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René · p. 148
French
p. 148contempler la croix qui marquoit le champ de la mort, et les longues herbes qui croissoient entre les pierres des tombes. O hommes, qui ayant vécu loin du monde avez passé du silence de la vie au silence de la mort, de quel dégoût de la terre vos tombeaux ne remplissoient-ils point mon cœur !
» Soit inconstance naturelle, soit préjugé contre la vie monastique, je changeai mes desseins ; je me résolus à voyager. Je dis adieu à ma sœur ; elle me serra dans ses bras avec un mouvement qui ressembloit à de la joie, comme si elle eût été heureuse de me quitter ; je ne pus me défendre d’une réflexion amère sur l’inconséquence des amitiés humaines.
» Cependant, plein d’ardeur, je m’élançai seul sur cet orageux océan du monde, dont je ne connoissois ni les ports, ni les écueils. Je visitai d’abord les peuples qui ne sont plus : je m’en allai m’asseyant sur les débris de Rome et de la Grèce, pays de forte et d’ingénieuse mémoire, où les palais sont ensevelis dans la poudre et les mausolées des rois cachés sous les ronces. Force de la nature, et foiblesse de l’homme ! un brin d’herbe perce souvent le marbre le plus dur de ces tombeaux, que tous
René
Source p. 148contemplate the cross that marked the field of the dead, and the long grasses growing between the stones of the tombs. O men who, having lived far from the world, have passed from the silence of life to the silence of death, with what disgust for the earth did your tombs not fill my heart!
“Whether from natural inconstancy or from prejudice against the monastic life, I changed my plans; I resolved to travel. I said farewell to my sister; she clasped me in her arms with a movement that resembled joy, as if she had been glad to leave me; I could not keep from a bitter reflection on the inconsistency of human friendships.
“Meanwhile, full of ardour, I launched myself alone upon that stormy ocean of the world, of which I knew neither the harbours nor the reefs. I visited first the peoples who are no more: I went my way, sitting down upon the ruins of Rome and of Greece, lands of strong and ingenious memory, where the palaces are buried in the dust and the mausoleums of kings hidden under the brambles. Strength of nature, and weakness of man! a blade of grass often pierces the hardest marble of those tombs, which all
Socrates
Reading René · René · René · p. 148
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
Chateaubriand’s tale of René and Amélie, with the Preface of 1805, two contemporary reviews, and the longer readings of 1802. This French–English edition preserves the 1826 printed pages, with a new English translation, author’s notes, variant readings, introduction and glossary.
Historical Text and Translation
François-René de Chateaubriand, Œuvres complètes, tome XVI (Paris: Ladvocat, 1826), pp. 1–16, 137–192 and 351–358, University of Toronto Library copy. Earlier witness: Génie du Christianisme, tome II (Paris: Migneret, 1802), pp. 158–216, Bibliothèque nationale de France copy.
About Diotimos Editions
This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.
Rights
The historical French source is in the public domain in the United States. New English translation and editorial matter © 2026 Diotimos Editions. Chateaubriand’s author notes and historical variants remain separately attributed.