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Mystères #2
The Portal of the Mystery of Hope
The universal appeal of Charles Peguy (1873-1914) has made him one of France's best-loved poets. His influence has also caused a gentle but unmistakable shift in twentieth-century Catholic thought, leaving a legacy that continues in such writers as Bernanos, Marcel, Guardini, de Lubac, and Balthasar.
In The Portal of the Mystery of Hope Peguy offers a comprehensive theology ordered around the often-neglected second theological virtue, which is incarnated in his celebrated image of the "little girl Hope." As the first critical edition of Peguy's poetry to appear in English, this volume also contains a biographical chronology, a bibliography, and a host of notes that situate the poem in the context of Peguy's life.
In The Portal of the Mystery of Hope Peguy offers a comprehensive theology ordered around the often-neglected second theological virtue, which is incarnated in his celebrated image of the "little girl Hope." As the first critical edition of Peguy's poetry to appear in English, this volume also contains a biographical chronology, a bibliography, and a host of notes that situate the poem in the context of Peguy's life.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1911
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807 people want to read
About the author
Charles Péguy
343 books70 followersCharles Pierre Péguy (Orléans, 7 janvier 1873 ; Villeroy, 5 septembre 1914) est un écrivain, poète et essayiste français. Il est également connu sous les noms de plume de Pierre Deloire et Pierre Baudouin1.
Son œuvre, multiple, comprend des pièces de théâtre en vers libres, comme Le Porche du Mystère de la deuxième vertu (1912), et des recueils poétiques en vers réguliers, comme La Tapisserie de Notre-Dame (1913), d'inspiration mystique, et évoquant notamment Jeanne d'Arc, un personnage historique auquel il reste toute sa vie profondément attaché. C'est aussi un intellectuel engagé : après avoir été militant socialiste libertaire2, anticlérical puis dreyfusard au cours de ses études, il se rapproche à partir de 1908 du catholicisme et du conservatisme3 ; il reste connu pour des essais où il exprime ses préoccupations sociales et son rejet de la modernité (L'Argent, 1913).
Son œuvre, multiple, comprend des pièces de théâtre en vers libres, comme Le Porche du Mystère de la deuxième vertu (1912), et des recueils poétiques en vers réguliers, comme La Tapisserie de Notre-Dame (1913), d'inspiration mystique, et évoquant notamment Jeanne d'Arc, un personnage historique auquel il reste toute sa vie profondément attaché. C'est aussi un intellectuel engagé : après avoir été militant socialiste libertaire2, anticlérical puis dreyfusard au cours de ses études, il se rapproche à partir de 1908 du catholicisme et du conservatisme3 ; il reste connu pour des essais où il exprime ses préoccupations sociales et son rejet de la modernité (L'Argent, 1913).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
November 21, 2022
Le Porche est un livre hallucinant et Péguy est clairement une sorte de mystique, de dément chrétien.
Cela commence comme une pièce de théâtre, un mystère, par une énigmatique didascalie « Madame Gervaise rentre ». Et tout le livre est, semble-t-il, le long monologue de cette première, unique et inconnue narratrice. Mais, en même temps, dès la première ligne (le premier vers), le locuteur, c’est Dieu lui-même (!) — « Dieu dit », et c’est là que démarre ce monumental hymne poétique, mais, quelques pages plus loin, c’est un prêtre qui prend la parole à son tour et s’adresse à un enfant silencieux, et ainsi le poème se fait homélie et catéchisme. De bout en bout, Le Porche est une interminable antienne aux accents tour à tour incandescents et glaiseux, savants et populaires, épiques et prosaïques, universels et bornés, qui avance par le jeu continu de l’anaphore et du refrain, de la ritournelle conjonctive et de la répétition des mêmes formules, se dilatant et se contractant sans cesse et revenant, sans cesse différente, de loin en loin, au cours de cette longue incantation.
Et pourtant et malgré cela, point de monotonie. La scansion des vers libres entraine perpétuellement le lecteur d’une image à une autre. Les trois sœurs, puis le père dans les bois qui songe à ses enfants. Le père et la sainte vierge, la sainte vierge et les saints patrons, la sainte vierge et l’espérance. L’âme et le corps, la miséricorde et la justice, l’eau et la terre, le pur et l’impur, le travail et le sommeil, les hommes mortels et la parole éternelle, les péchés et les pénitences et les remissions charnelles. La parabole de la brebis égarée, de la drachme égarée, de l’enfant égaré (le fils prodigue), les trois paraboles et les trois vertus théologales. Enfin, l’image sublime de la nuit qui culmine et clôt cette longue litanie et qui moissonne toutes les images du jardin endormi et de la petite fille espérance en une seule et même image féminine, mère et mer, maternelle et océanique.
