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When the tempest of vices
Word«tempegtas» — spelling preserved The word is «tempestas» ('storm, tempest'); the printed form «tempegtas» preserves a quirk of the 1857 edition kept here verbatim. «Quum» is an archaic spelling of «cum» ('when'). The line sets up the rescue: when the storm of vices «vitiorum» was throwing every path into confusion, she appeared.
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was confounding all the paths,
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you appeared, O Deity,
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Like a saving star
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amid bitter shipwrecks.....
Word«naufragium» — shipwreck «naufragium» is a shipwreck (from «navis» 'ship' + «frango» 'to break'); the ablative plural «naufragiis amaris» = 'in bitter shipwrecks'. The image fuses with the «stella salutaris» of the line before: she is the saving star that appears to the foundering sailor — once more the Virgin's title «stella maris», 'star of the sea'. The trailing dots are Baudelaire's own.
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I will hang my heart on your altars!
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Pool full of power,
Word«piscina» — pool / font «piscina» is a basin or pool, and in church Latin the sacred pool of healing — recalling the Pool of Bethesda whose waters cured the sick. «plena virtutis» = 'full of virtue / power' (the genitive «virtutis» means both moral virtue and curative strength). The stanza begins a litany of metaphors that each name the beloved as a source of grace.
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fountain of eternal youth,
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give voice back to mute lips!
GrammarImperative «redde» + dative «redde» is the imperative of «reddo» (to give back, restore): 'restore!'. It takes a direct object «vocem» ('voice') and a dative of the recipient «labris mutis» ('to mute lips'). The mood shifts from praise to prayer — a string of commands («redde», later «guberna», «adde») asking her grace to act on the poet.
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What was filthy, you burned away;
Grammar«quod» — 'that which' Each line of this stanza opens with «quod» ('that which, what') as the object of a perfect verb: «quod erat spurcum, cremasti» = 'what was foul, you burned'. The threefold parallel — «cremasti» (you burned), «exaequasti» (you levelled), «confirmasti» (you strengthened) — is a creed-like list of her transforming work, each verb in the syncopated perfect («-asti» for «-avisti»).
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what was too rough, you made smooth;
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what was weak, you made firm.
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In my hunger an inn,
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in my night a lamp,
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steer me always aright.
Word«gubernare» — to steer «guberna» is the imperative of «gubernare», to steer a ship (the source of English 'govern'). It picks the nautical thread back up from the shipwreck stanza: having appeared as the saving star, she is now asked to take the helm — «recte … guberna» = 'steer rightly'. Hunger, night, and a wandering course are each answered by her: an inn, a lamp, a hand on the tiller.
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Add now strength to my strength,
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sweet bath fragrant with
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soft-scented oils!
Word«unguentatum» — anointed with oils «unguentatum» means 'anointed, perfumed with unguents', from «unguentum» (ointment, scented oil). It runs across the line break to describe «balneum» ('bath') from the previous line, steeped in «suavibus odoribus» ('sweet scents'). The cluster of perfumes is pure Baudelaire — the same sensual incense that fills «Correspondances» and «La Chevelure».
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Glitter about my loins,
GrammarPostponed preposition «circa» Normal prose order would be «circa meos lumbos» ('around my loins'); Latin verse often slips the preposition between adjective and noun, so «meos circa lumbos» keeps the same sense in a more elevated word order. «mica» is the imperative 'gleam, sparkle' — she is asked to shine girdle-like at his waist.
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O breastplate of chastity,
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water touched with the seraphic;
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Libation-bowl flashing with gems,
Word«patera» — the offering-bowl A «patera» is the broad shallow dish used to pour libations to the gods. «gemmis corusca» = 'glittering with gems' (the ablative «gemmis» tells what it flashes with). The final stanza piles up sacramental objects — jewelled bowl, salted bread, divine wine — turning the woman into the very elements of a rite that closes on her name.
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salted bread, tender fare,
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divine wine, Francisca!

The particulars

The text: Les Fleurs du mal, Charles Baudelaire. Spleen and Ideal.
Words: Every word of the text, by letter.
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