Letter 030 — XXX
Original French
Bologne, le 16 février 1797.
Tu es triste, tu es malade, tu ne m’écris plus, tu veux t’en aller à Paris. N’aimerais-tu plus ton ami? Cette idée me rend malheureux. Ma douce amie, la vie est pour moi insupportable, depuis que je suis instruit de ta tristesse. Je m’empresse de t’envoyer Mascati, afin qu’il puisse te soigner. Ma santé est un peu faible, mon rhume dure toujours. Je te prie de te ménager, de m’aimer autant que je t’aime, et de m’écrire tous les jours. Mon inquiétude est sans égale. J’ai dit à Mascati de t’accompagner à Ancône, si tu veux y venir. Je t’écrirai là pour te faire savoir où je suis. Peut-être ferai-je la paix avec le Pape, et serai-je bientôt près de toi: c’est le vœu le plus ardent de mon âme. Je te donne cent baisers. Crois que rien n’égale mon amour, si ce n’est mon inquiétude. Écris-moi tous les jours toi-même. Adieu, très chère amie.
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.
Bologna, February 16, 1797.
You are sad, you are ill, you no longer write to me, you want to leave for Paris. Could it be that you no longer love your friend? The thought makes me unhappy. My sweet friend, life has been unbearable to me since I learned of your sadness. I hasten to send you Mascati so that he can care for you. My health is a little weak; my cold still persists. Please take care of yourself, love me as much as I love you, and write to me every day. My anxiety is beyond compare. I have told Mascati to accompany you to Ancona if you wish to come there. I shall write to you there to tell you where I am. Perhaps I shall make peace with the Pope and soon be near you: that is my soul's most ardent wish. I give you a hundred kisses. Believe that nothing equals my love except my anxiety. Write to me yourself every day. Farewell, dearest friend.
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.
Bologna, February 16, 1797.
You are unhappy and ill, you no longer write to me, and you want to go away to Paris. Can it be that you no longer love your friend? That thought makes me unhappy. My sweet friend, ever since I learned how sad you are, life has become intolerable to me. I am sending Mascati at once to look after you. My own health is somewhat weak; my cold persists. I beg you to look after yourself, return my love in equal measure, and send me a letter daily. No anxiety could equal mine. I have instructed Mascati to go with you to Ancona, should you wish to come. I shall send a letter there letting you know my whereabouts. I may make peace with the Pope and be near you soon; my soul desires nothing more ardently. I send you a hundred kisses. Nothing, believe me, can match my love except my anxiety. Write in your own hand each day. Goodbye, dearest friend.
About this section
Letter 030 — XXX 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 30 of 172 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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