{"work":{"slug":"baudelaire","title":{"source":"Les Fleurs du mal","translated":"The Flowers of Evil"},"author":"Charles Baudelaire","language":"French","languageCode":"fr","url":"https://1732studios.com/books/baudelaire"},"unit":{"kind":"poem","number":null,"id":"l-aube-spirituelle","title":{"source":"L'Aube spirituelle","translated":"The Spiritual Dawn"},"section":"Spleen and Ideal","summary":null,"url":"https://1732studios.com/books/baudelaire/l-aube-spirituelle","lines":14},"previous":"https://1732studios.com/books/baudelaire/confession","next":"https://1732studios.com/books/baudelaire/harmonie-du-soir","license":"Source text: public domain (Charles Baudelaire, d. 1867). English translation: © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC — original draft, pending editorial review.","audioBase":null,"lines":[{"number":1,"label":"1","id":"l-aube-spirituelle-s1-l1","source":"Quand chez les débauchés l'aube blanche et vermeille","translation":"When among the debauched the white and rosy dawn","stanza":1,"audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"blanche et vermeille","title":"«vermeil» — bright rosy red","body":"«vermeil(le)» is a poetic word for a vivid pink-red, the flush of a ruddy complexion or of dawn — warmer and more luminous than plain «rouge». «l'aube blanche et vermeille» = 'the white and rosy dawn'. «chez les débauchés» = 'at the place of / among the debauched', «chez» locating the scene in the world of the dissolute."}],"words":[{"surface":"Quand","lemma":"quand","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"introduces the clause; verb is Entre (l-aube-spirituelle-s1-l2)","gloss":"when"},{"surface":"chez","lemma":"chez","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking débauchés","gloss":"among"},{"surface":"les","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, plural","role":"determiner of débauchés","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"débauchés","lemma":"débauché","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"debauched"},{"surface":"l'","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, singular","role":"determiner of aube","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"aube","lemma":"aube","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"modifies débauchés","gloss":"dawn"},{"surface":"blanche","lemma":"blanc","morphology":"adjective, feminine, singular","role":"modifies aube","gloss":"white"},{"surface":"et","lemma":"et","morphology":"conjunction","role":"links the coordination","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"vermeille","lemma":"vermeil","morphology":"adjective, feminine, singular","role":"coordinated with blanche, modifies aube","gloss":"rosy"}]},{"number":2,"label":"2","id":"l-aube-spirituelle-s1-l2","source":"Entre en société de l'Idéal rongeur,","translation":"enters into the company of the gnawing Ideal,","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"l'Idéal rongeur","title":"«rongeur» — gnawing","body":"«rongeur» is an agent noun/adjective formed from «ronger» with the suffix «-eur», meaning 'one that gnaws' or, as a noun, 'a rodent'. The present participle of «ronger» is «rongeant»; «rongeur» is a different derivational form. «l'Idéal rongeur» = 'the gnawing Ideal' — the longing for the absolute that eats away at the debauchee even in his stupor. «entrer en société de» = 'to enter into company / partnership with', a slightly formal turn that pairs the dawn with the Ideal as it arrives."}],"words":[{"surface":"Entre","lemma":"entrer","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence; subject is aube (l-aube-spirituelle-s1-l1)","gloss":"enters"},{"surface":"en","lemma":"en","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking société","gloss":"into"},{"surface":"société","lemma":"société","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"company"},{"surface":"de","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking Idéal","gloss":"of"},{"surface":"l'","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, singular","role":"determiner of Idéal","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Idéal","lemma":"idéal","morphology":"noun, singular","role":"modifies société","gloss":"Ideal"},{"surface":"rongeur","lemma":"rongeur","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"modifies Idéal","gloss":"gnawing"}]},{"number":3,"label":"3","id":"l-aube-spirituelle-s1-l3","source":"Par l'opération d'un mystère vengeur","translation":"by the working of an avenging mystery","audio":null,"notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"Par","lemma":"par","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking opération","gloss":"by"},{"surface":"l'","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, singular","role":"determiner of opération","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"opération","lemma":"opération","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"working"},{"surface":"d'","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking mystère","gloss":"of"},{"surface":"un","lemma":"un","morphology":"determiner, masculine, singular","role":"determiner of mystère","gloss":"an"},{"surface":"mystère","lemma":"mystère","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"modifies opération","gloss":"mystery"},{"surface":"vengeur","lemma":"vengeur","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"modifies mystère","gloss":"avenging"}]},{"number":4,"label":"4","id":"l-aube-spirituelle-s1-l4","source":"Dans la brute assoupie un ange se réveille.","translation":"within the drowsing brute an angel awakens.","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"un ange se réveille","title":"«se réveiller» — pronominal 'to wake up'","body":"«se réveiller» is the pronominal verb 'to wake (oneself), to come awake' — distinct from transitive «réveiller», 'to wake someone else'. «un ange se réveille» = 'an angel wakes / awakens'. Note the inverted, suspended sentence that has run since «Quand» in line 1: the long «Quand...» clause finally lands on its main verb here, the angel stirring inside «la brute assoupie», the drowsing brute."