文森特·凡·高最后的親筆信

導讀：文森特·凡·高（Vincent van Gogh）短暫的一生中，他只與弟弟提奧·凡·高（Theo van Gogh）保持著親密的關系。弟弟提奧是成功的藝術品商人，他為哥哥的一生提供最大的經濟資助和情感支持。在文森特·凡·高生前那段潦倒的日子里，提奧從不間斷的經濟資助，讓哥哥能將自己全力奉獻于繪畫。在哥哥凡·高37歲去世的數月之后，33歲的提奧因哀傷加上久病，也隨之過世。

My dear brother，

Thanks for your kind letter and for the 50 fr. note it contained.

There are many things I should like to write you about， but I feel it is pointless. I hope you have found these gentlemen favorably disposed toward you.

Your reassuring me as to the state of peace of your household was not worth the trouble， I think， having seen the other side of it for myself. And I quite agree with you that rearing a boy on a fourth floor is a hell of a job for you as well as Jo.

Since it is going well， which is the main thing， I should insist on things of less importance. My word， before we have a chance of talking business more calmly， there is probably a long way to go. That is all I want to say， that I noted it with a certain fright and I cannot hide it. But that is all there is to it. The other painters， whatever they think of it， instinctively keep themselves at a distance from discussions about actual trade.

我親愛的弟弟：

謝謝你的來信和一起寄來的50法郎。

有很多事情想對你說，但是又覺得沒有用處。我希望你面對的是那些體面的紳士。

我自己曾經歷過悲傷，因而你用家庭的幸福來使我安心，我想那并不必要。不過我頗為贊同你所說：在位于四樓上的公寓里撫養孩子，對你和喬來說是件可怕的事情。

最重要的事情正在往好的方向發展，為什么我還要對不太重要的事情浪費口舌呢？據我看，在我們有機會對情況心平氣和地進行討論之前，可能還有很長的路要走。這就是我想說的，我意識到它帶著一定的恐懼，我無法隱藏它，但這就是它的全部了。別的畫家無論他們怎么想，總是本能地與藝術品的實際經營保持距離。

Well， the truth is， we cannot speak other than by our paintings. But still， my dear brother， there is this that I have always told you， and I repeat it once more with all the earnestness that can be imparted by an effort of a mind diligently fixed on trying to do as well as one can—I tell you again that I shall always consider that you are something other than a simple dealer in Corots， that through my mediation you have your part in the actual production of some canvases， which even in the cataclysm retain their calm.

For this is what we have got to， and this is all or at least the chief thing that I can have to tell you at a moment of comparative crisis. At a moment when things are very strained between dealers in paintings by dead artists， and living artists.

Well， my work to me， I risk my life on it， and my reason has half foundered-all right-but you are not one of those dealers in men， as far as I know， and you can take sides， I find， truly acting with humanity， but what is the use？

是呀，事實在于，我們只能通過我們的作品說話。然而，我親愛的兄弟，有一件事我經常對你講起，我現在要再次對你說，這番話出自一個竭盡全力想要把事情盡可能做好的頭腦，出自只有這樣的頭腦才能體現的真誠——我要再一次對你說：我會永遠把你看作一個不同一般的科羅特畫商，以我的工作為中介，你對一些作品的誕生出了力，而這些作品經得起風暴的考驗。

這是我們不得不面對的事，這是我在一個相對危急的關頭不得不向你說起的全部或至少主要的東西。在這樣一個關頭，經營死去的藝術家和活著的藝術家作品的畫商之間的關系十分緊張。

哦，我自己的作品，我為了它們拿生命在冒險，我的理智為此已經垮掉了一半——這不要緊，要緊的是，你不在我所說的畫商之列。我想，你仍然可以堅持你的立場，帶著仁慈的心去行事，但那又怎么樣呢？

注：

信中提到的Jo. 指提奧的太太喬安娜 （Johanna van Gogh-Bonger，1862-1925）。

Word Study

dispose /d?'sp??z/ v. 處理，安排

They dispose of the citys waste in the sea.

instinctively /?n'st??kt?vl?/ adv. 本能地

repeat /r?'pi?t/ v. 復述；重復

Ill repeat that so you can commit it to memory.

diligently /'d?l?d??ntl?/ adv. 勤奮地； 用心

production /pr?'d?k?n/ n. 生產，制作

We needed to increase the volume of production.

strained /stre?nd/ adj. 緊張的； 不友善的