No stauncher friend than duty

Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, from The Hague, 3 June 1883

Look, man has no stauncher friend than his duty, and though at times it may be a rough and stern taskmaster, as long as one works in its service, one will not easily become a bankrupt.

. . . There are certain cases, like yours, in which the important thing is to save a life - look, in such cases Father himself would not know what to do, or rather, I actually believe that in his heart too "I vote for life" would carry the day. Ah! you know, once in a while when I am in doubt, I ask myself, Would you be a judge passing a death sentence? And every time I find only one answer: No, once and for all, I am for abolishing death sentences, legal or otherwise, ostracism and other capital punishments. We are called on to preserve life, to respect life; that is our duty, and we can always justify it - even if the world puts us in the wrong and things do not turn out to our advantage.

Letter 290
Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.
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