Reason and duty
Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, from The Hague, 30 April 1883
Well, the time has not yet come when reason, not only in the sense of raison, but also of la conscience, is respected by everyone; to contribute towards bringing about that time is a duty, and in judging characters one of the first things that humanity demands is to take into consideration the circumstances of contemporary society.
How beautiful Zola is - it is especially L'Assommoir which I often think of. Apropos, how far did you get in reading Balzac? I have quite finished Les Miserables. I know very well that Victor Hugo analyzes in a different way than do Balzac and Zola, but he probes to the bottom of things just as well.
Letter 281
Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.
Back to The Way of Vincent: Making art no matter what
Well, the time has not yet come when reason, not only in the sense of raison, but also of la conscience, is respected by everyone; to contribute towards bringing about that time is a duty, and in judging characters one of the first things that humanity demands is to take into consideration the circumstances of contemporary society.
How beautiful Zola is - it is especially L'Assommoir which I often think of. Apropos, how far did you get in reading Balzac? I have quite finished Les Miserables. I know very well that Victor Hugo analyzes in a different way than do Balzac and Zola, but he probes to the bottom of things just as well.
Letter 281
Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.
Back to The Way of Vincent: Making art no matter what
Labels: humanity, spirituality
1 Comments:
Since you are interested in Vincent’s life and work, you might want to look at the Notes section on www.theeyesofvangogh.com. I am the writer and director of the new independent film on his life.
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