Cela commence comme une pièce de théâtre, un mystère, par une énigmatique didascalie « Madame Gervaise rentre ». Et tout le livre est, semble-t-il, le long monologue de cette première, unique et inconnue narratrice. Mais, en même temps, dès la première ligne (le premier vers), le locuteur, c’est Dieu lui-même (!) — « Dieu dit », et c’est là que démarre ce monumental hymne poétique, mais, quelques pages plus loin, c’est un prêtre qui prend la parole à son tour et s’adresse à un enfant silencieux, et ainsi le poème se fait homélie et catéchisme. De bout en bout, Le Porche est une interminable antienne aux accents tour à tour incandescents et glaiseux, savants et populaires, épiques et prosaïques, universels et bornés, qui avance par le jeu continu de l’anaphore et du refrain, de la ritournelle conjonctive et de la répétition des mêmes formules, se dilatant et se contractant sans cesse et revenant, sans cesse différente, de loin en loin, au cours de cette longue incantation.
Et pourtant et malgré cela, point de monotonie. La scansion des vers libres entraine perpétuellement le lecteur d’une image à une autre. Les trois sœurs, puis le père dans les bois qui songe à ses enfants. Le père et la sainte vierge, la sainte vierge et les saints patrons, la sainte vierge et l’espérance. L’âme et le corps, la miséricorde et la justice, l’eau et la terre, le pur et l’impur, le travail et le sommeil, les hommes mortels et la parole éternelle, les péchés et les pénitences et les remissions charnelles. La parabole de la brebis égarée, de la drachme égarée, de l’enfant égaré (le fils prodigue), les trois paraboles et les trois vertus théologales. Enfin, l’image sublime de la nuit qui culmine et clôt cette longue litanie et qui moissonne toutes les images du jardin endormi et de la petite fille espérance en une seule et même image féminine, mère et mer, maternelle et océanique.
December 17, 2017
Having never read Péguy before, I had no idea what to expect when I started The Portal of the Mystery Hope, but it grabbed me straightaway—and I’m not even a huge fan of poetry as a general rule.
The author called the Divine Virtue, ‘a portal of mystery’ in the title but he used many other metaphors for it in the book. Mostly Hope is a young child, a girl, lively, lovely, innocent and full of grace. She is contrasted with her sisters, Faith, and Charity, who are both adult women. Faith is the Faithful Wife, and Charity, the full-hearted Mother. Both are practical and obvious—the virtues everyone thinks about, attends to. Péguy’s point is that because Hope is so childlike, even childish, we don’t take it—her—seriously. He goes on to give one of the most beautiful tributes to children and the sheer joy of being a parent I can remember reading. And this is only one segment of this lovely poem.
There were so many times as I was reading I wanted to quote a section, either to my husband or for this review, but when I looked at how to frame an extract, I knew I couldn’t do it justice. It would be like trying to photograph a mountain vista. You are standing on the breathtaking height in awe of what you see, but when you show the pictures to someone else, you know they are flat and lifeless away from the actual scenery. It has to be the whole in the original.
Besides the tribute to children, there was also an interesting look at the Parable of the Prodigal Son, sections on night, sleep, gardening and the Lord’s Passion. And Péguy is a French patriot all the way. He loves his country with a passion he longs to share with his own children. Unfortunately, he was one of the first casualties of World War I. A talent lost far too early.
Thank you Dhanaraj for the lovely Christmas gift! ☺
The author called the Divine Virtue, ‘a portal of mystery’ in the title but he used many other metaphors for it in the book. Mostly Hope is a young child, a girl, lively, lovely, innocent and full of grace. She is contrasted with her sisters, Faith, and Charity, who are both adult women. Faith is the Faithful Wife, and Charity, the full-hearted Mother. Both are practical and obvious—the virtues everyone thinks about, attends to. Péguy’s point is that because Hope is so childlike, even childish, we don’t take it—her—seriously. He goes on to give one of the most beautiful tributes to children and the sheer joy of being a parent I can remember reading. And this is only one segment of this lovely poem.
