Chapter 15: Blue Eyes
Original French
Les yeux bleus.
Le corps et le coeur, dit le roi à Zadig.... A ces mots le Babylonien ne put s'empêcher d'interrompre sa majesté. Que je vous sais bon gré, dit-il, de n'avoir point dit l'esprit et le coeur! car on n'entend que ces mots dans les conversations de Babylone: on ne voit que des livres où il est question du coeur et de l'esprit, composés par des gens qui n'ont ni de l'un ni de l'autre; mais, de grâce, sire, poursuivez. Nabussan continua ainsi: Le corps et le coeur sont chez moi destinés à aimer; la première de ces deux puissances a tout lieu d'être satisfaite. J'ai ici cent femmes à mon service, toutes belles, complaisantes, prévenantes, voluptueuses même, ou feignant de l'être avec moi. Mon coeur n'est pas à beaucoup près si heureux. Je n'ai que trop éprouvé qu'on caresse beaucoup le roi de Serendib, et qu'on se soucie fort peu de Nabussan. Ce n'est pas que je croie mes femmes infidèles; mais je voudrais trouver une âme qui fût à moi; je donnerais pour un pareil trésor les cent beautés dont je possède les charmes: voyez si, sur ces cent sultanes, vous pouvez m'en trouver une dont je sois sûr d'être aimé.
Zadig lui répondit comme il avait fait sur l'article des financiers: Sire, laissez-moi faire; mais permettez d'abord que je dispose de ce que vous aviez étalé dans la galerie de la Tentation; je vous en rendrai bon compte, et vous n'y perdrez rien. Le roi le laissa le maître absolu. Il choisit dans Serendib trente-trois petits bossus des plus vilains qu'il put trouver, trente-trois pages des plus beaux, et trente-trois bonzes des plus éloquents et des plus robustes. Il leur laissa à tous la liberté d'entrer dans les cellules des sultanes; chaque petit bossu eut quatre mille pièces d'or à donner; et dès le premier jour tous les bossus furent heureux. Les pages, qui n'avaient rien à donner qu'eux-mêmes, ne triomphèrent qu'au bout de deux ou trois jours. Les bonzes eurent un peu plus de peine; mais enfin trente-trois dévotes se rendirent à eux. Le roi, par des jalousies qui avaient vue sur toutes les cellules, vit toutes ces épreuves, et fut émerveillé. De ses cent femmes, quatre-vingt-dix-neuf succombèrent à ses yeux. Il en restait une toute jeune, toute neuve, de qui sa majesté n'avait jamais approché. On lui détacha un, deux, trois bossus, qui lui offrirent jusqu'à vingt mille pièces; elle fut incorruptible, et ne put s'empêcher de rire de l'idée qu'avaient ces bossus de croire que de l'argent les rendrait mieux faits. On lui présenta les deux plus beaux pages; elle dit qu'elle trouvait le roi encore plus beau. On lui lâcha le plus éloquent des bonzes, et ensuite le plus intrépide; elle trouva le premier un bavard, et ne daigna pas même soupçonner le mérite du second. Le coeur fait tout, disait-elle; je ne céderai jamais ni à l'or d'un bossu, ni aux grâces d'un jeune homme, ni aux séductions d'un bonze: j'aimerai uniquement Nabussan, fils de Nussanab, et j'attendrai qu'il daigne m'aimer. Le roi fut transporté de joie, d'étonnement, et de tendresse. Il reprit tout l'argent qui avait fait réussir les bossus, et en fit présent à la belle Falide; c'était le nom de cette jeune personne. Il lui donna son coeur: elle le méritait bien. Jamais la fleur de la jeunesse ne fut si brillante; jamais les charmes de la beauté ne furent si enchanteurs. La vérité de l'histoire ne permet pas de taire qu'elle fesait mal la révérence, mais elle dansait comme les fées, chantait comme les sirènes, et parlait comme les Grâces: elle était pleine de talents et de vertus.
Nabussan aimé l'adora: mais elle avait les yeux bleus, et ce fut la source des plus grands malheurs. Il y avait une ancienne loi qui défendait aux rois d'aimer une de ces femmes que les Grecs ont appelées depuis βοῶπις. Le chef des bonzes avait établi cette loi il y avait plus de cinq mille ans; c'était pour s'approprier la maîtresse du premier roi de l'île de Serendib que ce premier bonze avait fait passer l'anathème des yeux bleus en constitution fondamentale d'état. Tous les ordres de l'empire vinrent faire à Nabussan des remontrances. On disait publiquement que les derniers jours du royaume étaient arrivés, que l'abomination était à son comble, que toute la nature était menacée d'un événement sinistre; qu'en un mot Nabussan, fils de Nussanab, aimait deux grands yeux bleus. Les bossus, les financiers, les bonzes, et les brunes, remplirent le royaume de leurs plaintes.
