Speaking of Paris, I want to rephrasefamous phrase from the film “Forrest Gump”: “Paris is the largest box of chocolates, each one is amazing and unpredictable, because you never know what the filling will be inside. It can be viscous, sugary-sweet, or, conversely, with citrus bitterness - it does not matter. The main thing is not to stop, to go forward along the endless cobbled streets along small boutiques, old-fashioned bistros, flirty gardens, because you need to be in time before ... to see Paris and die! ”Who said this familiar phrase to everyone? This and not only talk further.
Who said "See Paris and die"?Before answering the question that concerns us, let us turn to history. And we will not have to go somewhere, but to a very distant past - to Ancient Rome. Yes, all roads lead to Rome, and all because the expression “To see Rome and die!” Arose precisely there. But one should not take everything literally: no one ever intended to sink into oblivion after visiting Rome. On the contrary, this is the highest appreciation of the Eternal City on seven hills, the recognition that its beauty and spirit cannot compare with anything in this mortal world.
Subsequently, the popular expression left nativecoast and went further - in Naples. And now on the streets of this amazing southern city, here and there you can hear: “Videre Napoli et Mori”. We will omit the literal translation for now, because there are two options for understanding. First, our beloved: “To see Naples and die!” The second, more faithful: “To see Naples and Mori!” - all with the same figurative meaning: “To see everything!” Why did this mess come about? The fact is that the word mori can be interpreted in two ways. In Latin, it means the name of the village of Mori, which is near Naples, and the verb "to die."
The story does not end there - toobright, expressive and surprisingly accurate: “To see ... and die!” Not more than two centuries ago, the Italians created their loud motto: “Vedi Napoli e poi muori” - which means: “To see Naples and die!” And now without any "but." In writing, for the first time, it is found in 1787 in the diary of Johann Goethe traveling in Europe. However, everything flows, everything changes, and the seaside town has lost its former glory. She is a windy friend, went in search of new heroes - to Paris ...
Well, here we are in the beautiful French capital, and therefore, on the verge of answering the question of who said “See Paris and die!”.
In the 30s of the last century in a city on the shoresSena lived and worked then still unknown young man named Ilya Ehrenburg. He was a simple emigrant from Kiev, a descendant of a Jewish family, but a real “Kreshchatik Parisian,” as Yevgeny Yevtushenko called him, because he was really in love with this amazing city. Even despite the fact that over time he decided to return to his homeland, to the Soviet Union, was an ardent supporter of the victory of socialism throughout the world and a tireless propagandist of the Soviet system, he continued to admire Paris and repeatedly came there. The proof of this is his book "My Paris", published in 1931.
We continue to talk about who said:“To see Paris and die!” It is in this book that this turn for the first time occurs, which later becomes common, especially among Soviet people. Probably, this is due not only to a certain magnetism, the unique beauty of this expression, but also to the “iron curtain” existing at that time, limiting the trips of Soviet citizens abroad. The forbidden fruit is known to be very sweet.
But back to the book of Ilya Ehrenburg - the one whothe first one said: “To see Paris and die!” There are a lot of books in the world devoted to the capital of France - the city of artists and poets, the trendsetter and fine cuisine. On the one hand, they believed him, they admired him, and on the other, they disdained by the poverty and mud of his poor quarters. But the main thing is quite different: everyone, both fans and detractors, was struck by its colossal size and the hectic pace of life. Nevertheless, it was said and written more than once that Paris never had any equal. How did the world of Ilya Ehrenburg's book “My Paris” conquer the world?
He wrote and took pictures about simple life.citizens, about how they are born, learn, fall in love, work, rest. In fact, their life is no different from millions and billions of the same lives, except that the action of the play called “The Way of Life” takes place against the background of the Seine, Montmartre, and winding Parisian streets. And all this is tirelessly removed by one person - the author of the work and those who said the phrase: “To see Paris and die!” As a result, we got one and a half thousand photo cards. The best entered the book - a real photo album. An interesting fact is that for the first time a survey was carried out with a hidden camera - a camera with a side viewfinder. This was the idea of Ilya Ehrenburg, who sought, first of all, to show the human side of the capital - its essence, because not the palaces and not the Eiffel Tower create a unique atmosphere, an aura of the city, but its inhabitants. Thus, Ilya Ehrenburg, a translator, poet, writer, publicist, photographer, and also someone who said “To see Paris and die!”, With his unique work, urged us not only to admire the French capital, but to die, to live and endlessly love and her unique beauty and the whole world.
