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Dear Sir, | Dear Sir, | ||
Please do not think I am writing to you for myself, and after the failure of my visit the other day<ref name="n2" />, I insist. No, I am simply a messenger today. Reynaldo Hann, who is currently in Albi but departing for the front line,<ref name="n3" /> telegraphed me pleading to deliver you a message and ask, on his behalf, to recommend him to the medical officer Vigne, captain of the 56th Infantry Regiment<ref name="n4" />. Reynaldo knows of him but may have wanted to ask him for | Please do not think I am writing to you for myself, and after the failure of my visit the other day<ref name="n2" />, I insist. No, I am simply a messenger today. Reynaldo Hann, who is currently in Albi but departing for the front line,<ref name="n3" /> telegraphed me pleading to deliver you a message and ask, on his behalf, to recommend him to the medical officer Vigne, captain of the 56th Infantry Regiment<ref name="n4" />. Reynaldo knows of him but may have wanted to ask him for various services, believing your valued recommendation would have a beneficial influence. When I received his telegramme I hesitated for a moment. I was so afraid at the sight of the envelope that you would assume I was returning in vain to the task of writing to Reynaldo that I could not pass on his message. I thought that my affection towards him would surpass the fear of this misunderstanding, which the reading of my letter would immediately dispel. And I know you are also fond of him. | ||
Dear Sir, although this sort of compliment is not pleasant between men, a writer must forget that he has a sex and make himself the voice of others. I would have liked to say the other day, that of all the works of art I saw at your house, the one that I admired the most was you! As you showed me Sargent’s<ref name="n5" /> | Dear Sir, although this sort of compliment is not pleasant between men, a writer must forget that he has a sex and make himself the voice of others. I would have liked to say the other day, that of all the works of art I saw at your house, the one that I admired the most was you! As you showed me Sargent’s marvelous portrait<ref name="n5" /> and apologised for the lack of resemblance to the model, I didn't dare tell you, due to the same uneasy feeling which I mentioned earlier, that you are, in this instant, better. I may judge, as I have known you since I was a child, and as you gave me the great pleasure of being a friend of Leconte de Lisle<ref name="n6" />. To speak purely of aesthetics, I think the silvery flecks of your beard, (thanks to the softness that this tone adds to your face) complements you in a way more flattering than the red beard of Sargent. I was comparing the two portraits and preferred the latter. I haven’t heard about my exemption from service, I registered at the town hall, in Paris, without declaring my officer status. So I will be summoned to the Review Board as a private, though it’s still uncertain whether I will be called upon at all.<ref name="n7" />. | ||
I hope you will accept, dear sir, my highest regards. | I hope you will accept, dear sir, my highest regards. | ||
Revision as of 21:39, 30 September 2021
Marcel Proust to Samuel Pozzi [5 or 6 November 1914]
(Click on the link above to see this letter and its notes in the Corr-Proust digital edition, including all relevant hyperlinks.)
102 boulevard Haussmann[1]
Dear Sir,
Please do not think I am writing to you for myself, and after the failure of my visit the other day[2], I insist. No, I am simply a messenger today. Reynaldo Hann, who is currently in Albi but departing for the front line,[3] telegraphed me pleading to deliver you a message and ask, on his behalf, to recommend him to the medical officer Vigne, captain of the 56th Infantry Regiment[4]. Reynaldo knows of him but may have wanted to ask him for various services, believing your valued recommendation would have a beneficial influence. When I received his telegramme I hesitated for a moment. I was so afraid at the sight of the envelope that you would assume I was returning in vain to the task of writing to Reynaldo that I could not pass on his message. I thought that my affection towards him would surpass the fear of this misunderstanding, which the reading of my letter would immediately dispel. And I know you are also fond of him.
Dear Sir, although this sort of compliment is not pleasant between men, a writer must forget that he has a sex and make himself the voice of others. I would have liked to say the other day, that of all the works of art I saw at your house, the one that I admired the most was you! As you showed me Sargent’s marvelous portrait[5] and apologised for the lack of resemblance to the model, I didn't dare tell you, due to the same uneasy feeling which I mentioned earlier, that you are, in this instant, better. I may judge, as I have known you since I was a child, and as you gave me the great pleasure of being a friend of Leconte de Lisle[6]. To speak purely of aesthetics, I think the silvery flecks of your beard, (thanks to the softness that this tone adds to your face) complements you in a way more flattering than the red beard of Sargent. I was comparing the two portraits and preferred the latter. I haven’t heard about my exemption from service, I registered at the town hall, in Paris, without declaring my officer status. So I will be summoned to the Review Board as a private, though it’s still uncertain whether I will be called upon at all.[7].
I hope you will accept, dear sir, my highest regards.
Marcel Proust