DUVAL Ronsard, Aubigné and Misères

8/12/2019 DUVAL Ronsard, Aubign and Misres

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The Place of the Present: Ronsard, Aubign, and the "Misres de ce Temps"Author(s): Edwin M. DuvalReviewed work(s):Source: Yale French Studies, No. 80, Baroque Topographies: Literature/History/Philosophy(1991), pp. 13-29Published by: Yale University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2930259.

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EDWIN M. DUVALThe Place of the Present:Ronsard,Aubigne, nd the"Miseres de ce Temps"

To sixteenth-centuryrenchmenheyear1562appeared s thegreat-estturning oint n thehistoryfFrance.No event,with hepossibleexception ftheTreaty fTroyesn 1420,hadever eemed so politi-cally consequential s the outbreak ffull-scale ivilwaron nativesoil.Andno armed onflict-whetheroreign ar, eudal ower trug-gle,orpeasantrevolt-had evermatched he horror f a fight o thedeathbetween ompatriots, eighbors,nd brothers.n 1562 the fu-ture, ven heexistence fthenation, eemed ohang nthebalance.Intwoof hebest-knowniteraryreatmentsf he ivilwar nd tsattendant miseres"Pierrede Ronsard ndAgrippa 'Aubigne avepowerfulxpressiono the senseofcrisisuniversallyssociatedwith1562.Their omplete greementn the mportancef hat ingle ateis all the more remarkable or hefact hat Ronsard's iscours desmiseresde ce temps ndAubigne's es Tragiques re suchradicallydifferentorkswrittenrom uchradically ifferenterspectives,hefirst eing n immediate atholicresponsewritten ndpublishednthe heat of themomentn 1562,the second Protestantpicelabo-ratedmuch ater nd over longperiod ftimebetween 577andthepublication atesof1616and 1623.Just s remarkable, erhaps,s thewayeachofthese two worksdealswith undamentalroblemsnherentntheir ommon ndertak-ing-those ofrepresentingnd interpreting single historicalmo-ment, ndof orgingomefictional erspectiverom hich oviewthealways lusivepresent.n thefollowing ages would iketo considerhow Ronsard nd Aubigne resent ndsolve theseproblems f tem-poralperspectivepatially, oththroughmagesofspaceandwithinYFS80, Baroque Topographies,d. Timothy ampton, 1991byYale University.

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EDWIN M. DUVAL 15Catherine fMedici, o save the Frenchhipof tate,which s atthisverymoment "ence temps")o batteredy editiouswinds hatt s nimminent anger f inking43-50).Thequeen mustdo thisnotonlyby seizingthehelmwitha firm and 48-50) butby mposingherauthority54and210) n suchaway s toquellthe torm tself51-54and 197-212). Framedby this exhortation o act (25-54 and 197-212)-which is itselfframed y parallelpassages concernedwithGod'sprovidentialole nhistory1-24 and213-36)-the mainbodyof hepoemfulfillshepromise f tstitlebydiscoursingtlength nthe "miseres ecetemps."Ronsard oesnotdescribehesemiseriesnany detail,ofcourse,becausehis intended eaders re firsthand it-nesses andparticipantsnthe events f1562.His purposes ratheroimpress ponhiscontemporarieshemomentousnessf hemoment.This he does in severalways-once within ach of the twoseparateparts f hepoem, ndyet gain nthe tructuref hepoem s a whole.The first alf f heframedoemrepresentshepresentmoment sa historical ocalpoint n which ll eyes, ast ndfuture,refixed.Allthekings ndgenerals fpasthistoryrehorrifiedo ook from eyondthegrave ponthepresentnd ee howwe aredestroyingith urownhands herealm hey efended iththeir loodandbequeathed o usas a rich nheritance54-86):

Haquedirontabas oubs estombes oudreusesDe tant e vaillans oyses amesgenereusesQuedirontant eDucs, t tant 'hommesuerriersQuisontmorts 'une layeucombatespremiers,Etpour rance nt ouffertant e abeursxtremes,Lavoyantujourd'huyestruitearnousmesmes?

[55-64]Oh whatwill henoble ouls f llthose aliantkingsay, ownhere elow heirusty ombs?..Whatwill ll those eneralsndwarriorsay, hodiedfirstnbattlend ufferedo many ardshipsorFrance,eeing er oday estroyedyus?Similarly,ll future enerations ill look backwith horror n the"historyf ur ime" nd see howwe havebrought own he cepter fFrance 115-26):

De quelfront,equeloeil, siecles nconstansPourront-ilsegarder'histoiree cetemps



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16 Yale French tudiesEn lisantque l'honneur,t e sceptre e FranceQui depuis i long ge avoitpris ccroissance,Parune Opinionnourrice es combats,Commeunegrande oche, stbroncheontre as. [121-26]

Withwhat ountenance, ithwhat yes, mutable ge,willtheyookon the history fthis time,whenthey ead thatthehonor nd thescepter fFrance,which had grown vergreater ver theages,wasbroughtumblingown ike an enormous ockby nOpinion,motherofstrife.Onlywe of thepresent-we who are livingunder the fixedgaze ofall past and future enerations t thevery ocalpointof ll history-donot see ourselves (87-114):

C'estgrand as quenosyeux ont i plainsd'une nue,Qu'ils ne cognoissent asnostre erte venue. [87-88]Oureyes re so befoggedhat hey annot ee that urruin s at hand.

