Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 112 of 121
1835 · June 5, 1835
French
p. 223Le 5.
Mon Dieu, que je souffre de la vie! non dans ses accidents, un peu de philosophie y suffit; mais dans elle-même, dans sa substance, à part tout phénomène. J’avance dans l’âge, mon esprit laisse tomber mille dépouilles sur ses chemins, des liens se rompent, des préjugés font leur chute, je commence à montrer ma tête au-dessus des flots; mais l’existence même demeure engagée : toujours le même point douloureux marquant le centre de la circonférence. Y a-t-il une philosophie et des règles qui s’appliquent à ce mal? J’ignore de plus en plus ce fond de la vie et ce qu’il faut y faire. O Portique institué pour combattre la douleur par la force et la constance d’âme, tu n’as su combattre la vie que par la mort, et nous ne sommes pas plus avancés que toi!
The Green Notebook: 1835
p. 224June 5, 1835
My God, how I suffer from life! Not in its accidents, for a little philosophy suffices there; but in life itself, in its substance, apart from every phenomenon. I advance in age, my mind lets a thousand cast-off skins fall upon its paths, bonds break, prejudices fall, I begin to show my head above the waves; but existence itself remains caught: always the same painful point marking the center of the circumference. Is there a philosophy, are there rules which apply to this affliction? I know less and less of this foundation of life and what must be done there. O Porch, established to combat sorrow through strength and constancy of soul, you knew how to combat life only through death, and we are no further advanced than you!
Socrates
Reading The Green Notebook · 1835 · June 5, 1835
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.