JACOB (Max). Autograph manuscript signed M. J., entitled "Purpose of Life". 2 large folio pages, creasing, minor restorations. Beautiful religious meditation, addressed to a friend who can "ask for explanations if necessary". The "purpose of life" is a recurring theme and title in Max Jacob's religious meditations, as is the sending of the text to a chosen correspondent. "I have long believed that man was useful to creation as a maker of the Spirit. What folly! (...) The importance of the sufferings of God incarnate in a human body to give us confidence and be a model of perfect humanity shows us the importance of our salvation. And the purpose of life is illuminated. The purpose of life is the salvation of our soul. (...) The purpose of my life is to abide in God and keep him within me. (...) We are on earth to avoid hell and gain heaven. we love our neighbor so that he gains heaven and we with him the rest does not count." At Saint-Benoit sur Loire, Max Jacob wrote one meditation a day. A number of authors wrote them in books published between 1944 and 1954, the most important being Abbé Morel's 1947 edition, published by Gallimard. Expert: Ségolène Beauchamp