}],"words":[{"surface":"Dans","lemma":"dans","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking brute","gloss":"within"},{"surface":"la","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, feminine, singular","role":"determiner of brute","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"brute","lemma":"brute","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"object of preposition Dans","gloss":"brute"},{"surface":"assoupie","lemma":"assoupir","morphology":"verb, past, participle, feminine, singular","role":"modifies brute","gloss":"drowsing"},{"surface":"un","lemma":"un","morphology":"determiner, masculine, singular","role":"determiner of ange","gloss":"an"},{"surface":"ange","lemma":"ange","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"subject of réveille","gloss":"angel"},{"surface":"se","lemma":"se","morphology":"pronoun, reflexive","role":"reflexive particle of réveille","gloss":"(reflexive)"},{"surface":"réveille","lemma":"réveiller","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"awakens"}]},{"number":5,"label":"5","id":"l-aube-spirituelle-s2-l1","source":"Des Cieux Spirituels l'inaccessible azur,","translation":"The unreachable blue of the Spiritual Heavens,","stanza":2,"audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"l'inaccessible azur","title":"«l'azur» — the blue of the heavens","body":"«l'azur» is the deep blue of a clear sky, and by extension the heavens or the ideal itself — a charged word throughout the book. «Des Cieux Spirituels l'inaccessible azur» inverts the natural order ('the unreachable blue of the Spiritual Heavens'): the possessor «Des Cieux Spirituels» is fronted before the noun «l'azur» it qualifies, a poetic word-order that holds back the subject of the sentence until the verb arrives two lines later."}],"words":[{"surface":"Des","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition, contracted with definite article, plural","role":"preposition marking Cieux","gloss":"of the"},{"surface":"Cieux","lemma":"ciel","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"object of Des, modifies azur","gloss":"Heavens"},{"surface":"Spirituels","lemma":"spirituel","morphology":"adjective, masculine, plural","role":"modifies Cieux","gloss":"Spiritual"},{"surface":"l'","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, singular","role":"determiner of azur","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"inaccessible","lemma":"inaccessible","morphology":"adjective, singular","role":"modifies azur","gloss":"unreachable"},{"surface":"azur","lemma":"azur","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"subject of ouvre (l-aube-spirituelle-s2-l3)","gloss":"blue"}]},{"number":6,"label":"6","id":"l-aube-spirituelle-s2-l2","source":"Pour l'homme terrassé qui rêve encore et souffre,","translation":"for the man laid low who still dreams and suffers,","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"l'homme terrassé","title":"«terrassé» — struck to the ground","body":"«terrasser» (from «terre», the earth) means 'to throw down, to floor, to lay low' — to bring an opponent crashing to the ground. «l'homme terrassé» = 'the man laid low / felled', here the debauchee flattened by his own excess, who even so «rêve encore et souffre», 'still dreams and suffers'."}],"words":[{"surface":"Pour","lemma":"pour","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking homme","gloss":"for"},{"surface":"l'","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, singular","role":"determiner of homme","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"homme","lemma":"homme","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"man"},{"surface":"terrassé","lemma":"terrasser","morphology":"verb, past, participle, masculine, singular","role":"modifies homme","gloss":"laid low"},{"surface":"qui","lemma":"qui","morphology":"pronoun","role":"subject of rêve","gloss":"who"},{"surface":"rêve","lemma":"rêver","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"relative clause on homme","gloss":"dreams"},{"surface":"encore","lemma":"encore","morphology":"adverb","role":"modifies rêve","gloss":"still"},{"surface":"et","lemma":"et","morphology":"conjunction","role":"links the coordination","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"souffre","lemma":"souffrir","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"coordinated with rêve","gloss":"suffers"}]},{"number":7,"label":"7","id":"l-aube-spirituelle-s2-l3","source":"S'ouvre et s'enfonce avec l'attirance du gouffre.","translation":"opens and sinks down with the pull of the abyss.","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"S'ouvre et s'enfonce","title":"Twin pronominal verbs «s'ouvrir» / «s'enfoncer»","body":"Both verbs are pronominal: «s'ouvrir» = 'to open (up)' and «s'enfoncer» = 'to sink in, plunge, recede into depth'. Their subject is «l'azur» from the line above: 'the blue ... opens and sinks down'. «l'attirance du gouffre» = 'the pull / lure of the abyss' («attirer» = to attract): the heavenly blue paradoxically draws the eye downward like a chasm, the height and the depth becoming one vertiginous pull."