Livros no varal,ideias no ar.
Livros no varal,Victor Hugo · França · @penguinbooks, shakespeareandcoparis
Minha história com esse clássico começou com uma viagem a Paris. Lendo Notre-Dame, de Ken Follett, descobri que a catedral chegou a ser ameaçada. A defesa apaixonada de Victor Hugo salvou-a tal como a conhecemos hoje, graças ao sucesso do livro. Comecei no kindle, mas na viagem comprei uma edição especial na Shakespeare and Company, famosa livraria de Paris especializada em livros em inglês. Na última Flip, Valter Hugo Mãe brincou que lia Os Miseráveis como se fosse um “emprego”, de tanta dedicação. Foram quase seis meses de leitura; 21 horas, 66 vezes aberto. Ele me acompanhou em todos os cantos e já está avariado. Victor Hugo escreveu esta obra com menos de 30 anos. Os Miseráveis, sua obra-prima, veio trinta anos depois. Mas em Notre-Dame de Paris: 1482 (nome original) já se nota a atenção aos marginalizados. Há forte crítica aos poderosos, à Igreja, ao Estado e ao preconceito. Dá a sensação de que ele cozinha um prato e acompanhamentos: mexe numa panela, depois em outra, volta à anterior. São dezenas de personagens: Esmeralda, Quasímodo, Claude Frollo, Phoebus, Djali, Jehan Frollo, Pierre Gringoire, Gudula. É preciso habilidade para não desandar. Algumas horas cansativo, mas o final prende. Gosto também do jeito em que o narrador se dirige ao leitor: “a essa altura, o leitor já entendeu...”. Uma nota curiosa: aprendi a origem da palavra “greve”: fazer a grave era não trabalhar e ir à Place de la Grève, presente no romance. A melhor passagem pra mim foi o julgamento de um surdo por um juiz surdo. E saber que um livro interferiu na realidade, criou figuras que atravessam a ficção como Quasímodo e mudou o destino da Catedral de Notre-Dame afaga a alma de qualquer amante da literatura. Os livros salvam!
tradução: Jorge Bastos (Zahar)
-----
“In either case, the honour of the magistrature was preserved, since it is better for a judge to be thought profound or an imbecile than deaf”
p. 191 · uma de 61 frases marcadas neste livro
The book was to kill the building. The invention of the printing-press is the greatest event in history. It was the mother of revolutions. It was the total renewal of man’s mode of expression, the human mind sloughing off one form to put on another, a complete and definitve change of skin by that symbolic serpent which, ever since Adam, has represented the intelligencep. 177
In this city, the boundaries between races and species seemed to have been abolished, as in a pandemonium. Amongst its population, men, women, animals, age, sex, health, sickness, all seemed communal; everything fitted together, was merged, mingled and superimposed; everyone was part of everythingp. 80
And then, in that hitherto dry, burnt eye, a large tear was seen to form, which rolled slowly down his deformed face, for so long contorted by despair. It was perhaps the first tear the luckless man had ever shedp. 227
Every civilization begins in theocracy and ends in democracy. This law, of liberty succeeding to unity, is inscribed in architecturep. 172
O livro mata o edifício. A invenção da imprensa é o maior acontecimento da história. É a revolução-mãe. É o modo de expressão da humanidade que se renova totalmente, é o pensamento humano que se subtrai a uma forma e se investe em outra, é a completa e definitiva mudança de pele da serpente simbólica que, desde Adão, representa a inteligência
Era como se os limites das raças e das espécies se apagassem naquela cidade, como num pandemônio. Homens, mulheres, bichos, idade, sexo, saúde, doença, tudo parecia ser compartilhado naquele povo, tudo se fazia junto, misturado, confundido, superposto, com cada um participando do todo
Daquele olho, sempre tão seco e indiferente, viu-se então escorrer uma gorda lágrima que desceu lentamente pelo rosto disforme e contraído por longos desesperos. Era provavelmente a primeira vez que o desafortunado derramava uma
Todas as civilizações começam como teocracia e acabam como democracia. E essa lei da liberdade que sucede à unidade está inscrita na arquitetura.
