89 - SAINTE-BEUVE (Charles-Augustin). Signed autograph letter to Félicité de Lamennais. Paris, January 12, 1833. 3 pp., in-8, address on the back.

SAINTE-BEUVE (Charles-Augustin). Signed autograph letter to Félicité de Lamennais. Paris, January 12, 1833. 3 pp., in-8, address on the back. A VERY BEAUTIFUL LETTER ON HIS LITERARY VOCATION. “... I have received news of your health... from Mr. Lacordaire... As for me, in this city of noise and all-consuming activity, I continue my rather vigilant existence as a spectator, a witness taking notes—MY PROFESSION, IN A WORD, AS A CRITIC AND A REASONER. THIS IS DEFINITELY BECOMING MY CURRENT VOCATION—the one by which I earn my living and which, in the long run, if it has not already done so, will inevitably shape my mind. I WOULD CERTAINLY HAVE PREFERRED THE LIFE OF ART, LINKING ART TO AN EVER MORE INSPIRING RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY, BY MAKING POETRY, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, AN ACT OF FAITH, a prayer, an aspiration in a more or less ardent form. BUT THAT LIFE, TO WHICH THE DEEPEST FACULTIES OF MY BEING WOULD HAVE RESPONDED, IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT FOR ME DAY BY DAY, as I struggle with daily concerns and am gradually eroded, right down to my last rock, by the turbulent waves of this sea into which I plunge. FOR SUSTAINED POETIC AND RELIGIOUS CONTEMPLATION, ONE MUST ESTABLISH A MARGIN OF SEPARATION BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ONESELF; it is this width of margin that I was unable to leave blank from the very beginning; and today the book is scribbled on right to the edges—THE COMMENTS SMOTHER THE POEM. No matter how hard I fight back, step by step: one day one holds one’s ground, and the next one capitulates. To resist these petty, momentary encroachments, there is only a great fortune that allows for flight and travel, or a steadfast, austere faith that governs sacrifice and retreat. Beyond that, the essential thing, is it not, is that the mind remains alert, even if the beauty of the work suffers; it is also a form of sacrifice to consent to this loss of a few brilliant gifts in the face of the necessity of matters related to God...” Provenance: Daniel Sickles Collection (12th auction, Paris, Drouot, October 28–29, 1992, lot 5053).