French Phrase

[S M]

I am trying to get an accurate translation of the following phrase:

"love is absurd truth
and the milk of euphoria"

Right now, this is what I have:

"l'amour est la vérité absurde
et le lait d'euphorie"

I don't mind if the words "is" and "and" are altered or if the sentence structure is altered, I'm just trying to preserve the meaning of the sentiment.

I'm trying to determine this because I want to get it tattooed.

It would be great if some of you could engage me in a conversation about alternative phrases. I'm trying to capture the idea that love is absurd because each time it happens, it feels singularly important and incomprehensibly beautiful, tied inextricably to its subject, but yet so easily transferable when a relationship ends. The second line is supposed to capture how much love is a vehicle for rapture and the most dizzying kind of happiness, one that seems, in its quality, to be metaphysical, divine, prophetic, and validating

Thanks so much for your help!

[George Hunt]

I am not French but what about ivresse instead of euphorie ?

Would that not be a bit more down to earth? It would make more sense of lait  as a kind of intoxicant.

 A tattoo seems a bit counterintuitive here as a tattoo is pretty permanent whereas  your idea seems to imply easy (well not necessarily easy) transference.

So why not a transfer tattoo? 

[S M]

Well, I'm not trying to condone or support the idea of transference of love. I'm just saying that it makes it an "absurd" truth, one that has so much subjective certainty and not much objective evidence. Those are the truths that allow us to transcend the mundane, the ordinary, the normal.  Those are the truths that really infuse our human existence with personal meaning.

So, it's the absurdity that makes it something, in my opinion, that is really special and otherworldly.

Thanks for your input, but I'm trying to convey the exact opposite of "down to earth" because of the dizzying, intense rapture of love! :)

[George Hunt]

well if you change my description to "earthy"  then it would be less mundane.

 

I also like the juxtaposition of "lait" and "ivresse" because it puts me in mind of  narcotic substances (opium looks like milk when you cut the stem) - which is a strong theme in poetry I think! 

 

Have you thought about using "une vraie absurdite" ?

[lamys araktingi]

i would say - l'amour est une verité absurde-

and as someone suggested ivresse is a better choice

(ivresse much more descriptive in French esp when used for Love-

listen to Bizet's pecheurs de perles- or samson et dalilah

"Ivresse" everywhere

even Tino Rossi songs

[Benoît]

First idea :
I'm trying to capture the idea that love is absurd because each time it happens, it feels singularly important and incomprehensibly beautiful, tied inextricably to its subject, but yet so easily transferable when a relationship ends.
>rather than "absurde", I would say "volatile" or "versatile"

Second idea :
The second line is supposed to capture how much love is a vehicle for rapture and the most dizzying kind of happiness, one that seems, in its quality, to be metaphysical, divine, prophetic, and validating
>I would also use "Ivresse" or "Delectable ivresse" or "euphorique ivresse" and rather than "lait", try "nectar"

In order to combine both idea, I would say something like :

>L'amour, nectar d'une délectable ivresse, n'est qu'une bien versatile vérité.
or
>L'amour, bien que nectar d'une euphorique ivresse, n'en est pas moins volatile.
or any other combination...

[Charles D]

That is one very long tattoo, Benoit.

[Benoît]

Yes I guess (I've to confess I'm not a specialist in tatoo).
But I tried to provide a translation as close as possible of the original English sentence.

Personally I would have say something like :
"L'amour est Ivresse : délectable et éphémère."

but then the meaning is slightly different from the initial statement(I think).