Louis Lambert — Honoré de Balzac, trans. Katharine Prescott Wormeley

‘**Your ministrations are superfluous,’ said he; ‘our child is to be nameless on earth. You will not baptize with earthly waters one who has been bathed in fires from heaven. This child will always be a flower; you will not see it grow old; you will see it pass away. You have existence, it has life; you have external senses, it has not; it is wholly inward.’ The words were uttered in a supernatural voice, which impressed me even more than the brightness of his face, which shed a radiance. His whole appearance was a realization of the fantastic ideas we form of inspired men, as we read the prophecies in the Bible. Still, such effects are not rare in our mountains, where the nitre formed in the permanent snows produces singular effects on our persons.

p. 83

“T asked him the cause of his agitation.

“ *Swedenborg has appeared; I have just parted from him; I have breathed the air of heaven,’ said he.

‘**Under what form did he appear to you?’ I asked.

‘**Under his mortal aspect, dressed as he was the last time I saw him in London with Richard Shearsmith, near Coldbath Fields, in July, 1771. He had on his shot velveteen coat with steel buttons, a high waistcoat, a white cravat, and the same imposing wig, with heavy, powdered curls at the side, and the hair combed back from the forehead, showing that broad and luminous brow in harmony with his large, square face, so full of calm power. I recognized his nose with its open, ardent nostrils; the mouth that always smiled—an angel’s mouth, from which fell these words of promised happiness, ‘‘We meet again, soon!’’ And I felt the glory of heavenly love.’

‘‘The conviction stamped on the Baron’s face prohibited any discussion; [ listened in silence; his voice had an infectious fervor that warmed me to the core; his enthusiasm stirred my heart, as another man’s anger can thrill one’s nerves. I followed him, without speaking, home to his house, where I saw the nameless child lying mysteriously wrapped on her mother’s bosom. Seraphita heard me come in, and raised her head toward me; her eyes were not those of an ordinary infant; to express the impression they produced on me, I can only say they already saw and understood.

“The childhood of this predestined being was marked by some extraordinary circumstances of climate. For nine years our winters were milder and our summers longer than usual. This phenomenon gave rise to much discussion among the learned; but their explanations, which seemedp. 84 inadequate to the Doctors of the Academy, made the Baron smile when I repeated them to him.

‘‘Seraphita was never seen perfectly nude, as children are sometimes; she was never touched by the hand of man or woman; she lay spotless on her mother’s breast, and she never cried. Old David will confirm these facts if you question him about his mistress, for whom he feels such veneration as the king whose name he bears had for the Ark of God.