Les peuples sauvages qui habitent le nord de Serendib profitèrent de ce mécontentement général. Ils firent une irruption dans les états du bon Nabussan. Il demanda des subsides à ses sujets; les bonzes, qui possédaient la moitié des revenus de l'état, se contentèrent de lever les mains au ciel, et refusèrent de les mettre dans leurs coffres pour aider le roi. Ils firent de belles prières en musique, et laissèrent l'état en proie aux barbares.
O mon cher Zadig, me tireras-tu encore de cet horrible embarras? s'écria douloureusement Nabussan. Très volontiers, répondit Zadig; vous aurez de l'argent des bonzes tant que vous en voudrez. Laissez à l'abandon les terres où sont situés leurs châteaux, et défendez seulement les vôtres. Nabussan n'y manqua pas: les bonzes vinrent se jeter aux pieds du roi, et implorer son assistance. Le roi leur répondit par une belle musique dont les paroles étaient des prières au ciel pour la conservation de leurs terres. Les bonzes enfin donnèrent de l'argent, et le roi finit heureusement la guerre. Ainsi Zadig, par ses conseils sages et heureux, et par les plus grands services, s'était attiré l'irréconciliable inimitié des hommes les plus puissants de l'état; les bonzes et les brunes jurèrent sa perte; les financiers et les bossus ne l'épargnèrent pas; on le rendit suspect au bon Nabussan. Les services rendus restent souvent dans l'antichambre, et les soupçons entrent dans le cabinet, selon la sentence de Zoroastre: c'était tous les jours de nouvelles accusations; la première est repoussée, la seconde effleure, la troisième blesse, la quatrième tue.
Zadig intimidé, qui avait bien fait les affaires de son ami Sétoc, et qui lui avait fait tenir son argent, ne songea plus qu'à partir de l'île, et résolut d'aller lui-même chercher des nouvelles d'Astarté; car, disait-il, si je reste dans Serendib, les bonzes me feront empaler; mais où aller? je serai esclave en Egypte, brûlé selon toutes les apparences en Arabie, étranglé à Babylone. Cependant il faut savoir ce qu'Astarté est devenue: partons, et voyons à quoi me réserve ma triste destinée.
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted Musean translation made directly from Voltaire’s French in Beuchot’s 1829 edition: Approbation, dedicatory epistle and all twenty-one chapters, including The Dance and Blue Eyes. Voltaire’s notes are retained; later editors’ notes are omitted. Source-language review is recorded with the source witness.
Blue Eyes.
“The body and the heart,” the king said to Zadig… At these words the Babylonian could not help interrupting His Majesty. “How grateful I am,” he said, “that you did not say ‘the mind and the heart’! Those are the only words you hear in Babylonian conversation; you see nothing but books about the heart and the mind, written by people who have neither. But please, sire, go on.” Nabussan continued: “My body and my heart were both made for love; the first of these two powers has every reason to be content. I have a hundred women here at my service, all beautiful, obliging, attentive, even passionate—or pretending to be so with me. My heart is far less happy. I have learned all too well that people lavish caresses on the king of Serendib and care very little about Nabussan. It is not that I think my women unfaithful; but I would like to find a soul that was mine. For such a treasure I would give all hundred beauties whose charms I possess. See whether, among these hundred sultanas, you can find me one whose love I can be sure of.”
