Letter 144 — CXLIV
Original French
Trianon, 18 décembre 1809, huit heures du soir.
Mon amie, je t’ai trouvée aujourd’hui plus faible que tu ne devrais être. Tu as montré du courage; il faut que tu en trouves pour te soutenir; il ne faut pas te laisser aller à une funeste mélancolie; il faut te trouver contente et surtout soigner ta santé, qui m’est si précieuse. Si tu m’es attachée et si tu m’aimes, tu dois te comporter avec force et te placer heureuse. Tu ne peux pas mettre en doute ma constante et tendre amitié, et tu connaîtrais bien mal tous les sentiments que je te porte si tu supposais que je puisse être heureux si tu n’es pas heureuse et surtout si tu ne te tranquillises. Adieu, mon amie; dors bien; songe que je le veux.
Musean translation
Machine-assisted Musean English translated from the French of the 172 Napoleon letters selected from Tancrède Martel, ed., Œuvres littéraires de Napoléon Bonaparte, tome 1 (Albert Savine, Paris, 1888). French Wikisource contributors supplied the scan-backed transcription: https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Livre:Bonaparte_-_Œuvres_littéraires,_tome_1,_1888.djvu (page histories credit contributors). The transcription is CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/; this adapted text and translations are shared under the same license. Extraction removes markup and editorial notes; selected transcription repairs were checked against print images.
Trianon, December 18, 1809, eight in the evening.
My friend, I found you today weaker than you ought to be. You have shown courage; you must find enough to sustain you. You must not give yourself up to a fatal melancholy; you must find contentment and, above all, care for your health, which is so precious to me. If you are attached to me and love me, you must conduct yourself with strength and find happiness. You cannot doubt my constant and tender friendship, and you would know very little of all the feelings I have for you if you supposed that I could be happy when you are not happy, and above all when you cannot find peace. Farewell, my friend; sleep well; remember that I wish it.
Plain English translation
Independent machine-assisted Plain English translation from the 1888 Martel French edition, not a historical English translation. French Wikisource contributors supplied the scan-backed transcription: https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Livre:Bonaparte_-_Œuvres_littéraires,_tome_1,_1888.djvu (page histories credit contributors). The adapted transcription and translation are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. Extraction removes markup and editorial notes and makes documented transcription repairs. French-source model review is not human specialist certification or a complete scan collation.
Trianon, December 18, 1809, eight in the evening.
My dear, when I saw you today you were less strong than you should be. You have shown courage; you must find enough of it to sustain yourself. Do not surrender to a fatal melancholy; try to be happy and, above all, take care of your health, which means so much to me. If your attachment and love for me are real, you must be strong and put yourself in a position to be happy. You cannot question my enduring, tender affection, and you would have little understanding of all I feel for you if you imagined I could be happy when you are not, and above all when you are not at peace. Farewell, my dear; sleep well, and remember that I insist on it.
About this section
Letter 144 — CXLIV is part of Letters to Josephine by Napoléon Bonaparte. This page sets the French original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is part 144 of 172 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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