}],"words":[{"surface":"S'","lemma":"se","morphology":"pronoun, reflexive","role":"depends on ouvre","gloss":"(reflexive)"},{"surface":"ouvre","lemma":"ouvrir","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence (subject: azur, s2-l1)","gloss":"opens"},{"surface":"et","lemma":"et","morphology":"conjunction","role":"links the coordination","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"s'","lemma":"se","morphology":"pronoun, reflexive","role":"depends on enfonce","gloss":"(reflexive)"},{"surface":"enfonce","lemma":"enfoncer","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"coordinated with ouvre","gloss":"sinks down"},{"surface":"avec","lemma":"avec","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking attirance","gloss":"with"},{"surface":"l'","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, singular","role":"determiner of attirance","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"attirance","lemma":"attirance","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"oblique argument of enfonce","gloss":"pull"},{"surface":"du","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking gouffre","gloss":"of the"},{"surface":"gouffre","lemma":"gouffre","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"modifies attirance","gloss":"abyss"}]},{"number":8,"label":"8","id":"l-aube-spirituelle-s2-l4","source":"Ainsi, chère Déesse, Être lucide et pur,","translation":"So it is, dear Goddess, lucid and pure Being,","audio":null,"notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"Ainsi","lemma":"ainsi","morphology":"adverb","role":"sentence adverb introducing the apostrophe","gloss":"So"},{"surface":"chère","lemma":"cher","morphology":"adjective, feminine, singular","role":"modifies Déesse","gloss":"dear"},{"surface":"Déesse","lemma":"déesse","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"Goddess"},{"surface":"Être","lemma":"être","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"in apposition to Déesse","gloss":"Being"},{"surface":"lucide","lemma":"lucide","morphology":"adjective, singular","role":"modifies Être","gloss":"lucid"},{"surface":"et","lemma":"et","morphology":"conjunction","role":"links the coordination","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"pur","lemma":"pur","morphology":"adjective, masculine, singular","role":"coordinated with lucide","gloss":"pure"}]},{"number":9,"label":"9","id":"l-aube-spirituelle-s3-l1","source":"Sur les débris fumeux des stupides orgies","translation":"Over the smoking debris of the stupid orgies","stanza":3,"audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"les débris fumeux","title":"«débris» / «fumeux» — smoking wreckage","body":"«les débris» (the noun is identical in singular and plural) is rubble, wreckage, the remains left after destruction; «fumeux» = 'smoky, smoking, giving off smoke or haze'. «les débris fumeux des stupides orgies» = 'the smoking debris of the stupid orgies' — the morning-after ruin of the night's revels, still smouldering like a battlefield."}],"words":[{"surface":"Sur","lemma":"sur","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking débris","gloss":"over"},{"surface":"les","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, plural","role":"determiner of débris","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"débris","lemma":"débris","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"debris"},{"surface":"fumeux","lemma":"fumeux","morphology":"adjective, masculine","role":"modifies débris","gloss":"smoking"},{"surface":"des","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking orgies","gloss":"of the"},{"surface":"stupides","lemma":"stupide","morphology":"adjective, plural","role":"modifies orgies","gloss":"stupid"},{"surface":"orgies","lemma":"orgie","morphology":"noun, feminine, plural","role":"modifies débris","gloss":"orgies"}]},{"number":10,"label":"10","id":"l-aube-spirituelle-s3-l2","source":"Ton souvenir plus clair, plus rose, plus charmant,","translation":"your memory, clearer, rosier, more charming,","audio":null,"notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"Ton","lemma":"ton","morphology":"determiner, singular","role":"determiner of souvenir","gloss":"your"},{"surface":"souvenir","lemma":"souvenir","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"memory"},{"surface":"plus","lemma":"plus","morphology":"adverb","role":"modifies clair","gloss":"more"},{"surface":"clair","lemma":"clair","morphology":"adjective, masculine, singular","role":"modifies souvenir","gloss":"clear"},{"surface":"plus","lemma":"plus","morphology":"adverb","role":"modifies rose","gloss":"more"},{"surface":"rose","lemma":"rose","morphology":"adjective, singular","role":"coordinated with clair","gloss":"pink"},{"surface":"plus","lemma":"plus","morphology":"adverb","role":"modifies charmant","gloss":"more"},{"surface":"charmant","lemma":"charmant","morphology":"adjective, masculine, singular","role":"coordinated with clair","gloss":"charming"}]},{"number":11,"label":"11","id":"l-aube-spirituelle-s3-l3","source":"À mes yeux agrandis voltige incessamment.","translation":"before my widened eyes flutters unceasingly.","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"voltige incessamment","title":"«voltiger» / «incessamment»","body":"«voltiger» = 'to flit, flutter, hover' (as a butterfly or a wind-blown thing); «incessamment» here is the literal 'unceasingly, without stop' (in modern usage it can also mean 'very soon'). «Ton souvenir ... voltige incessamment» = 'your memory ... flutters unceasingly': the subject «Ton souvenir» from two lines up is the verb's subject, hovering «À mes yeux agrandis» — before eyes 'widened / enlarged' by the vision."