There were so many times as I was reading I wanted to quote a section, either to my husband or for this review, but when I looked at how to frame an extract, I knew I couldn’t do it justice. It would be like trying to photograph a mountain vista. You are standing on the breathtaking height in awe of what you see, but when you show the pictures to someone else, you know they are flat and lifeless away from the actual scenery. It has to be the whole in the original.
Besides the tribute to children, there was also an interesting look at the Parable of the Prodigal Son, sections on night, sleep, gardening and the Lord’s Passion. And Péguy is a French patriot all the way. He loves his country with a passion he longs to share with his own children. Unfortunately, he was one of the first casualties of World War I. A talent lost far too early.
Thank you Dhanaraj for the lovely Christmas gift! ☺
March 19, 2016
Poetry has been my lifelong friend. This poem meant so much to me during a difficult time with the baby, not so much because of the beauty of the language, but because of the beauty of the insights.
February 21, 2008
A beautiful, stunning reflection on the often-neglected virtue of Hope ~ that "little girl Hope" ~ in a long free-verse poem. I want to read it again as soon as I can get a-hold of a copy.
November 25, 2023
“For the thirty and for the three years every other day looked the same. / But all these days count. Because on earth we erase our own tracks twenty times / And we tread twenty paths on top of each other. / But in heaven, they don’t fall on top of each other. They are placed end-to-end. And they make a bridge. / That brings us to the other side.”
I realize that to take one quote from this book is impossible. It is one whole poem, so the whole must be read. Thank you to Dr. Riches for having us read this. It makes life more beautiful.
I realize that to take one quote from this book is impossible. It is one whole poem, so the whole must be read. Thank you to Dr. Riches for having us read this. It makes life more beautiful.
September 24, 2020
So. This is a piece of poetry - not a normal genre for me. The translation is easy to understand. However, either Peguy is repetitive or French is a very repetitive language.
Every time I was ready to put the book down for being repetitive, a beautiful passage about the virtue of hope kept me reading on.
Also, Peguy says people who sleep a lot are virtuous because they hope in God. Yay for naps.
Every time I was ready to put the book down for being repetitive, a beautiful passage about the virtue of hope kept me reading on.
Also, Peguy says people who sleep a lot are virtuous because they hope in God. Yay for naps.
April 24, 2019
Reading this was an out of body experience. Peguy paints how paradoxically Christ turns everything in this world on its head, including, ultimately, His need for us to reveal God's love to the world. Words do not do this work of art any justice. Just read it. You will be overwhelmed by its beauty.
February 5, 2015
One of the most poignant, beautiful and HUMAN books I have ever read in my life. I have a LONG review here with long passages from the book:
http://corjesusacratissimum.org/2009/...
Beauty, such incredible beauty ...
http://corjesusacratissimum.org/2009/...
Beauty, such incredible beauty ...
June 24, 2024
'There was a grand procession. It was the procession for Corpus Christi. They carried the Holy Sacrament. And at the head, the three Theological Virtues
Were marching. Look, says God, how the little one marches.
Just take a look.
The others, the two others, her older sisters, march like grown-ups. They know who they are. They're well dressed. They know that they're in a procession.
Especially in a procession for Corpus Christi.
Where the Holy Sacrament is displayed.
They know what a procession is.
And that they're in the procession, at the head of the procession.
They move along with the procession. They hold themselves well. They march ahead like grown-ups.
Like serious grown-ups. Who always look a little tired.
But she's never tired. Take a look at her.
Look at how she marches.
She's twenty steps ahead of them, like a little puppy, she comes back, she leaves again, she makes the trip twenty times.
She has fun with the garlands in the procession.
She plays with the flowers and leaves
As if they weren't sacred garlands.
She plays by jumping on top of the foliage
The freshly cut, freshly gathered foliage that's strewn about.
She doesn't listen to anything. She doesn't stay in place during the stations.
She'd rather keep marching. Keep moving ahead.
Keep jumping. Keep dancing. She's so happy.'
'Look at the little one, says God, how she marches.
She would skip rope in the procession.
She marches, she moves ahead by skipping a rope, for a bet.
She's so happy
(Alone among them all)
And she's so sure that she'll never get tired.
Children walk exactly like little puppies.
(Moreover, they play like puppies too)
When a puppy goes for a walk with his masters
He comes and he goes. He comes back, he leaves again. He goes ahead, he returns.
He makes the trip twenty times.
Covers twenty times the distance. It's because as a matter of fact he's not going somewhere.
