Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Bilingual Edition
Intimate Journals
Flares and My Heart Laid Bare · French with an independent English translation.
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French Page · Branch 28 of 118
My Heart Laid Bare · Mon cœur mis à nu · XXVII
French
p. 55La femme est le contraire du Dandy. Donc elle doit faire horreur.
La femme a faim, et elle veut manger ; soif, et elle veut boire.
Elle est en rut, et elle veut être f...
Le beau mérite !
La femme est naturelle, c’est-à-dire abominable.
Aussi est-elle toujours vulgaire, c’est-à-dire le contraire du Dandy.
Relativement à la Légion d’Honneur. — Celui qui demande la croix a l’air de dire : Si l’on ne me décore pas pour avoir fait mon devoir, je ne recommencerai plus.
Si un homme a du mérite, à quoi bon le décorer ? S’il n’en a pas, on peut le décorer, parce que [cela] lui donnera un lustre.
Consentir à être décoré, c’est reconnaître à l’Etat ou au prince le droit de vous juger, de vous illustrer, et cætera.
D’ailleurs, si ce n’est l’orgueil, l’humilité chrétienne défend la croix.
Calcul en faveur de Dieu. — Rien n’existe sans but.
Donc mon existence a un but.
Quel but ? Je l’ignore.
Ce n’est donc pas moi qui l’ai marqué. C’est donc quelqu’un plus savant que moi.
Il faut donc prier ce quelqu’un de m’éclairer. C’est le parti le plus sage.
Le Dandy doit aspirer à être sublime, sans interruption. Il doit vivre et dormir devant un miroir.
Intimate Journals: My Heart Laid Bare
p. 56Woman is the opposite of the Dandy. Therefore she must inspire horror.
Woman is hungry, and she wants to eat; thirsty, and she wants to drink.
She is in heat, and she wants to be ⟨fucked⟩.
What a fine accomplishment!
Woman is natural, that is to say, abominable.
Thus she is always vulgar, that is to say, the opposite of the Dandy.
Concerning the Legion of Honour. — Anyone who asks for the cross seems to be saying: If I am not decorated for having done my duty, I shall not do it again.
If a man has merit, what is the point of decorating him? If he has none, one may decorate him, because [that] will give him lustre.
To consent to being decorated is to acknowledge the State’s or the prince’s right to judge you, to confer distinction upon you, et cetera.
Besides, if pride does not forbid the cross, Christian humility does.
A calculation in God’s favour. — Nothing exists without a purpose.
So my existence has a purpose.
What purpose? I do not know.
So it was not I who assigned it. It was therefore someone who knows more than I do.
So I must pray to that someone to enlighten me. It is the wisest course.
The Dandy must aspire to be sublime, without interruption. He must live and sleep before a mirror.
Socrates
Reading Intimate Journals · My Heart Laid Bare · My Heart Laid Bare · XXVII
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
Charles Baudelaire’s private fragments turn from art, love, and crowds to prayer, anger, work, and the discipline of writing. This complete bilingual edition presents all 117 sections of Flares and My Heart Laid Bare, including Hygiène, with an introduction and 104 explanatory notes.
Historical Text and Translation
The French follows Adolphe van Bever’s 1920 edition of Journaux intimes, printed pages 3–42 and 45–112. Its 117 Roman-numbered sections contain the complete Fusées and Mon cœur mis à nu, including Hygiène. These fragments were arranged after Baudelaire’s death; their printed sequence preserves that edition’s organization of loose sheets. The separate selection of maxims on love and the editor’s backmatter are outside this volume.
About Diotimos Editions
Diotimos Editions prepared this independent English translation directly from the French. Flares and My Heart Laid Bare retain the fragments’ abrupt turns, repetitions, images, and unfinished projects. French and English paragraphs remain paired, with verse, italics, and printed annotations preserved. The introduction places the notebooks in context; translator’s notes clarify references, ambiguities, and uncertain readings. All 104 notes meet the reader’s Essential criterion and remain available beside their passages.
Rights
Baudelaire’s historical French text and the 1920 printing are in the public domain in the United States. The independent English translation, introduction, and new editorial notes are © 2026 Diotimos Editions. The linked facsimile and catalogue identify the printed source, while a historical transcription supplies a comparison witness. Original annotations retain their attribution, and source references distinguish the printed arrangement from the surviving manuscript sheets.