'In a morality play? We mustn't get the genres muddled up. If it had been a satire, all well and good'p. 24
Gringoire was what today we would call a true eclectic, one of those elevated, steady, moderate, calm spirits who manage always to steer a middle course (stare in dimidio retrum) and are full of reason and liberal philosophy, while yet making due allowance for cardinalsp. 30
But the noble nature of poets is not ruled by self-interestp. 31
The palace bailiff was a kind of amphibious magistrate, a sort of bat of the judicial order, a cross between a rat and a bird, a judge and a soldierp. 41
'The power of poetry over the people is great; I shall bring them back. We shal see which wins, facepulling or literaturep. 47
He was like a giant broken in pieces and badly reassembledp. 49
I've never seen anything so beautifully ugly in all my lifep. 50
For one of the radical diferences between towns then and towns now is that nowadays it is the fronts of houses that overlook the streets whereas then it was the gable-ends. In the past two centuries, houses have turned aboutp. 58
What did it matter that his people was a pack of fools, cripples, thieves and beggars, it was still a people and he its sovereignp. 67
But at night he was deprived of his most fearsome weapon: his uglinessp. 73
In this city, the boundaries between races and species seemed to have been abolished, as in a pandemonium. Amongst its population, men, women, animals, age, sex, health, sickness, all seemed communal; everything fitted together, was merged, mingled and superimposed; everyone was part of everythingp. 80
The law you apply to the truants, the truants apply to you. If it's a vicious one, that's your fault. We need now and again to see a respectable face above a hempen collar; it makes the whole thing honorablep. 84
'I don't see why poets shouldn't be counted among the truants,' he said. 'Aesopus was a vagabond, Homerus a mendicant and Mercurius a thief...'p. 85
It's customary not to hang a man without asking whether there's a woman who wants himp. 91
'I could only love a man who was able to protect me'p. 98
After a time I realized I lacked something for everything, and finding I was good for nothing, I became my own free will poet and composer of rhymes. That's a trade you can always take up when you're a vagabond and it's better than stealing, which is what some young brigands I was friendly with advised me to dop. 101
The church of Notre-Dame de Paris is without doubt, even today, a sublime and majestic buildingp. 103
Fashions have done more harm than revolutionsp. 106
Notre-Dame de Paris is not, for the rest, what could be called a complete, determinate or classified monument. No longer a Romanesque church, it is not yet a Gothic church. It is not a typical edificep. 107
Notre-Dame de Paris is a particularly curious specimen of this variety. Each face, each stone of this venerable monument is a page not only of our country's history, but also of the history of science and architecturep. 108
Great buildings, like great mountais, are the word of centuries. Often artchitecture is transformed while they are still under construction: pendent opera interrupt; they proceed quickly in keeping with the transformationp. 109
Time is the architect, the nation the builderp. 109
The eye was held long at every level of this labyrinth, where there was nothing which did not have its own originality, its own reason, its own genius, its own beauty, nothing that did not belong to the art of artchitecture, from the smallest house, with its caraved and painted front, its exposed timbers, its rounded doorway, its overhanging upper storeys, to the royal Louvre, which then had a colonnade of towersp. 117
Happily, Voltaire still wrote Candide and was still, of all the men who have succeeded one another in the long sequence of the manking, the one with the most diabolical laugh. Which proves, what is more, that you can be a great genius yet understand nothing of an art which is not your ownp. 129
When you know how to look, you can discover the spirit of an age and the physiognomy of a king even in a door-knockerp. 131
Our fathers had a Paris of stone: our sons will have a Paris of plasterp. 131
As he grew bigger and developed, Notre-Dame had been for him in turn egg, nest, house, homeland and universep. 144
One only emerges from the cave with white hair, but one enters it with black hairp. 166
