René

Name: René
Author: François-René de Chateaubriand

With the Preface of 1805 and two reviews reprinted by the author

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René · p. 179

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French

p. 179

feu, » un grand calme et des odeurs célestes semblèrent se répandre dans l’auditoire ; on se sentit comme à l’abri sous les ailes de la colombe mystique, et l’on eût cru voir les anges descendre sur l’autel et remonter vers les cieux avec des parfums et des couronnes.

» Le prêtre achève son discours, reprend ses vêtements, continue le sacrifice. Amélie, soutenue de deux jeunes religieuses, se met à genoux sur la dernière marche de l’autel. On vient alors me chercher, pour remplir les fonctions paternelles. Au bruit de mes pas chancelants dans le sanctuaire, Amélie est prête à défaillir. On me place à côté du prêtre, pour lui présenter les ciseaux. En ce moment, je sens renaître mes transports ; ma fureur va éclater, quand Amélie, rappelant son courage, me lance un regard où il y a tant de reproche et de douleur, que j’en suis atterré. La religion triomphe. Ma sœur profite de mon trouble ; elle avance hardiment la tête. Sa superbe chevelure tombe de toutes parts sous le fer sacré ; une longue robe d’étamine remplace pour elle les ornements du siècle, sans la rendre moins touchante ; les ennuis de son front se cachent sous un bandeau de lin ; et le voile mystérieux, double symbole de la virginité et de la religion, accompagne

René

Source p. 179

fire,’ a great calm and heavenly odours seemed to spread through the congregation; one felt as if sheltered beneath the wings of the mystic dove, and one would have thought one saw the angels descending upon the altar and going back up to heaven with perfumes and crowns.

“The priest ends his discourse, resumes his vestments, continues the sacrifice. Amélie, supported by two young nuns, kneels on the last step of the altar. Then they come for me, to perform a father’s office. At the sound of my faltering steps in the sanctuary, Amélie is ready to faint. I am placed beside the priest, to hand him the scissors. At that moment I feel my transports reviving; my fury is about to break out, when Amélie, summoning her courage, casts me a look in which there is so much reproach and grief that I am struck down. Religion triumphs. My sister takes advantage of my confusion; she boldly bows her head forward. Her superb hair falls on every side beneath the sacred steel; a long robe of serge replaces for her the ornaments of the world, without making her less touching; the troubles of her brow are hidden beneath a linen band; and the mysterious veil, the double symbol of virginity and of religion, accompanies

1.The Holy Spirit, which descended ‘like a dove’ at the baptism of Christ (Matthew 3:16).

a.Source editor’s annotation1802. des anges, ‘angels’.

2.The angels recall those Jacob saw ‘ascending and descending’ on the ladder between earth and heaven (Genesis 28:12).

b.Source editor’s annotation1802. fut prête, ‘was ready’.

c.Source editor’s annotation1802. 1802 continues in the past: je sentis renaître mes transports; ma fureur alloit éclater, quand Amélie, rappelant son courage, me lança un regard où il y avoit tant de reproche et de douleur, que j’en fus atterré, ‘I felt my transports reviving; my fury was about to break out, when Amélie, summoning her courage, cast me a look in which there was so much reproach and grief that I was struck down’.

3.siècle: the world outside the cloister, in the Church’s sense of the word.

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.