. Library of the world's best literature, ancient and modern. , and Gautierwere among his closest friends. He firstattracted attention in 1848 by the publication of a volume of verse,<The Caryatids.* In 1857 came another, < Odes Funambulesque,*and later another series under the same title, the two together con-taining his best work in verse. Here he stands highest; thoughhe wrote also many plays, one of which, ^Gringoire,* has been actedin various translations. <The Wife of Socrates* also holds the his other work, his drama is artificial, refined, and skillful. Hepresents a
. Library of the world's best literature, ancient and modern. , and Gautierwere among his closest friends. He firstattracted attention in 1848 by the publication of a volume of verse,<The Caryatids.* In 1857 came another, < Odes Funambulesque,*and later another series under the same title, the two together con-taining his best work in verse. Here he stands highest; thoughhe wrote also many plays, one of which, ^Gringoire,* has been actedin various translations. <The Wife of Socrates* also holds the his other work, his drama is artificial, refined, and skillful. Hepresents a marked instance of the artist working for arts the latter years of his life he wrote mostly prose, and he hasleft many well-drawn portraits of his contemporaries, in addition toseveral books of criticism, with much color and charm, but littledefiniteness. He was always vague, for facts did not interest him; buthe had the power of making his remote, unreal world attractive, andamong the writers of the school of Gautier he stands among the De Banville THEODORE DE BANVILLE 1475 LE CAFEFrom IMAGINE a place where you do not endure the norror of beingalone, and yet have the freedom of solitude. There, free from the dust, the boredom, the vulgarities of a household,you reflect at ease, comfortably seated before a table, unincum-bered by all the things that oppress you in houses; for if uselessobjects and papers had accumulated here they would have beenpromptly removed. You smoke slowly, quietly, like a Turk, fol-lowing your thoughts among the blue curves. If you have a voluptuous desire to taste some warm orrefreshing beverage, well-trained waiters bring it to you immedi-ately. If you feel like talking with clever men who will notbully you, you have within reach light sheets on which are printedwinged thoughts, rapid, written for you, which you are not forcedto bind and preserve in a library when they have ceased toplease you. This place, the paradise of civilizat
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublisherny, bookyear1896
