Mourir pour des idées [English translation]

To die for some ideas, that's an excellent idea.

Me, I nearly died from not having had it,

Because all those who did have it, a most oppressive mob,

Fell upon me, screaming wildly.

They managed1 to convince me and my insolent muse,

Renouncing her errors, is coming over to their faith

With, however, a touch of reservation:

Let's die for some ideas, OK, but not too soon,

OK, but not too soon.

2.

Judging that it's not perilous to hang about

Lets head towards the other world dawdling on the way

Because, forcing the pace, we might end up dying

For ideas that that are out of fashion the next day.

Now if anything is a bitter and distressing thing

when rendering one's soul to God it's surely to admit

that one's gone the wrong way, not chosen the right idea.

Let's die for some ideas, OK, but not too soon,

OK, but not too soon.

3

The Saints John golden mouth2 who preach martyrdom

Most often, besides. hang about down here.

To die for some ideas, it's true to say this,

Is their reason to live, they won't deprive themselves of it.

In almost all camps you can see some who will supplant

Methusala soon in longevity

Fom this I conclude they must tell themselves, privately:

Let's die for some ideas, OK, but not too soon,

OK, but not too soon.

4

Ideas demanding the over-hyped sacrifice,

Sects of every kind offer their versions of its results

And the question becomes clear to new-come victims

To die for some ideas, that's fine, but which ones?

And because all of them3 are much the same

When he sees them coming with their great big banner

The wise man, hesitating, hangs around the tomb.

Let's die for some ideas, OK, but not too soon,

OK, but not too soon.

5

Also, if a few mass killings were enough

to make everything change, everything sort itself out!

After so many "big nights" when so many heads fell,

We'd already be there, in paradise on earth.

But the golden age unceasingly is postponed to next month,

The Gods are always thirsty, they never have enough

And it's death, every time death again:

Let's die for some ideas, OK, but not too soon,

OK, but not too soon.

6

Oh you, the rabble-rousers, you, the sanctimonious apostles,

You can die first, then, we won't get in your way

but, please, for pity's sake, let other people live!

their lives are, roughly speaking, their only luxury down here;

Because, in the end, Death is quite careful enough,

she doesn't need anyone to hold her scythe for her

No more macabre dancing around the scaffolds!

Let's die for some ideas, OK, but not too soon

OK, but not too soon.

1. literally: "knew how"2. St John Chrysotom and his ilk3. the sects