Books with author Maurice Maeterlinck

This essay on Wisdom and Destiny was to have been a thing of some twenty pages, the work of a fortnight; but the idea took root, others flocked to it, and the volume has occupied M. Maeterlinck continuously for more than two years. It has much essential kinship with the "Treasure of the Humble," though it differs therefrom in treatment; for whereas the earlier work might perhaps be described as the eager speculation of a poet athirst for beauty, we have here rather the endeavour of an earnest thinker to discover the abode of truth. And if the result of his thought be that truth and happiness are one, this was by no means the object wherewith he set forth.

"If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live."Maurice Maeterlinck received the 1911 Nobel Prize for Literature, for this excellent book about the life of bees. Far from being an entomologist's study paper, this magnificent poetic work puts the nature of this very special insect center stage.The Life of the Bee constitutes a real philosophical voyage of discovery about the plant world and more particularly, these social insects. This original text is surprising by its scientific precision and accuracy. Maeterlinck's meticulous observations lead us to a veritable masterpiece of descriptions and fundamental questions, bringing into question the observer and the observed.Indeed, the analogies that he uses between the animal kingdom and that of men, make us humble and inquiring, moved and pensive. This portrayal of the hive and the bees becomes at the same time poetic, philosophical and political.Moving between wonder and knowledge, Maeterlinck asks us to preserve the links that unite us with nature. Now that an ecological disaster is threatening to destroy this fragile harmony, this book is well worth reading.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1905 edition. Excerpt: ... KING. I don't want to see it there! I don't want to see it there! Take it away! [The tapestry is pulled aside, and another appears, depicting "The Last Judgment."] KING. This has been done purposely! HJALMAR. Pray you, father? KING. Oh, avow it. You have done it purposely, and I know right well what you mean. A MAID OF HONOR. What says the King? ANNE. Do not mind him; he has been terrified by this awful night! HJALMAR. Father! my poor father! what is it ails you? A MAID OF HONOR. Sire, will you have a glass of water? KING. Yes, yes. --Oh! no! no ! -- Indeed, all I do, all I do . . , HJALMAR. My father! Sire . . . A MAID OF HONOR. The King is distracted. HJALMAR. My father! . . . ANNE. Sire, your son speaks to you. HJALMAR. Father, why do you keep turning your head? KING. Wait a little! Wait a little! HJALMAR. But why do you turn your head? KING. I felt something on my neck . . ANNE. Come, come, do not be afraid of everything. HJALMAR. There is no one behind you. ANNE. Say no more . . . say no more. Let us go into the chapel. Do you hear the nuns? [Muffled distant chanting. Queen Anne goes to the chapel door. The King follows her and then returns to his seat.] KING. No; no! Do not open the doors yet! ANNE. Are you afraid to enter? -- Why, there is no more danger there than here. Why should the lightning strike the chapel rather than elsewhere? Let us go in. KING. Let us wait a little longer. Let us stay here together. -- Do you think God forgives everything? I have always loved you so far. -- I have never done you harm -- so far -- so far, have I? ANNE. Come, come, no one questions that. -- It seems the storm has caused great damage. ANGUS. They say the swans have flown away. HJALMAR. There is one that is dead. KING. [Startled.] Well,...

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Excerpt from The Plays of Maurice Maeterlinck: Princess Maleine the Intruder the Blind the Seven PrincessOld Hjalmar? Listen: I dare not say all I know but one of my uncles is Chamberlain to Hjalmar. Well, then, if I had a daughter, I would not give her to Prince Hjalmar.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard, Count Maeterlinck (1862-1949) was a Belgian poet, playwright, and essayist writing in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life. He had written poems and short novels during his studies. In 1889, he became famous overnight after his first play, La Princesse Maleine, had received enthusiastic praise from Octave Mirbeau, the literary critic of Le Figaro (1890). In the following years, he wrote a series of symbolist plays characterized by fatalism and mysticism, most importantly The Intruder (1890), The Blind (1890) and Pélléas and Mélisande (1892). With the play Aglavaine et Sélysette he began to create characters, especially female characters, more in control of their destinies. After that he published his Douze Chansons (1896), Treasure of the Humble (1896), The Life of the Bee (1901), and Ariadne and Bluebeard (1902). In 1903, Maeterlinck received the Triennial Prize for Dramatic Literature from the Belgian government. His other works include Wisdom and Destiny (1898), and The Wrack of the Storm (1916).