Cirque de l'étoile filante

Enfants de la balle, sur vos frimousses mutines, peureuses ou hardies, la lumière caresse la forme et la magnifie. Il n'y a de laideur qu'en certains pédants critiques et justiciers, de métier négateurs. Mais si je suis assez fort, la beauté expressive, je dois savoir la souligner parfois en riant des conventions sordides de tant de nos faux Athéniens. Le rire est bon à entendre et à voir, car il libère de tant de misères véritables ou imaginaires : Qui ne sait plus rire Ou sourire N'a qu'à trépasser.

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Original etchings and woodcuts by Georges Rouault Circus children, the light falls gently on your rebellious little faces, timorous or brazen, and magnifies them. What is ugly is the judgemental and affected critic, whose trade is to deny. But if I am good enough, I must know how to reveal expressive beauty, sometimes while mocking the sordid conventions of so many of our would-be Athenians. Laughter is good to hear and to see, because it frees us from so much real or imaginary wretchedness: Anyone who no longer knows how to laugh, Or to smile, Should depart this life.