This blindness is all the more scandalous because ancient signs andprophecies (95-106) and recent climatic irregularities 107-14) hadpredicted that the year 1562-"l'an soixante et deux" (97)-wouldbring alamitytotheFrench.All invain,for ven now thattheforetolddisasterhas befallenus, we "see withoutseeing":Nous sommes ccablesd'ignorancei forte,Et ies d'un sommeil i paresseux, e sorteQue nostre sprit e sent e malheur uinouspoingt,Etvoyans ostremalnousne le voyons oint. [91-94]

We areweighed ownbysuch gnorance,mmobilized ysuchsloth,thatwe do notfeel hepricks f urownmisfortune,nd eeing ur llswedo notsee them t all.The year 1562, represented t the center of this panoramic review ofpast, present, nd future bserversofFrance, s boththe centralpointand the blind spot of history, nown to all times exceptto itself.The firstpart of the poem ends as Ronsard, having deploredourblindness and exhortedtoday'shistoriansto record the "monstroushistory of our time" for future readers to behold (115-20), appearsreadyto reveal the historyof our own calamityto us. But here at the

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EDWIN M. DUVAL 17midpointf hepoem curious hing appens.Rather hanproceedingas promised n the historicalmode to narrate he eventsof 1562,Ronsard hifts bruptlyo a poetical,fictionalmode to narrate heorigin nd cause ofthese vents.The secondhalf fthepoem beginswith mythological arrativetransposed irectly rom irgil's amous llegory f Fama" Rumor"]in Book V oftheAeneid (4.173-97).To punishmortals or heir re-sumptuous uriosityboutdivine hings127-30and153-54),Jupitersentthema terriblemonster alled "Opinion,"which confused hemindsoftheologianswithcontradictoryassagesofScripturendthen proceeded o set France at warwith herself, rmingbrotheragainst rother, ife gainst usbandn a bloody ree-for-allver aith(127-66).Themeaning f heallegorys obvious nd predictable: urcivilwar,iketheheresy verwhich t sbeing ought,esults rom hepresumptuous rrogationfauthorityyunauthorizedndividuals.But the use of Virgilian llegory o express his dea is itselfhighlysignificant.t bestowsupon theevents f the present literally picmagnitudesWhenRonsard oeson to evoke t last thepandemic awlessnessand niquity nleashedn France yOpinion 155-96),he does so notas a chroniclerfour imesbutonceagain napoeticalmode, ntermsborrowedhistimefrom vid'sfamous escriptionf he ronAge nBook of heMetamorphoses (1.128-50;cf., specially 159-66 andM 1.142-48,D 175-78 andM 1.129-31,D 182-84 andM 149-50).Contraryo his ntimationsnthe"Hymne eJustice"f definitivereturn fAstraea ndtheGoldenAge,Ronsard ere aments, ollowingOvid,that

Au cielestrevollee,tJustice,tRaison,Eten eur lacehelas egneebrigandage,Laforce,escousteaux,esang t ecarnage.[182-84; cf.,Metamorphoses.129-31and149-50]2. These intimations f an epic dimension re reinforced y two extended"Homeric" imiles, neplaced t the ndof he epic"half f heframed oem 191-96),the other mmediatelyftert at thebeginningf heconcluding rame199-212).Ronsard ook up the allegory fOpinion againthe following ear n the Re-

monstranceu peupledeFrance,reatinghe igureomewhat ifferently.ereOpinionpronounces fine rosopopeiaoher son"Luther nd ows he eeds fwar y lippingserpentnto hefolds fLuther's obe.Herwords ndgesturesmitate xactly hosebywhichAllecto tarts hewarfor atiumn BookVII of heAeneid cf.,Remonstrance235-356 andAeneid7.341-434).



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18 Yale French tudiesBack oheaven usticendReason ave lown,nd ntheirlace, lasreign illage,iolence, nives, lood, nd laughter.

TheGoldenAgeso recentlyestoredyhumanismmay lready avedegeneratedrreparablynto Iron once again. Indeed the only dif-ference etween hefirstronAgeand thenewone s that heclassicalnotion ffilialpiety, hichOvid inked oAstraea-justice,s replacedbya monarchist's otion f uthority,hichRonsard inksto usticeand reason.Thus thefamous ag"Victa acetpietas" "piety ies van-quished"]nOvid 1.149)becomes Morte st 'autorite""authoritysdead"] n Ronsard175).It is on this grim note- "Ainsi la France courten armesdi-visee, / Depuis que la raison n'estplusautorisee" 195-96; myem-phasis) ThusFrance unsheadlong, ivided ndarmed,incereason sno longer ubject o authority].-thathesecond halfof the framedpoem ends,allowingRonsard o return o theframeby exhortingCatherinefMedicionceagain o enddiscordn France y xertinger"authority"209-12).Thetwoparallel arts fRonsard's oembuttress ndgiveurgency