His masters are the ones who are going somewhere.
He's not going anywhere at all.
What he's interested in is precisely making the trip.
Likewise with children. When you make a trip with your children
When you run an errand
Or when you go to Mass or to Vespers with your children
Or say to the rosary
Or between Mass and Vespers when you take a walk with your children
They trot along in front of you like little puppies. They run ahead, they lag behind. They come and they go. They play around. They jump.
They make the trip twenty times.
It's because as a matter of fact they're not going somewhere.
They're not interested in going somewhere.
They're not going anywhere at all.
The grown-ups are the ones who are going somewhere.
To Mass, to Vespers, to say the rosary.
To the river, to the forest.
To the fields, to the woods, to work.
Who do their best, who strain themselves in order to get somewhere
Or even to go somewhere to go for a walk.
But the children are only interested in making the trip.
To come and to go and to jump. To wear out the road with their legs.
Never to have enough of it. And to feel their legs growing.
They drink up the road. They thirst for the road. They never have enough of it.
They're stronger than the road. They're stronger than fatigue.
They never have enough of it (just like hope). They run faster than the road.
They don't go, they don't run in order to get there. They get there in order to run. They get there in order to go. Just like hope. They don't spare their steps. The idea doesn't even occur to them
To spare anything at all.'
Were marching. Look, says God, how the little one marches.
Just take a look.
The others, the two others, her older sisters, march like grown-ups. They know who they are. They're well dressed. They know that they're in a procession.
Especially in a procession for Corpus Christi.
Where the Holy Sacrament is displayed.
They know what a procession is.
And that they're in the procession, at the head of the procession.
They move along with the procession. They hold themselves well. They march ahead like grown-ups.
Like serious grown-ups. Who always look a little tired.
But she's never tired. Take a look at her.
Look at how she marches.
She's twenty steps ahead of them, like a little puppy, she comes back, she leaves again, she makes the trip twenty times.
She has fun with the garlands in the procession.
She plays with the flowers and leaves
As if they weren't sacred garlands.
She plays by jumping on top of the foliage
The freshly cut, freshly gathered foliage that's strewn about.
She doesn't listen to anything. She doesn't stay in place during the stations.
She'd rather keep marching. Keep moving ahead.
Keep jumping. Keep dancing. She's so happy.'
'Look at the little one, says God, how she marches.
She would skip rope in the procession.
She marches, she moves ahead by skipping a rope, for a bet.
She's so happy
(Alone among them all)
And she's so sure that she'll never get tired.
Children walk exactly like little puppies.
(Moreover, they play like puppies too)
When a puppy goes for a walk with his masters
He comes and he goes. He comes back, he leaves again. He goes ahead, he returns.
He makes the trip twenty times.
Covers twenty times the distance. It's because as a matter of fact he's not going somewhere.
His masters are the ones who are going somewhere.
He's not going anywhere at all.
What he's interested in is precisely making the trip.
Likewise with children. When you make a trip with your children
When you run an errand
Or when you go to Mass or to Vespers with your children
Or say to the rosary
Or between Mass and Vespers when you take a walk with your children
They trot along in front of you like little puppies. They run ahead, they lag behind. They come and they go. They play around. They jump.
They make the trip twenty times.
It's because as a matter of fact they're not going somewhere.
They're not interested in going somewhere.
They're not going anywhere at all.
The grown-ups are the ones who are going somewhere.
To Mass, to Vespers, to say the rosary.
To the river, to the forest.
To the fields, to the woods, to work.
Who do their best, who strain themselves in order to get somewhere
Or even to go somewhere to go for a walk.
But the children are only interested in making the trip.
To come and to go and to jump. To wear out the road with their legs.
Never to have enough of it. And to feel their legs growing.
They drink up the road. They thirst for the road. They never have enough of it.
They're stronger than the road. They're stronger than fatigue.
They never have enough of it (just like hope). They run faster than the road.
They don't go, they don't run in order to get there. They get there in order to run. They get there in order to go. Just like hope. They don't spare their steps. The idea doesn't even occur to them
To spare anything at all.'
June 8, 2022
A thing of beauty
February 23, 2025
Beautiful
August 21, 2025
I’ve been revisiting passages sporadically, and I think that’s a better approach than a speed read. Sometimes I think the repetition undermines the power. Often a passage would resonate with simple truth, and then the stream of consciousness would extend and reiterate the passage to such a degree that I felt I no longer understood.
