The world goes no further than its feet will take it
Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, from The Hague, 14 May 1882
A great deal of what I read in your letter I certainly appreciate very much, for instance, ‘One must be narrow-minded or hypocritical to set one class without question above another.’
The world, however, does not reason like that and never sees or respects man's ‘humanity’ but only the greater or lesser value of the money or goods he carries with him so long as he is on this side of the grave. The world takes no account at all of what happens beyond the grave. That is why the world goes no further than its feet will take it.
For my part, however, I feel sympathy or antipathy for men just as men, and their circumstances leave me relatively indifferent.
Letter 198
Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.
Back to The Way of Vincent: Making art no matter what
A great deal of what I read in your letter I certainly appreciate very much, for instance, ‘One must be narrow-minded or hypocritical to set one class without question above another.’
The world, however, does not reason like that and never sees or respects man's ‘humanity’ but only the greater or lesser value of the money or goods he carries with him so long as he is on this side of the grave. The world takes no account at all of what happens beyond the grave. That is why the world goes no further than its feet will take it.
For my part, however, I feel sympathy or antipathy for men just as men, and their circumstances leave me relatively indifferent.
Letter 198
Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.
Back to The Way of Vincent: Making art no matter what
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