to its framingall to actionby pointing o the crucial mportancef"thistime" n a number fmutually einforcingays.The first artshowsus that hepresents afocal oint fhistorynd ndeed kind fpivot n whichtheentire istoryfFrancewilleventuallye seen tohave turned. he secondpart ntimates hatthe events ftoday reliterally pic events,imilarnnature ndequalinmagnitudeo thosenarratedn theAeneid nd theMetamorphoses,ndsuggestsntertex-tually hrough vid that heymayevenmark hebeginningf newIronAge.Butmostsignificantly,erhaps,he twoparts f thepoemwork ogethero mitate, patially, hateach oneseparatelyuggests,for he wholepoem hinges t thecenter, ighlightingy ts centraldisjunction etween istoryndepicthepivotalmoment,hecriticalblind potofhistory,hat s now.Rather hanfillinghegapat the centerwith full ccountoftheevents f1562,thepoem contains, ndevenconstitutes, powerfulmonition hat hose vents,whichwe see without eeing, re nfactkindof fulcrum,nd thatwe in 1562 are perched n a razor's dge,teeteringn thebrink f he byss.Whetherurnewly egained old-enAgeof rts,etters,nd aws s tocontinue, rwhether e areto beplunged nce again nto an IronAgeofgothicdarkness, epends nGod,on theQueen,andon us ... now



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EDWIN M. DUVAL 19Agrippa 'Aubigne rew pobsessedwithRonsard. is earliest atablework, Vers aits seiz' ans"[Lineswritten t age sixteen],s a shortpoem nthe tyle fRonsard xpressingnabashed nvy orRonsard'spoeticgiftsndreputation; isyouthfulollection f ovepoems,LePrintempsSpring], rittenwhen he was about twenty,xplicitly i-vals Ronsard'sAmours and Odes and is inspired, ccording o thepoems hemselves, y henieceofRonsard's assandre; ndhis etterswrittennoldagecontain roud ecollections fdistantmeetings iththegreatmaster.3Yetbyreligion, olitics, ndtemperament,ubignewasRonsard'sopposite, nd this oppositionmade his relation o themasterex-tremely omplex.As a bornHuguenot nd civil warrior e was con-demned n advanceby theauthor f the Discours, ndundoubtedlysharedhis coreligionists' ell-documentedentiment hat the Dis-cours nd ts sequelsremained,venyears fterheir irst ublication,extremely owerful nd effective-and thereforeatanicallyper-nicious-pieces ofrhetoric.utas a brilliant oetand ongtimemu-lator fRonsard, ubigne, nlikemost fhis coreligionists,asable torespondnkind.

To a far reater egreehan scommonly ealized, esTragiques reAubigne'sdirectProtestantesponse o thepolemicalpoems of hisCatholicmentornd dol,Ronsard. crucial spectof hisresponsesthewayAubigne dopts nd transformsonsard's nique representa-tionof1562and of hehistorical resent. ubigne,neffect,ppropri-ates Ronsard's oem, doptingndelaboratinghe trategyf heDis-cours nsuch a way s toreveal othRonsard'srrors f nterpretationandthetruemeaning f 1562.4Ofcourse,Aubigne's erspectiven1562differsrom onsard's otonly ideologicallybut temporally, or having been born the yearRonsard ublished isfirst mours1552)Aubignewasonly en n thecriticalyearof theDiscours.Bythe timehe beganwriting es Tra-3. Aubign6s quoted hroughouthesepages n thePkiade edition f heOeuvres,ed. HenriWeber, acques ailb6, nd Marguerite ouli6 Paris:Gallimard, 969).ForAubign6'seferenceso Ronsard lluded o here, ee, n this dition, Vers aits seiz'ans" 319);Le Printemps:'HMcatombeDiane, 5 249); nd"Lettresouchant uelquespoincts e diverses ciences," 1 860). eealso nthe ameedition,ePrintemps: des,

13 303);Les Tragiques, Aux ecteurs"5-6); andMeditations ur es pseaumes, Pre-face, 'autheur u lecteur" 494).4. Les Tragiques espond irectlynd n detail o Ronsard's ther olemical oemsof1562-63as well,mostnotably o theContinuation u discours, rittenater n 1562(cf., .g.,Les Tragiques .19-20 and Continuation -6, and below,note 7). But suchconsiderationsie well beyondhe copeof hepresent tudy.



