Letter 023 — XXIII
Original French
Caldiéro, le 13 novembre 1796.
Je ne t’aime plus du tout; au contraire je te déteste. Tu es une vilaine, bien gauche, bien bête, bien cendrillon. Tu ne m’écris pas du tout, tu n’aimes pas ton mari; tu sais le plaisir que tes lettres lui font, et tu ne lui écris pas six lignes jetées au hasard! Que faites-vous donc toute la journée, madame? Quelle affaire si importante vous ôte le temps d’écrire à votre bien bon amant? Quelle affection étouffe et met de côté l’amour, le tendre et constant amour que vous lui avez promis? Quel peut être ce merveilleux, ce nouvel amant qui absorbe tous vos instants, tyrannise vos journées et vous empêche de vous occuper de votre mari? Joséphine, prenez-y garde, une belle nuit les portes enfoncées, et me voilà. En vérité, je suis inquiet, ma bonne amie, de ne pas recevoir de tes nouvelles; écris-moi vite quatre pages, et de ces aimables choses qui remplissent mon cœur de sentiment et de plaisir. J’espère qu’avant peu je te serrerai dans mes bras, et je te couvrirai d’un million de baisers brûlants comme sous l’Équateur.
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.
Caldiéro, November 13, 1796.
I no longer love you at all; on the contrary, I detest you. You are a nasty creature, very awkward, very silly, a real Cinderella. You do not write to me at all, you do not love your husband; you know the pleasure your letters give him, and you do not write him six lines dashed off at random! What do you do all day, madam? What business so important deprives you of the time to write to your very good lover? What affection stifles and sets aside the love, the tender and constant love you promised him? Who can this marvelous new lover be, who absorbs all your moments, tyrannizes your days, and prevents you from attending to your husband? Joséphine, take care: one fine night the doors will be broken down, and there I shall be. In truth, I am worried, my dear friend, at receiving no news from you; write me four pages quickly, full of those charming things that fill my heart with feeling and pleasure. I hope before long to hold you in my arms and cover you with a million kisses as burning as under the Equator.
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.
Caldiero, November 13, 1796.
I do not love you at all anymore; on the contrary, I hate you. You are a nasty creature, so awkward and stupid, such a Cinderella. You never write to me; you do not love your husband. You know how much pleasure your letters give him, yet you will not even scribble him six lines! What do you do all day, madam? What business is so important that it leaves you no time to write to your devoted lover? What attachment has smothered and displaced the tender, constant love you promised him? Who can this wonderful new lover be, who takes up every moment, rules your days, and keeps you from giving your husband a thought? Take care, Joséphine: one fine night the doors will be forced open and there I shall be. Seriously, my dear, I am worried because I hear nothing from you. Write me four pages at once, full of those lovely things that fill my heart with feeling and delight. I hope before long to hold you close and cover you with a million kisses as hot as the equator.
About this section
Letter 023 — XXIII 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 23 of 172 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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