Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Bilingual Edition
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English Page · Branch 12 of 121
1833 · March 11, 1833
French
p. 23Le 11.
Il a neigé toute la nuit. Mes volets mal fermés m’ont laissé entrevoir, dès mon lever, cette grande nappe blanche qui s’est étendue en silence sur la campagne. Les troncs noirs des arbres s’élèvent comme des colonnes d’ébène sur un parvis d’ivoire; cette opposition dure et tranchée et l’attitude morne des bois attristent éminemment. On n’entend rien : pas un être vivant, sauf quelques moineaux qui vont se réfugier en piaulant dans les sapins, qui étendent leurs longs bras chargés de neige. L’intérieur de ces arbres touffus est impénétrable aux frimas; c’est un asile préparé par la Providence : les petits oiseaux le savent bien.
J’ai visité nos primevères : chacune portait son petit fardeau de neige et pliait la tête sous le poids. Ces jolies fleurs si richement colorées faisaient un effet charmant sous leurs chaperons blancs. J’en ai vu des touffes entières recouvertes d’un seul bloc de neige : toutes ces fleurs riantes ainsi voilées et se penchant les unes sur les autres semblaient un groupe de jeunes filles surprises par une ondée et se mettant à l’abri sous un tablier blanc.
J’attendais une lettre ce soir; je n’en ai point reçu, mais un ami m’est arrivé. Il serait très-curieux d’observer si, dans les moindres chagrins de la vie, la Providence ne nous ménage pas des compensations que notre mauvaise humeur et notre injustice nous empêchent d’apprécier.
The Green Notebook: 1833
p. 24March 11, 1833
It snowed all night. From the moment I rose, my poorly closed shutters let me glimpse that great white sheet which had spread silently over the countryside. The black tree trunks rise like ebony columns upon an ivory forecourt; this harsh, sharp contrast and the woods’ mournful bearing sadden one deeply. Nothing can be heard: not a living creature, except a few sparrows seeking refuge with little cries in the firs, which stretch out their long, snow-laden arms. Frost cannot penetrate the interior of these thick trees; it is a refuge prepared by Providence: the little birds know it well.
I visited our primroses: each carried its little burden of snow and bowed its head beneath the weight. These pretty, richly colored flowers made a charming sight beneath their white hoods. I saw whole clumps covered by a single block of snow: all these smiling flowers, thus veiled and leaning upon one another, looked like a group of young girls caught in a shower and sheltering beneath a white apron.
I expected a letter this evening; none came, but a friend arrived. It would be very curious to observe whether, in life’s smallest sorrows, Providence does not arrange compensations for us which our ill humor and our injustice prevent us from appreciating.
Socrates
Reading The Green Notebook · 1833 · March 11, 1833
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
Maurice de Guérin’s journal moves between close attention to nature, friendship, faith, and the inward demands of poetry. This bilingual edition presents the complete Journal section of the 1864 printing, with a separate appendix of earlier printed passages from 1861.
Historical Text and Translation
The French follows G. S. Trébutien’s sixth edition of Journal, lettres et poèmes (Paris: Didier et Cie, 1864), pages 3–126. Its 116 dated entries run from July 1832 to October 1835. Five earlier passages from Reliquiae (1861) appear separately in the appendix. Completeness refers to the printed Journal, rather than the autograph notebook; the following letters and poems are outside this edition.
About Diotimos Editions
Diotimos Editions prepared this independent English translation directly from the French, preserving Guérin’s imagery, repetitions, intimate voice, and original paragraph divisions. French and English remain aligned for comparison. Translator’s notes clarify words, quotations, and allusions, while historical editor notes retain their separate attribution. The Essential setting keeps explanations useful to reading; All also includes the note on the edition’s typographic treatment.
Rights
The historical French printings are in the public domain in the United States. The independent English translation and new editorial notes are © 2026 Diotimos Editions. The linked facsimiles identify the printed witnesses used for this edition. Historical annotations and editorial conjectures remain attributed to their source editors, and the earlier variant passages are presented separately from the later Journal text.