This was the presentiment that as human ideas changed their form they would change their mode of expression, that the crucial idea of each generation would no longer be written in the same material or in the same way, that the book of stone, so solid and durable, would give way to the book of paper, which was more solid and durable stillp. 169
...mankind had faith in all these symbols and they continued to grow, to multiply, to intersect, to become more and more complexp. 170
Every civilization begins in theocracy and ends in democracy. This law, of liberty succeeding to unity, is incribed in architecturep. 172
....that up until the fifteenth century architecture was the principal register of mankind, that during that period all ideas of any complexity which arose in the world became a building: every popular ideam just like every religious law, had its monuments; that human race, in fact, incribed in stone every one of its important thoughts. And why? Because every idea, be it religious our philosophical, is concerned to perpetuate itself, because the idea that has moved one generation wats to move others, and to leave some trace. But how precarious was the immortality of a manuscript! While a buildng is an altogether more solid, lasting and resistant book! It takes only a torch and a Turk to destrou the written wordp. 176
The book was to kill the building. The invention of the printing-press is the greatest event in history. It was the mother of revolutions. It was the total renewal of man's mode of expression, the human mind sloughing off one form to put on another, a complete and definitve change of skin by that symbolic serpent which, ever since Adam, has represented the intelligencep. 177
A book is soon made, it costs so little, and it can travel so far!p. 181
Now the auditor was deaf. A slight defect in an auditor. Nonetheless, Maitre Florian still passed judgement, without appeal and very fittingly. A judge in actual fact only needs to seem to be listening; and the venerable auditor fulfilled this condition, the one essential of good justice, all the better in that his attention could not be distracted by the slightest soundp. 189
In either case, the honour of the magistrature was preserved, since it is better for a judge to be thought profound or an imbecile than deafp. 191
We have not yet, as it happens, given up this tradition of the gaol and the chain-gang, which we, a gentle, civilized and humane people (forgetting for a moment forced labour and the guillotine), still keep alive with the handcuffsp. 221
'Oh, he's deaf, he's one-eyed, he's hunchbacked, he's a monster!'p. 224
And then, in that hitherto dry, burnt eye, a large tear was seen to form, which rolled slowly down his deformed face, for so long contorted by despair. It was perhaps the frist tear the luckless man had ever shedp. 227
Women's instincts understand and answer one another quicker than men's intelectsp. 237
It was a fixed look, yet full of anxiety and turnoil. And so utterly motionless was his whole body, though stirred imperceptibly now and again by an involuntary tremor, like a tree in the wind, so rigid were his elbows, more marmoreal than the balustrade on which they were propped, so petrified was the smile that contracted his features, that it seemed as if the only part of Claude Frollo which was still alive was his eyesp. 244
'...So all it takes to make a man feeble and crazy is one miserable thought!'p. 260
...a sword and a girl are two delightful things to come accross at one redezvousp. 282
She no longer felt, or knew, or thought. At most she dreamt. Never had a living creature progressed so far towards oblivionp. 311
When one does evil one must do the whole evil. To be only half a monster is insanity!p. 319
The abuse of impunity went hand in hand with the abuse of punishment, two evils attempting to rectify one anotherp. 356
The human heart (Dom Claude had pondered these questions) can contain only a limited amount of despairp. 372
Humiliate me, strike me, be vicious! Do what you like! But please, love me!p. 375
But to hang men of letters is no way to patronize literaturep. 436
For, even if we believe in nothing, there are moments in life when we are always of the religion of the temple nearest to handp. 452
'That's life!', said the philosopher each time he nearly fell, 'it's often our best friends who bring us down!'p. 453
He was one of those men for whom there are neither mornings nor birds nor flowersp. 487
Phoebus de Châteaupers too came to a tragic end; he got marriedp. 491