Paul VERLAINE (1844-1896). Autograph poem signed, À propos d - Lot 159

Paul VERLAINE (1844-1896). Autograph poem signed, À propos d'un "Centenaire" by Calderon, 1881; 1page in-8. Sonnet collected in Amour (L. Vanier, 1886). The manuscript is headed by the collective title Sonnets malsonnants, under which it was published, along with five others, in the magazine Lutèce on January 3, 1886. The manuscript was used for printing in the magazine. Under the title, Verlaine inscribed Calderon's dates: "(1600-1681)", and the dedication: "à Jose Maria de Heredia", recommending to typographers: "aucuns accents sur Jose, de Heredia et Calderon". Beneath the poem, he inscribed the date: "[crossed out] May 25, 1881", his signature (which he crossed out), and this note: "En épigraphe pour tout le groupe de Sonnets: Il y ha cause suffisante de larmes avecques les libertés publicques. (H. de Balzac)". At the very bottom, the title of the next poem: Nébuleuses. "This terrible and divinely gentle poet, Wider than Corneille and higher than Shakspeare, Great as Aeschylus with that breath that inspires him, This mystical and mythical Calderon is ours. [...] Calderon, Catholic above all, noble lyre And holy accents, and good Catholic above all"... The manuscript contains variants with the Amour text, notably the last four lines, which are quite different; let's quote the last tercet: "Pour mener tout ce train de cuistres fous, ô non! Your unholy 'feast' is sad among feasts, Little pedants, little skeptics that you are!"