Work, even with a sorrowful heart

Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, from The Hague, 2 November 1882

Now in the realm of art the summit has been reached. Certainly we shall still see beautiful things in the years to come, but anything more sublime than we have seen already - no. And I for my part am afraid that perhaps in a few years there will be a kind of panic in this regard. Since Millet we have greatly deteriorated; the word decadence, now whispered or pronounced in covert terms, will then sound as an alarm bell. Many an one, for instance I myself, keeps quiet now because one is already labeled as an awkward customer, and to speak about it doesn't help. Speaking about it, that is to say, is not what one ought to do, one must work, even if it be with a sorrowful heart; those who will subsequently cry the hardest about decadence will be the most decadent themselves. I repeat - "By these fruits ye shall know them," by their work, nor will it be the most eloquent who will say the truest things, look at Millet himself, look at Herkomer; they are indeed no orators and they speak almost with regret.

Letter 241
Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.
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