Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 22 of 121
1833 · March 27, 1833
French
p. 43Le 27.
Je chemine assez bien dans ma nouvelle voie. J’éprouve bien parfois des lassitudes; mais Dieu me rend vite le courage, sans doute parce que j’ai pris plus de confiance en sa toute-bonté. Mon travail devient plus sûr et plus calme; les connaissances entrent dans ma tête sans confusion ni cohue, mais paisiblement et en belle ordonnance.
J’éprouve une grande délectation à combiner et mélanger l’étude de l’art antique et du moderne. Ces deux études conjointes et se donnant la main se prêtent des charmes merveilleux. Ceci me rappelle une gravure où l’on voit Homère abandonnant sa main à un bel enfant qui le conduit.
The Green Notebook: 1833
p. 44March 27, 1833
I am making fairly good progress along my new path. I do sometimes feel weariness; but God quickly restores my courage, no doubt because I have placed more trust in his infinite goodness. My work is becoming surer and calmer; knowledge enters my head without confusion or crowding, peacefully and in fine order.
I find great delight in combining and mingling the study of ancient and modern art. These two studies, joined and holding hands, lend each other wonderful charms. It reminds me of an engraving in which Homer is seen entrusting his hand to a beautiful child who leads him.
Socrates
Reading The Green Notebook · 1833 · March 27, 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.