July 9, 2023
This is my new favorite poem!! Péguy writes about simple things of life and how they resemble the theological virtues and it is so beautiful.
May 10, 2022
Amazing! I usually struggle with poetry but I felt like I could really follow this. It had some beautiful insights to the virtue of Hope.
August 14, 2019
Half way through, but I'm done.
Very much a product of its time.
Very much a product of its time.
April 7, 2020
Beautiful.
February 18, 2023
“What surprises me, says God, is hope.
And I can’t get over it.
This little hope who seems like nothing at all.
This little girl hope.
Immortal.”
And I can’t get over it.
This little hope who seems like nothing at all.
This little girl hope.
Immortal.”
April 23, 2025
everyone should read this!
November 20, 2022
Often hearing of Charles Peguy but not having a chance to read him until my 33rd year, I'm now fascinated by his literary style, personal life, and theology (which all seem to be deeply interrelated) as well as his impact on 20th century philosophy of religion and poetry. This extended, free-verse poem, "The Portal of the Mystery of Hope," reads like a work which emerged from a 'concentrated stream of consciousness.' Peguy is very focused in his purpose, but every line in this seems to be effusive - gushing forth in ink almost faster than his hand could write them down. This is, if nothing else, a remarkably unique creation with its own rhythm, its own world - that only Peguy could have accomplished. Peguy's repetitiveness and use of refrains (e.g. "A man had two sons"), as well as his domestic metaphors and free use of parentheses, make for an intensely pointed and profoundly personal read. Peguy is not just musing, and neither is he using poetry as a device to translate theological doctrines. The poem is the only suitable way to convey the "little girl" who stands between Faith and Charity: Hope. For Hope is a theological virtue, indeed, she's one whom theologians have written treatises about and have sought to define in Greek dictionaries. But she's also the possession of every little child in the world. Every child embodies her in forgetting the disappointments and pains of the past and ever stretching toward the future. Hope is not an idea, merely, but a living, vibrant, embodied thing. And just as Hope herself is always playing and always running ahead, this poem strikes me as doing the same. It's going forward, returning, hopping up and down, looking ahead, sprinting to a new place. It's utterly original, poignant, and sweet, and I think people will be reading Peguy until we finally reach Hope herself in the New Heavens and New Earth.
December 24, 2017
Emphasizes the parable of the prodigal son: The son who left and went astray brings more joy in heaven because he has given reason to inspire hope in his return. Similarly, people introduce hope to God because God must hope that they will repent.
November 6, 2019
Een boek over hoop dat ik moet herlezen om het daadwerkelijk goed tot me door te laten dringen, maar dat is niet erg, want het is werkelijk waar prachtig. Ik kan me eigenlijk geen ander boek voorstellen waarbij ik emotioneel werd van poëzie, maar dat is hier wel gelukt.
December 4, 2021
"Tout ce que l'on fait on le fait pour les enfants.
Et ce sont les enfants qui font tout faire.
Tout ce que l'on fait.
Comme si ils nous prenaient la main.
Ainsi tout ce que l'on fait, tout ce que tout le monde
fait on le fait pour la petite espérance."
Et ce sont les enfants qui font tout faire.
Tout ce que l'on fait.
Comme si ils nous prenaient la main.
Ainsi tout ce que l'on fait, tout ce que tout le monde
fait on le fait pour la petite espérance."
November 27, 2022
Al estilo de Peguy, una gran obra literaria creada con la sencillez de un niño. Las descripciones de lo cotidiano y las realidades cotidianas y familiares para referirse a las realidades eternas, específicamente a las virtudes teologales, hacen de esta obra una pieza maestra de la poesía cristiana.
May 26, 2025
I’m not much of a poetry person but I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. There are some lovely verses here and lots of food for thought. Some of the repetition got to me a little but much enjoyed his wry sense of humor. Overall I’m glad I read it.
November 25, 2025
Le style est très répétitif mais très moderne, poétique avec simplicité. Malheureusement le propos est d'une religiosité surannée à laquelle je demeure hermétique. Le christianisme sentimental de Péguy est touchant à maints égards et je pense que beaucoup de chrétiens pourraient l'apprécier.
December 29, 2021
My entire year is dedicated to this book- must must read!!!!!
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June 10, 2022Jesuitical Fr Josh Whitfield recommendation
January 16, 2024
Precioso libro de poesía sobre la búsqueda del sentido de la vida.
February 10, 2024
3 1/2 stars
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews