Thu 9 Sep 2010
The fragile army of nocturnal thoughts
Posted by PJ under writers, writing
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For health reasons, Albert Camus spent several months in the winter and spring of 1942-43 at Panelier, near Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, where the altitude approaches 3000 feet. Â From Notebooks, 1942-1951, translated by Justin O’Brien:
Panelier. Before sunrise, above the high hills, the fir trees are not distinguishable from the rolling ground on which they stand. Then the sun from a great distance behind them gilds the crest of the trees. Hence against the but slightly faded background of the sky they look like an army of feathered savages rising over the hill. Gradually, as the sun rises and the sky brightens, the fir trees grow larger and the barbarian army seems to move forward and become more compact in a tumult of feathers before the invasion. Then, when the sun is high enough, it suddenly lights up the fir trees, which pour down the slope of the mountains. And it seems like a wild race toward the valley, the outbreak of a brief and tragic battle in which the barbarians of daylight will drive out the fragile army of nocturnal thoughts.
