1. Summary
The text provides an introduction to E. M. Cioran’s book, Antologia portretului (The Anthology of the Portrait), a collection of literary portraits selected from the works of the French writers Saint-Simon and Alexis de Tocqueville.
An introductory note by P. C. explains that the book originates from Cioran’s profound and lifelong admiration for the French moralist tradition, particularly his fervent passion for the memorialist Saint-Simon. The anthology was originally compiled by Cioran for the French publisher Gallimard, and the note discusses the challenges of translating Cioran’s nuanced preface into Romanian.
Cioran’s preface is a brilliant essay on the art of the psychological portrait as it flourished in France during the 17th and 18th centuries. He contrasts the concise, aphoristic style of moralists like La Rochefoucauld with the sprawling, obsessive, and vividly detailed genius of Saint-Simon. For Cioran, Saint-Simon was an almost unconscious force of nature, whose passion for observation produced portraits of unparalleled psychological depth, capturing the vices and vanities of the court of Louis XIV. His style is described as unique and powerful, sacrificing grammatical purity for visceral impact. Cioran also analyzes the social environment of the French court that fostered this unique form of insight. He later added texts by Tocqueville to the anthology, viewing him as a more sober, analytical, and modern successor to this tradition who applied a similar incisive gaze to the society of his own time, including his observations on America.
The anthology itself features portraits of numerous historical figures from the French aristocracy and the era of the French Revolution, including personalities such as Mirabeau, Talleyrand, Madame de Staël, Chateaubriand, Benjamin Constant, and Madame Récamier. The work as a whole is a testament to Cioran’s fascination with human nature, history, and the expressive power of literature, filtered through the genius of his most admired authors.
2. Entities Marked in Summary
The text provides an introduction to E. M. Cioran’s book, Antologia portretului (The Anthology of the Portrait), a collection of literary portraits selected from the works of the French writers Saint-Simon and Alexis de Tocqueville.
An introductory note by P. C. explains that the book originates from Cioran’s profound and lifelong admiration for the French moralist tradition, particularly his fervent passion for the memorialist Saint-Simon. The anthology was originally compiled by Cioran for the French publisher Gallimard, and the note discusses the challenges of translating Cioran’s nuanced preface into Romanian.
Cioran’s preface is a brilliant essay on the art of the psychological portrait as it flourished in France during the 17th and 18th centuries. He contrasts the concise, aphoristic style of moralists like La Rochefoucauld with the sprawling, obsessive, and vividly detailed genius of Saint-Simon. For Cioran, Saint-Simon was an almost unconscious force of nature, whose passion for observation produced portraits of unparalleled psychological depth, capturing the vices and vanities of the court of Louis XIV. His style is described as unique and powerful, sacrificing grammatical purity for visceral impact. Cioran also analyzes the social environment of the French court that fostered this unique form of insight. He later added texts by Tocqueville to the anthology, viewing him as a more sober, analytical, and modern successor to this tradition who applied a similar incisive gaze to the society of his own time, including his observations on America.
The anthology itself features portraits of numerous historical figures from the French aristocracy and the era of the French Revolution, including personalities such as Mirabeau, Talleyrand, Madame de Staël, Chateaubriand, Benjamin Constant, and Madame Récamier. The work as a whole is a testament to Cioran’s fascination with human nature, history, and the expressive power of literature, filtered through the genius of his most admired authors.