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Daguerre Savoie
31
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Bockel, Pierre – A signed autograph letter from Pierre Bocke…
See original version (French)
31
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Bockel, Pierre – A signed autograph letter from Pierre Bocke…
See original version (French)
Estimate
€35 - €50
Voluntary lot
Description
Bockel, Pierre – A signed autograph letter from Pierre Bockel dated 16 May 1982, accompanied by a 6-page typescript on Malraux entitled ‘The Agnostic and the Priest’ ’ – Following a request from Dominique Gaboret-Guiselin (1903–1987), as part of a tribute to André Malraux in Italy, Pierre Bockel (1914–1995) replied with a two-page, 12-line letter on card dated 16 May 1982: ‘This enforced rest has allowed me to reflect and to write the article on Malraux for the Italian presentation....unrelated to Italy... but rather a recollection of an encounter...”. This is followed by six typewritten pages, corrected by hand, entitled “The Agnostic and the Priest”: ‘I met André Malraux for the first time in August 1944, on the eve of the adventure that was to lead us together, arms in hand, all the way to Strasbourg... It was just as much an astonishing experience of personal liberation: the realisation that the dignity of a free man can only be attained at the cost of giving one’s life for the freedom of others… For it soon became clear to me how closely the values he instilled in his troops were linked to those that gave meaning to my existence as a Christian and a priest, and particularly as chaplain to this brigade. ‘Colonel Malraux’s very Christian brigade’... As early as 1948, Malraux wrote to me that he felt it was essential that, together, we emphasise our shared defence of the eternal aspect of humanity, whether or not we conceived of it as linked to revelation... It foreshadowed the fraternal dialogue between the agnostic that he was and the priest that I am, between the eager non-believer who nevertheless embodies transcendence, and the believer who lives out the struggle of faith, both engaged in the same fight to defend humanity and its essential values... ’ Note: Pierre Bockel (1914–1995) was a French Catholic priest, member of the Resistance, writer and journalist. He was also a theologian and writer, chaplain to the Alsace-Lorraine Brigade under André Malraux, titular canon of the Chapter of Strasbourg Cathedral, and Honorary Prelate of His Holiness, and recognised as one of the ‘Righteous Among the Nations’ by the State of Israel. Pierre Bockel met Malraux in 1944. This marked the beginning of a friendship that would never fade.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
ID: 88412407
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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