Letter 092 — XCII
Original French
Osterode, le 23 mars 1807.
J’apprends, mon amie, que les mauvais propos que l’on tenait dans ton salon à Mayence se renouvellent; fais-les donc taire. Je te saurais fort mauvais gré si tu n’y portais pas remède. Tu te laisses affliger par les propos de gens qui devraient te consoler. Je te recommande un peu de caractère, et de savoir mettre tout le monde à sa place. — Mon amie, il ne faut pas aller en petite loge aux petits spectacles; cela ne convient pas à votre rang; vous ne devez aller qu’aux quatre grands théâtres et toujours en grande loge. — Pour m’être agréable, il faut, absolument en tout, vivre comme tu vivais lorsque j’étais à Paris. Alors tu ne sortais pas pour aller à de petits spectacles, ou autres lieux. Tu dois toujours aller en grande loge. Pour la vie de chez toi, recevoir là, et avoir tes cercles réglés; voilà, mon amie, le seul moyen de mériter mon approbation. Les grandeurs ont leurs inconvénients; une impératrice ne peut pas aller où va une simple particulière.
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.
Osterode, March 23, 1807.
I hear, my dear friend, that the malicious talk once heard in your salon at Mainz has begun again; put a stop to it. I would take it very ill if you did not remedy it. You let yourself be distressed by the words of people who ought to console you. I urge you to show a little character, and know how to put everyone in their place.—My dear friend, you must not go in a small box to the smaller theaters; that does not befit your rank; you should go only to the four great theaters and always in a large box.—To please me, you must live, in absolutely every respect, as you lived when I was in Paris. Then you did not go out to small theaters or other such places. You must always go in a large box. As for life at home, receive there, and hold your gatherings at regular times; that, my dear friend, is the only way to earn my approval. Greatness has its inconveniences; an empress cannot go where an ordinary private person goes.
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.
Osterode, March 23, 1807.
I hear, my dear, that the nasty talk people indulged in at your salon in Mainz has started again; put a stop to it. I would be very displeased with you if you didn't do something about it. You let yourself be upset by the talk of people who should be comforting you. I advise you to show some character and know how to put everyone in their place. My dear, you must not go to minor theaters in a small box; it doesn't suit your rank; you should go only to the four major theaters and always in a grand box. To please me, you absolutely must live in every respect as you did when I was in Paris. Then you didn't go out to minor theaters or other places. You must always go in a grand box. As for your life at home, receive people there and hold your regular gatherings; that's the only way to earn my approval, my dear. High rank has its drawbacks; an empress can't go where an ordinary private citizen goes.
About this section
Letter 092 — XCII 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 92 of 172 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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