Relevant paintings: "Pilgrims at Emmaus," Rembrandt van Rijn 1648 [Enlarge]
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Dear Theo,
Enclosed is a short note for A. and L.; please add a word
and send them in time for Mother's birthday. (I must tell you
that I am sending them to you because I'm afraid of having no
stamps by that time, except for a letter home. If you should
write later, these can also wait.)
Uncle Jan left for Helvoirt on Saturday and intends to stay
away until September 10. It is very quiet here in the house
now, but still the days go by rapidly, as I have lessons daily
and must prepare for them. I wish the days were longer so I
could accomplish more, for it is not always easy work, and even
continuous plodding gives but meager satisfaction. Well, I am
convinced that what is difficult is right, even though one sees
no results.
I am also copying the whole of the Imitation of Christ from a
French edition which I borrowed from Uncle Cor; the book is
sublime, and he who wrote it must have been a man after God's
own heart. A few days ago such an irresistible longing for that
book came over me - perhaps because I so often look at the
lithograph after Ruyperez - that I asked Uncle Cor to lend it
to me; now I am copying it in the evening: it means much work,
but I have finished most of it, and I know no better way to
study it. I also bought Bossuet's Oraisons Funebres once more,
for 40 cents. I feel it is necessary to work as hard as I can.
I often think of that phrase, “The days are full of
evil”; one must arm oneself and try to be filled with as
much goodness as possible in order to be prepared and be able
to resist. As you know, it is no small undertaking, and we do
not know the result; but at all events I will try to fight the
good fight.
Thomas a Kempis' book is peculiar; in it are words so profound
and serious that one cannot read them without emotion, almost
fear - at least if one reads with a sincere desire for light
and truth - the language has an eloquence which wins the heart
because it comes from the heart. You have a copy, haven't
you?
And yet “The Men of
Emmaus” by Rembrandt is even more beautiful, and it might
have been the same. Now it is almost so, but not quite. Father
possesses what they lack, “It is good to be a Christian,
to try to be one, to be one entirely, for that is Eternal
Life.” Now I will even go further and say, What they
lack, their homes and families also lack. Perhaps you will
think or speak of the man who saw the mote in his brother's eye
and did not see the beam in his own, and then I will answer,
That may be so, but this at least is true, “It is good to
be a Christian, to try to be one, to be one
entirely.”
A few days ago I spent an evening in the study of the Reverend
Mr. Meyes, not the old clergyman, but the one whose appearance
in church struck me so. It was a pleasant evening; he asked me
a few questions about London which I could answer well, and he
told me of his work and the blessing which apparently had
fallen to his share. In the room hung a very good charcoal
drawing representing a religious meeting he used to hold in his
home on winter evenings; it was very well done - Israëls
would have liked it. Those who attended were workmen and their
wives. You also find these kinds of subjects in Doré's
book on London.
I also spent an evening at Stricker's, and last Sunday I heard
Uncle preach on I Corinthians 3 : 14, “If any man's work
abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a
reward.” It often seems to me that I already feel a
blessing and a change in my life.
How I should love to show you several things here in the
Jewish quarter, and also in other places. I often think of De
Groux: there are interiors with woodchoppers, carpenters,
grocery stores, forges, chemists, etc., etc., which would have
delighted him. This morning I saw a big dark wine cellar and
warehouse, with the doors standing open; for a moment I had an
awful vision in my mind's eye - you know what I mean - men with
lights were running back and forth in the dark vault. It is
true you can see this daily, but there are moments when the
common everyday things make an extraordinary impression and
have a deep significance and a different aspect. De Groux knew
so well how to put it in his pictures and especially in his
lithographs.
Your letter arrived just as I was writing this. Many thanks. I
was greatly surprised to read that Gladwell was at The Hague;
give him my best love. Oh! how I should like to see him here; I
immediately sent him a postcard asking him to try his very best
to come to Amsterdam - do try to persuade him also. You know
yourself how interesting it is for a foreigner to see the city,
the yard and this quarter, too - and how I should like to show
him around as much as I can. Enclosed is a
little note for him; I don't think he should leave Holland
without seeing the Trippenhuis and Van der Hoop's; try your
best to make him come, at least if it is possible and he would
like to.
I must sit up as long as I can keep my eyes open tonight, so I
will close this, but if I have any time left, I will fill up
the page later.
I hope your acquaintance with Gladwell will deepen and leave
some good behind; it is a long time since I saw him last.
Á Dieu, a handshake in thought, have a good time, greet
Gladwell for me, and believe me always,
Your loving brother,
Vincent
At this time, Vincent was 24 year oldSource: Vincent van Gogh. Letter to Theo van Gogh. Written 4 September 1877 in Amsterdam. Translated by Mrs. Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, edited by Robert Harrison, number 108. URL: https://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/6/108.htm.
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