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20 Yale French tudiesgiques theevenmorememorable ear f heSaintBartholomew'saymassacre, 572,wasalready date nthehistorical ast.Nevertheless,Les Tragiques eliberately aintain hepivotal mportancettributedbyRonsard o theyear1562.Theprincipal lotofLesTragiques, arratedn Books II, V, ndV,takesplace entirely ithin he ast moments eforehe outbreak fcivilwar n 1562.Movedby he omplaintsfJustice,iety, eace, ndall the angels, by the arrival n droves of the souls of martyredHuguenots, nd bytheprayersfthose still iving 3.33-122),Goddecides ovisit arthnd eewithhisown yeshow corruptystemfjustice s condemning ndexecuting is elect Books II and IV). Re-turningo heaven,wroth twhathe has seenbut ssured f he tead-fastness ntodeath ofhis "witnesses," e allows Satan to put thefaithfuloanevengreaterestbygrantinghem uccess narms, hustemptinghem o puttheir aithnprincesnd n their wnresourcesrather han n God alone (Book V). The three entralbooksofLesTragiques hus narrate t length,n an epicmode and from divineperspective,heprecisehistoricalurning ointwhosepivotalnatureandepicdimensionRonsard's oemhadonlyhinted t.Les Tragiquesmaintain Ronsard's cheme of representationswell, portrayingoth thepivotalyearofhistory1562)andthe newhistorical resent1577) na way mitated irectlyromheDiscours,butrecastinghe cheme oas togive t anentirelyifferenteaning.Thisrecastingakesplace twice, n twoseparateevels:once withinBook for herepresentationf "this ime," ndagain nthearticula-tionofthe epicas a whole for herepresentationf1562.InBook ("Miseres"), ubigneneffect ewrites he Discours desmiseresde ce temps rom heperspectivef1577,describingtgreatlengthwhatRonsard ad onlyhinted t. Or rather, e explodes heDiscoursby crammingntotheempty paceatthe center thousandlines ofenergetic escription, eplacing onsard's ivotal,punctualblind potwithgruesomeceneswitnessed ver hefifteenears hathave elapsed since 1562.5 t is as thoughAubignehad answeredRonsard's all nearthemidpoint ftheDiscours:

o toy istorien,uid'ancre onmenteuseEscritse nostreemps 'histoireonstrueuse,5. Aubign6 oesoutofhisway o establish hepresentfMiseres" sbeing xactlyfifteenears fterhe rucial ate f1562.Hestates n theprose ntroduction4)that esTragiqueswerebegun uring hewarsof 1577 "auxguerres e septante tsept"), nd



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EDWIN M. DUVAL 21Raconte nos enfans out emalheur atal,Afin u'en te lisant ls pleurent ostremal. [115-18]

0 historian, ouwho writewith unadulteratednkthe monstroushistory fourtime, ellour childrenhewholestory fthisbanefuldisaster o that eading ou, heywillweepfor urwoe.Yet as he does this, Aubigne repeats the articulation of Ronsard'spoem exactly, orat the midpointofthe book the poet concludes hislurid account of the historical present to take up a new question:

Voila e front ideuxde nos calamitez,La vengeance es cieux ustement espitez.Commeparforce 'oeil se destourne ces choses,Retournonses esprits our ntoucheres causes.[1.679-82]6

This s thehideous ace f ur alamity,hevengeancef justly ngryheaven.Despite itself he eyeturns way from hese things. et usthereforeirect urthoughtslsewhere o consider heir auses.Thus exactly ike the Discours, "Miseres" hinges at the center,divid-ing into two equal sections, the first f which is devoted to the cata-strophicpresent, he second to the causes ofour presentmiseries. Eachsection, moreover, ontains a directresponse to its corresponding artin Ronsard.The firsthalfof "Miseres" is organized n a manner vaguely remi-niscent of Ronsard's play of historical perspectives n the firsthalf oftheDiscours: purely ymbolic representations fFrance 1.97-190 and1.609-78) frame a "general discours," or survey of all estates andclasses of Frenchpeople fromroyaltyto urban bourgeoisie to ruralinsists n two eparate assages fBook that hemiseries f "today"1.437, 81, 1097,1121)havenow astedfor fifteenears" 1.267-69 and1.1042-44).The datable cenesdescribednBook do nfact end o fallwithin his ifteen-yearperiod: he "tragictory"witnessed y the poetatMontmoreauuringhe thirdwar(1569: 1.367-436),the aftermath f the battle ofMontcontour1569: 1.463-94),Aubign6's uel 1572: 1.1067-78), hedeath f heCardinal eLorraine1574:1.1005),etc.Only hegruesome aseofmaternal annibalism1.495-562)sgenerallydentifiedby ommentatorsshaving aken lacemuch ater,tthe iege fParis1590).But uchactswere lso attested uringhe iegeofSancerre, hich ccurredn 1573.6. Thefirstwo ines uoted ere rerepeatedlmost erbatimt the ndof he ongsection ntroducedere, ear he ndof hebook 1.1207-08). he effectf his cho stomake thearticulation f the main body f "Miseres" ntotwoseparate ections venmore pparent.



