Paris Spleen - Opening

1

THE STRANGER

"Tell me, whom do you love the most, you enigmatic man? your father, your mother, your sister, or your brother?"

"I have neither father, nor mother,  nor sister, nor brother."

"Your friends?"

"There you use a word whose meaning until now has remained to me unknown."

"Your fatherland?"

"I am unaware in what latitude it lies."

"Beauty?"

"I would willingly love her, goddess and immortal."

"Gold?"

"I hate it as you hate God."

"So! Then what do you love, you extraordinary stranger?"

"I love clouds... drifting clouds... there... over there... marvelous clouds!"

I want to thank Arudnhati Banerjee, Wllace Fowlie, Stephen Gendzier,

Richard Howard, and Harry Zohn for their generous readins and 

suggestions. To Janna, Jeremy, Aaron, and Sima Kaplan I express my love. 

This second edition has benefitted from the criticism and support of

Ryszard Engelking, Rosemary Lloyd, Laurence M. Porter,

Graham Robb, Marilyn Gaddis Rose, and my students.

Publisehd by the University of Georgia Press

Athens,  Georgia 30602

1989, 1997 by Edward K. Kaplan

All rights reserved.

Designed by Louis  OFarrell

Set in 11/13 Bodoni Book

The paper in this book meets  the guidelines for

permanence and durability of the Committee on

Production guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

Printed in the United States of America