Zadig answered as he had on the matter of the financiers: “Sire, leave it to me. But first allow me to dispose of what you displayed in the Gallery of Temptation. I will give you a proper accounting, and you will lose nothing.” The king gave him absolute authority. In Serendib he chose thirty-three of the ugliest little hunchbacks he could find, thirty-three of the handsomest pages, and thirty-three of the most eloquent and vigorous bonzes. He allowed them all free entry to the sultanas’ chambers. Each little hunchback had four thousand gold pieces to give away, and on the very first day every hunchback was successful. The pages, with nothing to offer but themselves, triumphed only after two or three days. The bonzes had a little more difficulty; but at last thirty-three devout women surrendered to them. Through latticed screens overlooking all the chambers, the king watched these trials and marveled. Of his hundred women, ninety-nine fell before his eyes. One remained, very young, entirely new to the place, whom His Majesty had never approached. One, two, three hunchbacks were sent to her, offering as much as twenty thousand gold pieces. She was incorruptible, and could not help laughing at their notion that money would give them better figures. The two handsomest pages were presented to her; she said she found the king handsomer still. The most eloquent bonze was unleashed on her, then the most intrepid. She found the first a chatterbox and did not even deign to suspect the second’s gifts. “The heart is everything,” she said. “I will never yield to a hunchback’s gold, a young man’s charms, or a bonze’s seductions. I will love Nabussan alone, the son of Nussanab, and wait until he is pleased to love me.” The king was beside himself with joy, astonishment, and tenderness. He took back all the money that had secured the hunchbacks’ success and gave it to the beautiful Falide: that was the young woman’s name. He gave her his heart; she richly deserved it. Never had the flower of youth shone so brightly; never had the charms of beauty been so enchanting. Historical truth will not allow us to conceal that she curtsied badly, but she danced like the fairies, sang like the sirens, and spoke like the Graces. She was full of talents and virtues.
Loved by Falide, Nabussan adored her; but she had blue eyes, and this became the source of the greatest misfortunes. An ancient law forbade kings to love any of those women whom the Greeks later called “ox-eyed.” The chief of the bonzes had established this law more than five thousand years earlier. To take the mistress of the first king of the island of Serendib for himself, that first bonze had made the anathema against blue eyes a fundamental law of the state. All the orders of the empire came to remonstrate with Nabussan. People declared in public that the kingdom’s last days had arrived, that abomination had reached its height, that all nature was threatened with some sinister event—in short, that Nabussan, son of Nussanab, loved two great blue eyes. The hunchbacks, the financiers, the bonzes, and the brunettes filled the kingdom with their complaints.
The savage peoples who live in northern Serendib took advantage of this general discontent. They invaded the good Nabussan’s dominions. He asked his subjects for funds; the bonzes, who possessed half the state’s revenues, contented themselves with raising their hands to heaven, and refused to put them into their coffers to help the king. They offered beautiful prayers set to music and left the state at the mercy of the barbarians.
“Oh, my dear Zadig, will you rescue me from this dreadful predicament too?” Nabussan cried in anguish. “Very gladly,” Zadig answered. “You shall have as much money from the bonzes as you want. Abandon the lands where their castles stand, and defend only your own.” Nabussan did exactly that. The bonzes came to throw themselves at the king’s feet and implore his help. The king answered them with beautiful music, its words a prayer to heaven for the preservation of their lands. At last the bonzes gave money, and the king brought the war to a successful end. Thus, through his wise and fortunate counsel and his very great services, Zadig had earned the irreconcilable hatred of the most powerful people in the state. The bonzes and the brunettes swore to destroy him; the financiers and the hunchbacks did not spare him; they made the good Nabussan suspicious of him. Services rendered often wait in the antechamber while suspicions enter the private study, as Zoroaster’s maxim says. Every day brought fresh accusations: the first is repelled, the second grazes, the third wounds, the fourth kills.
Alarmed, Zadig, who had successfully settled his friend Sétoc’s business and sent him his money, thought only of leaving the island. He resolved to go in person to seek news of Astarté. “For if I stay in Serendib,” he said, “the bonzes will have me impaled. But where can I go? In Egypt I will be a slave; in Arabia, most likely burned; in Babylon, strangled. Still, I must learn what has become of Astarté. Let us leave, and see what my sad destiny has in store for me.”
Plain English translation
Complete machine-assisted Plain English translation made independently and directly from the French, in separate source-only translation tasks, not from the Musean edition or a published English translation. Same complete scope and author’s notes; later editors’ notes are omitted. Source-language review is recorded with the source witness.
Blue Eyes.
"The body and the heart," the king said to Zadig… At these words the Babylonian could not help interrupting His Majesty. "I'm so grateful," he said, "that you didn't say 'the mind and the heart'! That's all you hear in conversation in Babylon. You see nothing but books about the heart and the mind, written by people who have neither. But please, sir, go on." Nabussan continued: "My body and my heart are made for love. The first of these two powers has every reason to be satisfied. I have a hundred women here at my service. All are beautiful, obliging, attentive, even passionate—or pretending to be so with me. My heart is nowhere near as happy. I've learned all too well that people lavish affection on the king of Serendib and care very little about Nabussan. It's not that I think my women are unfaithful. But I'd like to find a soul that belonged to me. For such a treasure, I'd give up the hundred beauties whose charms I possess. See if, among these hundred women, you can find one whose love I can be sure of."