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22 Yale French tudiespeasantryndback to royalty1.191-366 and 1.563-608),which sinterruptedt thecenter y descriptionfman-made amine 1.43 -94) flanked by two unforgettablecenes of individual sufferingwrought y tarvation1.367-436and1.495-562).At thefocal oint fthis ymmetricalonstruct,nd ntheblankplace eft t thefocus fRonsard's ixedgaze ofpast and future istory, ubigne odgesthemost specific,oncrete epresentationsf"miseres"maginable, or-traits f starving, yingmotherswho either re devoured y death(1.414-27and 1.435-36) or devour heir wn children1.549-60)-images hat eflectheframe's eneral, ymbolicmage fFrance s anafflicted other evouredyher hildrencf., .97-98and1.423-24).7ThusAubigne ocuses nthepresentmoment s Ronsard addonebutin a farmorevividway,moving rom heabstractndgeneral o theconcrete ndparticulars hisgazehones nfrom heperipheryo thecenter fthepassage.Correspondences etween he secondhalf of "Miseres" nd thesecondhalf f theDiscoursare more pecificnddirect. xactlyikeRonsard,Aubigne hifts bruptly ere from historical o an alle-goricalmode as he turnsfrom miseres" o "causes."Exactly ikeRonsard, e narrates myth f sin and divinepunishment.he twonarrations re exactlyparallel,moreover,ut small differencese-tween hem recrucial.nplaceofRonsard's agan,Virgilian llegoryofJupiterndOpinion,wefind biblical, rophetic llegorybout nOld Testament-styleod andthe "new scourge"he visited n a re-belliousnation.TopunishFrance or tspride, uperstition,ndwor-shipof dols i.e., ts obstinate atholicism), od senttheFrench womurderouspirits ormedf the "excrements fhell,"distilled ntotwobaleful newcomets,"ndthen ncarnatedntwoviciousbodiestowreak venmorehavoc n France han he omets hat ring lague,famine,nd war.These nfernalpiritsre none other hanCatherineofMediciand herhenchman-lover,harles he Cardinal fLorraine.In theplace of Ronsard's pic Opinion, n otherwords,Aubignesubstitutes he dedicatee f Ronsard's iscours.8What Ronsard ad

7. Aubigne's ymbolicmage fFrance s a "mere ffligee"97) s itself orrowednpart rom onsard's ontinuation udiscours, hich ndswith he llegorical escrip-tionofFrance s a "poorwoman tricken ithdeath" nd "mother f o manykings"(319-34andfollowing).ubign6hus ives potent,oncreteealityowhat or onsardhadbeenmerely symbolic,iteraryevice.8. TheCardinal fLorraine oes notfigurenRonsard'solemical oems, utwasthededicatee ndhero f heHymne e a JusticeowhichAubign6lso respondednLes Tragiques,mostnotablyn Book II ("La Chambre oree").



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EDWIN M. DUVAL 23thoughtwas theremedy or he crisis f1562provesnretrospectohave been preciselywhatmade 1562 everythingonsard eared tmightbe. Catherinedid intervene t the criticalpivotof Frenchhistory s Ronsard ad exhorted er o do-not as a vicarofGod,butrathers the hosen nstrumentfGod'swrathgainst heFrench,hescourge hatGod will thrownto hefire nce t hasservedtspurpose(1.802-04). nsteadofsaving he French rom ne another he deci-mated henobilityfFrance, otonlynwarbut ven n time fpeace,thanksto herMachiavellian nvention f the duel and the Italian"point fhonor" 1.1045-66). nstead fquelling ivil discord yrec-onciling hetwosides shedeliberatelylayed oth idesagainst achother o that hemight eign upremen the middle 1.755-62 and1.771-82).The resultof her ntervention as been not a return oRonsard's hreatened oldenAgebut fifteen earsof ronAge hell,clearly ignaled s suchatthemidpointf hebookthroughnadapta-tionof he ame Ovidian ines on theflightfAstraea hathad servedRonsardnpetitioningatherine'snterventiontthe end oftheDis-cours 1.692-95; cf.,Metamorphoses .149-50andDiscours175-78and182-84).

PoorRonsard othis historywrong.His solution o the crisisof1562 is preciselywhat precipitated he crisis n the first lace; hisdefenderf henew GoldenAgewas theprovidentialgent f henewIronAge. By ntervening,atherinemerely ulfilledhe mplicationsofthe schemeRonsard ad nventedoexhort er o intervene.Having daptedRonsard'scheme f emporal epresentationothenew present f 1577 n "Miseres" oreveal hehistorical rrors ftheDiscours,Aubigne ecasts hat ame schemeonceagainon themuchlarger cale ofthewhole epic, histimeto reveal he truemeaning fRonsard's resent f1562. t is a remarkablef nsufficientlyonsid-eredfact hat his onghistorical pic hinges,iketheDiscours, t itsprecise midpoint, nd thatthepoint aroundwhich t turns s thepivotaldate ofthe Discours,1562.The central ook V ofLes Tragiques "Feux") s a martyrologicalsampler esigned o avoid nvidious umandistinctionsmongGod'selectby ncluding andom, epresentative artyrdomsf every ex,estate, ndage 4.19-22and4.1285-1318). ndeed, hebookfollows oapparent emporal,ociological, r ogical equence s it wanders romcountryocountry,ationalityonationalityn tsdesultoryurveyfreligious adism nd fortitude.etdespite hisdeliberate rinciple fevenhanded andomness,he book cleavesneatly nto twodistinct



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24 Yale French tudiessections f xactly qual ength710 ineseach), nddraws ttentionothedivisionbymeans ofcorrespondingntroductions lacedat thebeginningfeach half:

Voicimarchererang ar aporte oree,L'enseigne'Israel ans eciel rboree,Lesvainqueurse Sion .. [4.1-3]Behold, archingrrayedncolumnshroughhe olden ate,he ic-tors fZion, earingighhe annerf srael.

