"I have the cold and hard perfection of
Is made of stone, the better to inspire
The dumbstruck artist's everlasting love.
Dispassionate, aloof and motionless,
A solemn sphinx, preeminent in space,
I have a snow-capped heart, a swan-like grace,
And no emotion mars my loveliness.
Poets will sacrifice their lives to brood
On all the noble poses I assume;
My every attribute and attitude
Shall play a part in that curriculum,
And I can show them what they wish to see
Through the eyes of otherworldly clarity!"
An interesting poem from Baudelaire's Fleurs du Mal, in the section "Spleen and Ideal." This poem was translated by Walter Martin. For me, it calls to mind the infamous Lisa del Giocondo, with her unremittingly nonchalant pose that has literally millions of mortals flocking to the Louvre in Paris each year just to see in person the almost mysical forces--the occult and imponderable enigmas at work behind this most uncanny woman.
Image: A fitting "Portrait of Nietzsche" by Munch (previously featured!)
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