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My dear friends, Mr. and Mrs. Ginoux,
But if I had not been so well cared for, if people had not
been so good to me as they have been, I am convinced I should
have dropped dead or lost my reason completely. Business is
business, and in the same way duty is duty, and therefore it is
only fair that I go back to see my brother soon, but I assure
you that it will be hard for me to leave the South; I say this
to all of you who have become my friends - my friends for a
long time.
I have forgotten to thank you for the olives you sent me
some time ago, they were excellent; I shall bring back the
boxes in a little while…
So I write you this letter, my dear friends, in order to try
and distract our dear patient for a moment, so that she may
once again show us her habitual smile and give pleasure to all
who know her. As I told you, within a fortnight I hope to visit
you, wholly recovered.
Diseases exist to remind us that we are not made of wood,
and it seems to me this is the bright side of it all.
And after that one dreams of taking up one's daily work
again, being less afraid of obstacles, with a new stock of
serenity; and even at parting one will tell oneself, “And
when you are friends, you are friends for a long time” -
for this is the way to leave each other.
Well, we shall be seeing each other soon, and my best wishes
for Mrs. Ginoux's swift recovery.
Believe me
Ever yours, Vincent
At this time, Vincent was 36 year oldSource: Vincent van Gogh. Letter to Mr. and Mrs. Ginoux. Written 30 or 31 December 1889 in Saint-Rémy. Translated by Mrs. Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, edited by Robert Harrison, number . URL: https://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/20/622a.htm.
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