Henri Frédéric Amiel’s diary, 1873

I have been reading the seven tragedies of Aeschylus, in the translation of Leconte de Lisle. The “Prometheus” and the “Eumenides” are greatest where all is great;…

“En quel songe Se plonge Mon coeur, et que veut-il?” For an hour past I have been the prey of a vague anxiety; I recognize my old enemy.... It is a sense of void…

I have been to see my friends ——. Their niece has just arrived with two of her children, and the conversation turned on Father Hyacinthe’s lecture. Women of an…

The fundamental error of France lies in her psychology. France has always believed that to say a thing is the same as to do it, as though speech were action, as…

Yesterday, Sunday, the landscape was clear and distinct, the air bracing, the sea bright and gleaming, and of an ashy-blue color. There were beautiful effects of…

I have had a morning walk. It has been raining in the night. There are large clouds all round; the sea, veined with green and drab, has put on the serious air of…

I have now watched the sea which beats upon this shore under many different aspects. On the whole, I should class it with the Baltic. As far as color, effect, and…

The weather is rainy, the whole atmosphere gray; it is a time favorable to thought and meditation. I have a liking for such days as these; they revive one’s…

The doctor has just gone. He says I have fever about me, and does not think that I can start for another three days without imprudence. I dare not write to my…

I have been dreaming a long while in the moonlight, which floods my room with a radiance, full of vague mystery. The state of mind induced in us by this fantastic…