Letting Yourself Be Slandered, Poem by Victor Hugo

Poem by Victor Hugo Themes SatirePeriod 19th century

What, brother, you tremble because they tear you apart!
So you do not know the power of a smile!
When you see yourself reviled, booed, hissed, mocked,
By lackeys with dark souls and tainted names,
Who have plied a hundred trades and played a hundred roles,
You take too much care over the things these clowns
Say about you. Your brow darkens; you are troubled
By the follies of a pack of venomous pedants.
Look at me. — I am alone, standing on the stage,
They insult me, I laugh at their unhealthy rage
And I go on! For my heart on this harsh road
Feels honor today and glory tomorrow.

Paris, July 1851.

Victor Hugo

Translation generated by Poésies 123 with assistance from the deepseek-chat artificial-intelligence model.

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