Telsfurente ce siecle nSion esagneaux,Armez e a prieretnonpoint escouteaux:Voici n autreemps,uand espleurst des armesIsraelrriteourutux ustesrmes. [4.711-14]

Suchwere he ambs f his ge nZion, rmed ith rayer,otwithknives.ehold ow notherime, hen n ngrysraeleft eepingndtears orush orighteousrms.The division s highlightedven urthery hefact hat hemidpointspreceded nd followed y strictly arallelmartyrs'peecheswhosecommontheme s thenecessity fchoosing etween womutuallyexclusive lternativesfbelief raction cf., specially .699-706 and4.751-58). Similarparallelsbetween orrespondingassagesextendoutward rom he center hrough very ookof Les Tragiques, husinfusinghe ntirepicwith large-scaleymmetryround tscentral,pivotalpoint.As thetransitionetween he twohalvesofthe bookand theepicmakeplain,the "other ime" ntroduced t themidpoints one inwhich "Israel" i.e.,the Protestantlect)resortedo "just arms," othat he rons fwar "fers")eplacedhefires fmartyrdom"feux") stheprincipalmeansofdefendinghe true aith4.714-15).The pivotaroundwhich Feux" ndLesTragiquesurn s thus learly esignatedas theprecisemoment t which he civilwarsbegan.And ndeed hedozens ofmartyrdoms entionednrandom rder nthefirst alfofthebook ll tookplacebefore 562;those ewmentionednthe econdhalf ll tookplace after 562.9Les Tiagiques, ike the Discours, hus

9. The atestmartyrdomentionednthe irstalfs that fAnne uBourgn23December559 4.543-602).heearliestmentionedn the econd alf re hose fRichardeGastinendhisfathernd ncle n30June5694.719-996).



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EDWIN M. DUVAL 25hinges round hecrisis f 1562.Aubigne as given iterally pic pro-portions o Ronsard's epresentationfa single, riticalmoment nwhichall historyurns.

But forAubigne, hepivotal risis s no longer nunrepresentableblind potbetween known astand an unknown uture. hepassageoffifteen ears nd divine llumination llow Aubigne o see clearlyand interpretn perspective hatRonsardhimself ould only"seewithout eeing," romwithin.Contraryo whatRonsard'spatialrep-resentation f a historical urning ointpoised betweenhistory ndepic suggested, 562was not a crossroads t whichfree uman ctioncould determine hefuture ourseofFrench istory. y situatinghesame historical urning ointmidway etween Miseres" nd "Juge-ment," etween Princes" nd "Vengeances," ubigne uggests hat1562was, onthecontrary,predeterminedoment n a much arger,symmetrical,ivinely rderedcheme, turning oint ixed romhebeginning etween hesufferingfthe ustand thetriumph fthewicked n this world nd theeschatological indication f theper-secuted and retributionf thepersecutorsn the next. No humaninterventionouldhavesavedFrance n 1562, eastof ll Catherine fMedici,for 562was theyear hatCatherine fMedici, cting otas afree gent ut s an nstrumentnthehands f providential od,wasdestined rom hebeginningo drawup the ines between hesheepand thegoats, n preparationorChrist's inal,definitiveudgment.ThespaceofAubigne's oem ndthe paceofRonsard's oemhigh-light he ame criticalmoment t the enter,utby he rrangementfparts round hecenter, ubigne ucceeds nmaking hepivotalmo-ment f1562meanpreciselyheopposite fwhat t had meant n theDiscours.It is not onlyhindsight nd the constantly eiteratedlaim to divineinspiration hataffords ubigne headvantage fhis perspective n1562.Throughouthepoemhedevelops hefiction hatwhat allowshimto perceive hetruenature, lace, nd meaning fboth 1562 andthecontemporaneousresents lessa temporal emove rom issub-ject than a spatial remove.Takinghis cue once again directly romRonsard, ubigne stablisheswoprivileged lacesfar rom hesceneofcontemporaryvents romwhichhe is able to view themclearly.Adaptingn his turnOvid's famous ineson the ronAge at thepivotalmidpoint f"Miseres," ubigne tates:"Au cielestoitbannieenpleuranta justice,/L'Eglise u secdesert,a verite pres."1.694-