Zadig answered as he had in the matter of the financiers: "Sir, leave it to me. But first let me use what you laid out in the Gallery of Temptation. I'll give you a proper account of it, and you won't lose anything." The king gave him complete control. In Serendib, Zadig chose thirty-three of the ugliest little hunchbacks he could find, thirty-three of the handsomest pages, and thirty-three of the most eloquent and vigorous monks. He gave them all free access to the women's rooms. Each little hunchback had four thousand gold pieces to give away, and every hunchback succeeded on the very first day. The pages, who had nothing to offer but themselves, took two or three days to triumph. The monks had a little more trouble, but in the end thirty-three devout women gave in to them. Through latticed screens looking into all the rooms, the king watched every test and was amazed. Of his hundred women, ninety-nine gave in before his eyes. One remained, very young and entirely new, whom His Majesty had never approached. They sent one, two, three hunchbacks to her, offering her as much as twenty thousand gold pieces. She could not be bought. She couldn't help laughing at their idea that money would improve their figures. They brought her the two handsomest pages. She said she found the king even handsomer. They sent in the most eloquent monk, then the boldest. She thought the first a chatterbox and did not even bother to wonder about the second one's talents. "The heart is everything," she said. "I'll never yield to a hunchback's gold, a young man's charms, or a monk's seductions. I'll love only Nabussan, son of Nussanab, and wait until he is willing to love me." The king was beside himself with joy, amazement, and tenderness. He took back all the money that had made the hunchbacks successful and gave it to beautiful Falide, for that was the young woman's name. He gave her his heart. She fully deserved it. Youth had never flowered so brightly; beauty's charms had never been so enchanting. Historical truth will not let us hide the fact that she curtsied badly. But she danced like the fairies, sang like the sirens, and spoke like the Graces. She was full of talents and virtues.
Loved in return, Nabussan adored her. But she had blue eyes, and this caused the greatest misfortunes. An ancient law forbade kings to love one of those women whom the Greeks later called "ox-eyed." The chief monk had established this law more than five thousand years before. He wanted to take the mistress of Serendib's first king for himself. That was why this first monk had made the curse on blue eyes a fundamental law of the state. All the orders of the empire came to protest to Nabussan. People said openly that the kingdom's last days had come, that wickedness had reached its height, that all nature was threatened by some terrible event. In short, Nabussan, son of Nussanab, was in love with two big blue eyes. The hunchbacks, the financiers, the monks, and the brunettes filled the kingdom with their complaints.
The savage peoples living in northern Serendib took advantage of this general discontent. They invaded good Nabussan's lands. He asked his subjects for funds. The monks, who possessed half the state's revenues, settled for raising their hands to heaven. They refused to put them into their coffers to help the king. They offered beautiful prayers set to music and left the state at the mercy of the barbarians.
"Oh, my dear Zadig, will you get me out of this terrible mess too?" Nabussan cried in distress. "Very gladly," Zadig answered. "You'll get as much money from the monks as you want. Leave the lands where their castles stand undefended, and defend only your own." Nabussan did just that. The monks came and threw themselves at the king's feet, begging for help. The king answered them with beautiful music whose words were prayers to heaven to preserve their lands. At last the monks gave money, and the king brought the war to a successful end. So Zadig's wise, effective advice and great services had earned him the unrelenting hatred of the most powerful men in the state. The monks and the brunettes swore to destroy him. The financiers and the hunchbacks did not spare him. They made good Nabussan suspicious of him. Services rendered often stay in the antechamber, while suspicions enter the private office, as Zoroaster's saying goes. Every day brought new accusations. The first is pushed back, the second grazes, the third wounds, the fourth kills.
Zadig was frightened. He had handled his friend Sétoc's business well and sent him his money. Now he thought only of leaving the island. He decided to go himself to find news of Astarté. "If I stay in Serendib," he said, "the monks will have me impaled. But where can I go? In Egypt I'll be a slave, in Arabia I'll most likely be burned, in Babylon I'll be strangled. Still, I must find out what has become of Astarté. Let's leave and see what my sad fate has in store for me."
About this section
Chapter 15: Blue Eyes is part of Zadig, or Destiny by Voltaire. This page sets the French original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is chapter 17 of 23 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
Open the work page for the full contents, every edition, and the download links, or go back to Explore to browse other complete works in the European tradition. The reader keeps your place when you are signed in and lets you compare the original with each translation, one edition at a time.