}],"words":[{"surface":"À","lemma":"à","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking yeux","gloss":"before"},{"surface":"mes","lemma":"mon","morphology":"determiner, plural","role":"determiner of yeux","gloss":"my"},{"surface":"yeux","lemma":"oeil","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"object of preposition À","gloss":"eyes"},{"surface":"agrandis","lemma":"agrandir","morphology":"verb, past, participle, masculine, plural","role":"modifies yeux","gloss":"widened"},{"surface":"voltige","lemma":"voltiger","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence (subject: souvenir, s3-l2)","gloss":"flutters"},{"surface":"incessamment","lemma":"incessamment","morphology":"adverb","role":"modifies voltige","gloss":"unceasingly"}]},{"number":12,"label":"12","id":"l-aube-spirituelle-s4-l1","source":"Le soleil a noirci la flamme des bougies;","translation":"The sun has blackened the flame of the candles;","stanza":4,"audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"Le soleil a noirci","title":"«noircir» in the passé composé","body":"«noircir» means 'to blacken, to make black / dim'; «a noirci» is its passé composé, 'has blackened'. «Le soleil a noirci la flamme des bougies» = 'the sun has blackened the flame of the candles' — daybreak does not extinguish the candle-flames so much as dirty and dim them, the same dawn-versus-flame image that closes «Le Flambeau vivant». «une bougie» is the ordinary household candle."}],"words":[{"surface":"Le","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, masculine, singular","role":"determiner of soleil","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"soleil","lemma":"soleil","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"subject of noirci","gloss":"sun"},{"surface":"a","lemma":"avoir","morphology":"auxiliary verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"depends on noirci","gloss":"has"},{"surface":"noirci","lemma":"noircir","morphology":"verb, past, participle, masculine, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"blackened"},{"surface":"la","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, feminine, singular","role":"determiner of flamme","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"flamme","lemma":"flamme","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"direct object of noirci","gloss":"flame"},{"surface":"des","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking bougies","gloss":"of the"},{"surface":"bougies","lemma":"bougie","morphology":"noun, feminine, plural","role":"modifies flamme","gloss":"candles"}]},{"number":13,"label":"13","id":"l-aube-spirituelle-s4-l2","source":"Ainsi, toujours vainqueur, ton fantôme est pareil,","translation":"So too, ever victorious, your phantom is like —","audio":null,"notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"Ainsi","lemma":"ainsi","morphology":"adverb","role":"adverb introducing the comparison","gloss":"So"},{"surface":"toujours","lemma":"toujours","morphology":"adverb","role":"modifies vainqueur","gloss":"ever"},{"surface":"vainqueur","lemma":"vainqueur","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"modifies fantôme","gloss":"victorious"},{"surface":"ton","lemma":"ton","morphology":"determiner, singular","role":"determiner of fantôme","gloss":"your"},{"surface":"fantôme","lemma":"fantôme","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"subject of pareil","gloss":"phantom"},{"surface":"est","lemma":"être","morphology":"auxiliary verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"copula linking to pareil","gloss":"is"},{"surface":"pareil","lemma":"pareil","morphology":"adjective, masculine, singular","role":"head of the phrase (complement à l'immortel soleil, s4-l3)","gloss":"like"}]},{"number":14,"label":"14","id":"l-aube-spirituelle-s4-l3","source":"Ame resplendissante, à l'immortel soleil!","translation":"radiant Soul — to the immortal sun!","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"pareil ... à l'immortel soleil","title":"«pareil à» — like, similar to","body":"«pareil à quelque chose» = 'like / similar to something', the adjective governing its term with «à». The comparison straddles the line break: «ton fantôme est pareil ... à l'immortel soleil» = 'your phantom is like ... the immortal sun', with the vocative «Ame resplendissante» ('radiant Soul') wedged between. Note «Ame» printed without its accent — the bare capital is Baudelaire's own orthography, where an accent on a capital was often dropped in period typesetting."}],"words":[{"surface":"Ame","lemma":"âme","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"in apposition to fantôme (s4-l2)","gloss":"Soul"},{"surface":"resplendissante","lemma":"resplendissant","morphology":"adjective, feminine, singular","role":"modifies Ame","gloss":"radiant"},{"surface":"à","lemma":"à","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking soleil, complement of pareil (s4-l2)","gloss":"to"},{"surface":"l'","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, singular","role":"determiner of soleil","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"immortel","lemma":"immortel","morphology":"adjective, masculine, singular","role":"modifies soleil","gloss":"immortal"},{"surface":"soleil","lemma":"soleil","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"object of preposition à","gloss":"sun"}]}]}