And why carry out one’s projects, since the project is sufficient pleasure in itself?
[Et à quoi bon exécuter des projets, puisque le projet est en lui-même une jouissance suffisante?]
Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) French poet, essayist, art critic
Le Spleen de Paris (Petits Poèmes en Prose), No. 24 “Projects [Les Projets],” final words (1869) [tr. Varèse (1970)]
(Source)
(Source (French)). Alternate translations:
And what is the good of carrying out a project, when the project itself gives me pleasure enough?
[tr. Hamburger (1946)]
And what good is it to carry out plans, since planning itself is a sufficient delight?
[tr. Kaplan (1989)]
And what good would it do to execute such plans, since planning is in itself sufficient enjoyment?
[tr. Waldrop (2009)]
What good is it to accomplish projects, when the project itself is enjoyment enough?
[Various]
Quotations about:
suffice
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