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26 Yale French tudies95) [To heavenwas banishedJusticen tears, he Church o the ariddesert, ollowed yTruth].These ines refarmore ignificanthan heymight irst ppear, orthe dispersion heydescribe s scrupulouslymaintained hroughouttheentire pic. Strictly arallel assagesnBooks I and II, n particu-lar,elaborate t lengthon the banishment fTruthto the desert(2.162-82) and the banishmentfJustice oheaven 3.33-54).Moreimportant,hedispersion escribed ereforms hebasis for heentiresecondary lotofLes Tragiques,ccordingo whichthepoet himselffollowsTruth, he Church, ndJusticeo their espective laces ofexile outsideFrance, nd from heseprivileged antage oints ooksbackuponthe ronAgeofourtime oseethem nd describehem, orthefirst ime, s they ruly re.In Book II ("Princes"), efore evealingherevoltingruth boutFrance's oyal ouseandaboutthethree egenerateonsofCatherineofMedici nparticular, ubigne learly ets forthhecircumstancesthat llowhim to do so (2.1-193).Formanyyears bject"fear"2.27-37) had prevented imfrom peaking he "truth"2.22,23, 25, 32, 45,156, 162)about courtwhere ice s concealed nd maintained y heflatteringies ofpoetsand courtisans2.85-161; see also 2:819-62).Butrecently e overcame his fear 2.38-58)when,banished o thedesert rom hecourt,he cameuponTruthn herexile, "banished,wounded ndmutilated. . in thedesert"2.162-63).Swooningt thesight fher,he found hecourage t lasttopresent erwhole tohisreaders, ndthen odie 2.162-93)."La voici" here he s],he exclaimstriumphantlyrom is desert xile, ustbeforeaunchingnto hemostappalling escriptionftheroyal ourtmaginable2.173).

At the ndof hebook 2.1099-1486),Aubigne ompleteshis ndi-rect utobiographicalarrative ith he llegorical able f n ngenu-ous youngman,presumablyimselfmanyyears arlier,onfused ndperplexed yhisfirstxperiencesn avicious ourt. ortunendVirtueappear o him na vision, hefirst romisingimwealth ndprestigeat court, hesecondtruehonorwonthrough lifeofhardshipntheabodeofNecessity.Virtue resumably insthedebate, orAubigne,nowfar rom he ourt,nds hebookwithdirewarningsfdamnationfor llwhoremain here. irtue's ictory asnot mmediate, owever,for n BookVI "Vengeances")hepoet ellsusonceagain hat ormanyyears fear" nd reverenceor ings t courtkepthimsilent bout he"truth,"ndthat nly ecentlye has foundhe"courage" owagewar



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EDWIN M. DUVAL 27against stinking ineva"byrevealing owGod hasalwayspunishedthe powerful ersecutors f his elect 6.99-140,especially, 19-24).This much of the secondary lot s revealed rolepticallyn theversePreface hatprecedes he epic. Here the anonymous oet ofLesTragiques laims ohavewritten iswork n voluntaryxile 3,12,85),in the desert 168, 169; cf.,30, 104-05,343),wherehe foundbothTruth, he "daughterfheaven," nd the Church 115-44, 163-68,187-92).The entire refaces nfact redicatedn a systematic pposi-tion between he "logisde la verite" "abodeoftruth"]120) in thedesert nd the"logisde la peur" abodeoffear]112) n thefastuouscourts f the Valoiskings.The poetcould nothaveexposed he realtruthboutthemiseries fFrance nd their auses unlesshehad fledthecraven ourts fprinces, romwhichfearhad banishedTruth, ojoin Truth nd theChurchnexile n thedesertcf., 7-132 and 337-54). Only there, xiledwith he Church ndworkingndirect ollab-orationwithTruth erself157-68),could hepoetwrite ndpublishwork hatreveals he truth nd "heaven's ecrets"362).And ndeedthe itle ageof heoriginaldition fLesTragiques dentifiestsplaceofpublication s the "dezert" nd ts author s "L.B.D.D.," "Le BoucDu Desert" "TheDesertGoat"], husconfirmingnadvance hepartofthesecondary lotnarratednBooks I and VI.The second privileged antagepoint fromwhich Les Tragiquescouldbe written as heaven.Taking ponceagain hepivotal assageof"Miseres"- "Auciel estoitbannie npleurant a justice/L'Egliseau secdesert,a verite pres"1.694-95)-Aubignebegins ook II "LaChambredoree")by narratinghe arrival fJustice, ow a sweating,panting ugitiverom arth, t thecelestialPalaceofGod (3.33-54).Exactly ike "banished"Truth, fugitive" ustice rrives woundedandmutilated"oherplaceof xile 3.34-35and45-46; cf., .162-63).And exactly s thepoethad presented ruth o his readers, usticepresentsherself,n the thirdperson, o God: "La voici" (3.45; cf.,2.173).This arrivals the vent hat ets n motion heprincipal lotofLesTragiquesseeabove,p. 20).But nearthe end ofthis ongcentral ar-rationAubigne akesup once againthe thread fhis secondary lotto narrate hecircumstanceshathaveallowedhim to know andtowritewhathehas written. ttheconclusion fthe ection fBookV("Fers")devoted o theSaint Bartholomew'say massacre, hepoetrelateshis own experiencen thedaysfollowing ugust 4 1572.For



