November 20, 2005
Dream # 45698
I am conducting a seminar -- it looks like there is only one student in the class -- probably of the feminine sex – though that cannot be clearly established in the dream – it’s very dark in the classroom -- I'm doing a line by line analysis of the great poem by Paul Valéry Le cimetière marin -- and I come to this line -- this is the important part of the dream -- the rest became very vague in the dream – je hume ici ma future fumée -- and I explain to the student that the verb humer in french means smelling -- or rather inhaling -- but the student argues that it simply means metaphorically the poet is contemplating his death -- I argue back that the poet is simply saying that he is inhaling his future smoke – the student laughs –
I get pissed and tell the student that if that’s the only meaning she can get from that line then toutes les grandes pensées se perdent dans la bouche –
I was not quoting Valéry when I said that -- it was me who said that in my dream – I said it in French because the seminar was in French. I forgot to mention that --
After having said that, I closed the book before me and left the room -- that was the end of the seminar -- but not the end of the dream – outside the door of the classroom I stopped and pondered – if all great thoughts are lost in the mouth -- how then can we preserve these great thoughts --
I woke up before I could hear the answer --
I get pissed and tell the student that if that’s the only meaning she can get from that line then toutes les grandes pensées se perdent dans la bouche –
I was not quoting Valéry when I said that -- it was me who said that in my dream – I said it in French because the seminar was in French. I forgot to mention that --
After having said that, I closed the book before me and left the room -- that was the end of the seminar -- but not the end of the dream – outside the door of the classroom I stopped and pondered – if all great thoughts are lost in the mouth -- how then can we preserve these great thoughts --
I woke up before I could hear the answer --
