FAME

The quirks of fame

It is enough to frequent various literary circles to realize the instability and the comical nature of glory. There was a time when Alfred de Musset had fallen into the third underworld, among the then new generation (alas!). We commonly hear these days in young circles:

"Hugo?" It does not exist. Loti? Doesn't offer any interest? Flaubert? It needs to be unbolted.

But it is in the general public, far from Paris and the major cities, that glory reveals all its misery. , One can hardly imagine the number of people who totally ignore Rabelais, Molière, Racine, Lamartine, Baudelaire, or Ampère, Berthelot, Lavoisier, Lamarck.

For more than twenty years, I have enjoyed questioning, on this subject, during my travels or my vacations, very simple people. I get the most mind-boggling responses. Almost everyone knows Napoleon, but without knowing exactly what were his victories or when he lived. For some, it happened fifty years ago; for others it is very old, to the point that some believe that Joan of Arc and Napoleon were contemporaries.

Pasteur's name is very widespread, but almost always as a cure for rabies and nothing is less proven than the effectiveness of anti-rabies treatment.

The names of the various Presidents of the Republic, prior to the war, are most often ignored. Because he was assassinated, Sadi Carnot left a more or less vague memory, but Félix Faure, Grévy, Loubet, Fallières are very much forgotten. This will probably be the case with M: Millerand.

Gambetta evokes memories, among old people or those who remember lessons from primary school. It is often called Grandbeta.

Victor Hugo is strangely known by some: - He was in a balloon with Grandbêta, an old man told me. "He's what Jean Valjean did," replied a young man, better informed.

The name of Clemenceau fades little by little and is sometimes distorted. Some take him for a general or for an ex-president of the Republic. He is said to be very brave. All in all, Joffre is remembered better than Foch, but most of the other generals of the Great War are unknown or have only a paltry reputation: they will be forgotten more quickly than Bazaine or even Boulanger.

Ten years ago, the name of Rostand had entered the fields; today this name no longer means anything to anyone. As for the famous men of today, it is rare that we have heard of them.

Almost all the members of the French Academy and of the Goncourt Academy have no kind of fame; we ignore them, purely. and simply.

Sometimes, because of politics, the name of Barrès evokes something vague, and also the name of Daudet, not of the father but of the son. M; Chéron is an undisputed glory: he far exceeds M. Poincaré, who nevertheless enjoys a certain prestige for the moment. The other ministers float in the fog.

In short, in simple circles, glory appears like a seesaw: The greatest of humans leave only a very indistinct trail, and most often nothing at all...

Even in less simple circles, fame is frequently a ridiculous and messy thing. Hardly anyone knows the greatest scholars, those who have contributed to making us penetrate into the mystery of the world. The glory of writers and artists comes haphazardly.

A young lady, a great reader, said to me three years ago on a beach:

"The book of yours that I like the most is 'Fromont Jeune' and 'Risler Aîné.'

Poor Daudet!

Even in the Parisian world, the distribution of praise is done in the most gratifying manner. But the height is the opinion that one has abroad of French glories: there, the incomprehension of educated people is absolutely fantastic. When I was living in England, I ended up giving up talking about our scholars, our men of letters, our artists, so irremediable was the ineptitude of my British friends. On the other hand, how often do I hear my Parisian friends speak of great foreign men as stupidly as the English spoke to me of ours.

All this will not prevent young people and old people from ardently seeking fame... And how right they will be.

J.H. ROSNY AINE
from the Goncourt Academy