Ce chant, différent de celui des autres, semblable à tous les siens, où Vinteuil l’avait-il appris, entendu? Chaque artiste semble ainsi comme le citoyen d’une patrie inconnue, oubliée de lui-même, différente de celle d’où viendra, appareillant pour la terre, un autre grand artiste. Tout au plus, de cette patrie Vinteuil, dans ses dernières œuvres, semblait s’être rapproché. [Wikisource: Proust,La Prisonnière, chapter 2, pp 68.)
Scott-Moncrieff’s translation:
This song, different from those of other singers, similar to all his own, where had Vinteuil learned, where had he heard it? Each artist seems thus to be the native of an unknown country, which he himself has forgotten, different from that which will emerge, making for the earth, another great artist. When all is said, Vinteuil, in his latest works, seemed to have drawn nearer to that unknown country.
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