Poem on the Portrait of Honoré Daumier
The man depicted on this page
Whose craft in all its subtleties
Teaches us our inanities,
That person, reader, is a sage.
Yes, mocking satire is his art,
But all the force at his command
To show us Evil and his band
But proves the beauty of his heart.
His smile is not like Melmoth's bold
Grimace, or Mephistopheles'
Pursued by the Erinyes
Whose fiery torches leave us cold.
Their smile, alas, for gaiety
Is nothing but caricature;
His smile is frank and large, a sure
Sign of his magnanimity.
Přeložil James McGowan