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28 Yale French tudiessevenhourshis body aywounded nd senseless at Talcywhilehisspirit, ike Saul-Paul's n the road toDamascus,ascended oheavenwhere t beheldcelestial "tableaux"and astralsignsthatrevolvearound he axis of the universe nd represent ll past, present, ndfuture pisodesn theWars fReligion,rom March nd 19December1562 themassacre fVassy 5.545-84] ndthebattle fDreux 5.363-80]) to 1666 LastJudgment5.1413-16]).1o aving een from heper-spective fGod andhis angels hewholepanoramic istoryf hecivilwarsfrombeginningo end, Aubigne's piritmay rejoinhis body,not only to continuethe fight ut, ike John n Patmos, o writewhathehas seenin a bookofrevelation5.1417-26; cf.,Rev 1.9-11and22.6-12).This visit s what llowsAubigne oreveal heaven's igh ecrets"(5.1200,1246, 1424),notonlybynarratingheprincipal lotofGod'sprovidentialole n theevents f1562andprophecyingheevents fthe future ut,more mportant,y nterpretingll past,present,ndfuture alamitiesnthecontext f he argerchemeofhistory nd ofdivineustice.Forby scendingn the piritoheaven hepoetdidnotsimply ccede to a divinevantage ointfromwhich toview the n-justicesperpetratederebelow.He actually isited heplaceofexilewhereJustice erself,hatotherdaughterfGodbanished rom heIronAge world, ow resides nperson, nd fromwhich she will notreturngainuntil heLastDay,when Christ he ust udgewill comeagainto apportion ustice o God's creatures,nce and for ll (cf.,3.821-84 and7.661-1218).Andthus t s thatwe haveLesTragiques. ubigne nows hevicesofprinces ecausehe, ikeRonsard,pentmanyyears tcourt ndsawwithhis owneyes ts secret ins. ButRonsard ould nottell whatheknewbecausehe remained t court,writingn and for hat bode offear romwhichTruthhadbeen banished.Aubigne, n thecontrary,fled othedesertwherehefound ruthn her xileandcannow,withher assistance,write n a book whathe has seen.Similarly, ubigne

10 Itis interestingo contrast his ection f"Fers"with hefirst alf ftheDis-cours.WhereashepresentnRonsardsrepresenteds theblind pot fhistoryndthefocalpoint f ll pastandfutureazes, heeveradvancingresentnAubign6s repre-sented s theprecise ointn thevault fheaven,he enith,twhich isingstral ignsarereplaced yfully omprehensibleaintings. ndwhereas onsard'sontemporariesareblind o themselves ndtotheir ituation, ubign6's eadcoreligionistsrrivenheaven osee their wndeaths learlyndfreshlyepresentedsee, .g., .301-06,691-704 and 831-36). Thanks to thetableaux, hemartyrednd massacred reentirelypresent ntothemselves,ndknow hemselvesndtheir resent erfectly.



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EDWIN M. DUVAL 29knows hehorrorsf ivilwarbecausehespentyears nthebattlefieldand experiencedts tragedies irsthand.uteven fRonsard ad seenwhatAubigne asseen,he couldnothaveknownwhereustice ay nthe crimesof thepresent ecausehe remained n a world iterallyabandoned y Justice. ubigne aninterpret hathehas seenofthemiseries f ur imebecauseheonce eft his ronAgeworld fmiseryand njustice o findJustice erselfxiled nGod's own tribunal, iscelestial "palaisde justice."In short,fthe viewfrom he desert s what allows Aubigne oobservendrepresenthe Truth bout hepresent miseres"nd theircauses, heviewfrom eaven s what llowshimtoperceivendrepre-senttheplace,themeaning,nd theJusticeofthose ame "miseres"within he argerchemeofdivine ustice.In ts spatial rganization,hen, es Tragiquesmimic heDiscoursinsuch a way s to make 1562 ignifyrecisely heopposite fwhat thad signified orRonsard. nd nits representationf pace t author-izes its view ofhistory y usingRonsard's wn ntimations fa newIronAgetoshow hatRonsard as a prisoner otonly fhis timebutofhisplaceaswell.Hewas quite iterallynthewrong lace atthewrongtime, ndthereforeouldeither otknow rnot ellwhatAubigne asrevealedn thespaceofhis ownbook.Paradoxically,t s precisely ecause Ronsardwas rightnbothhisspatial epresentationf ime nd nhis ntimationsf new ronAgein 1562 thatAubigne ould transformonsard's lind potofhistoryinto n epiphanic llumination,ndprecisely ecauseRonsard's ath-olic factionwas so overwhelminglyictoriousn1577 ndsubsequentyears hatAubigne ould ransformheworst rotestantragediesntoa Protestantriumph. orby narrating decenteredoet'sownexileand defeat nterms fthediaspora fTruth, hurch, ndJustice,esTragiques reatedboth the textual paceand thespatial paralaxbywhich lonesixteenth-centuryrenchmenmight pprehend otonlythemeaning f1562but theplaceoftheir wnpresentnhistory.

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DUVAL Ronsard, Aubigné and Misères