Corneille, perché sur les Racines de La Bruyère, Boileau de La Fontaine Molière.
A memnonic phrase attributed to
Victor Hugo as a device to remind himself of his favorite authors, some of the most important
figures in seventeenth century
French literature. Loosely translated, it reads,
The crow (Corneille), perched on the roots (Racine) of the heather (La Bruyère), drinks the water (Boileau) of the Molière fountain (La Fontaine).
In
translation, it looses much of the
rhyme, rhythm,
pun, and
meaning. Say it in
French, out loud. It's fun.
I came across this
phrase while reading a rather
obscure (in
America, that is) book called
L'Etrange Desti de Wangrin, by Francophone Sudanese
author Amadou Hampate Ba.
I've searched for this
phrase repeatedly on the
internet, but have failed to find
any mentions
whatsoever. It's really a
shame, as I'd hate to see such an
interesting and
witty turn of phrase disappear.
A distillation of
history and associations of
literature in one
damn cool sentence.