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Ader

399 - Romain ROLLAND (1866–1944). 66 letters, Vézelay (and Paris) …
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Estimate €8,000 - €10,000
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Description
Romain ROLLAND (1866–1944). 66 letters, Vézelay (and Paris) 1941–1944, to André Sabatier; approximately 150 pages, mostly in-8, with envelopes. A very fine and interesting collection of literary and friendly correspondence from the years of the Occupation to his publisher André Sabatier (1903–1973), literary director at Albin Michel. It was in June 1941 that Rolland first met Sabatier (the first letter in the collection, dated 10 June, is addressed to Albin Michel; Rolland expresses his delight at meeting Sabatier, requests an advance and announces the death of his friend Jacques Mesnil). During the Occupation, Rolland took refuge in his house in Vézelay (Yonne), where he endeavoured to continue his immense literary output, the publication of which he entrusted to Sabatier. We can offer here only a brief glimpse of this very rich correspondence. 2 December 1941. He refers to his *Souvenirs sur Rilke* (*Memories of Rilke*), published by Maurice Betz, and his *Compagnons de route* (*Fellow Travellers*): ‘It is a collection that was put together, somewhat hastily, from articles that were already written. It is far from encompassing all my ‘fellow travellers’, nor even […] the closest and most beloved among them. I had intended, later on, if I had the time, to include them in a second volume of Essays. (But I always have too many tasks on the go)’… He complains about Corréa’s unauthorised publication, without his consent, of his text on Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Finally, on a project involving letters from soldiers of the 1914–1918 war: ‘one would read in them more pain and rebellion against this disastrous “civil war” in Europe than heroic resignation’… – 24 December. On the delay in the publication of *Voyage intérieur*, and the work of revising the ‘two large volumes on the new Beethoven: *La Cathédrale interrompue*, on the late quartets and the 9th Symphony. 1942. The main focus is on the preparation of his *Michelangelo*, in the ‘Masters of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance’ series: choice of illustrations, layout of notes, appendices and tables, proofs, etc. –Regarding soldiers’ letters, the letters received by the author of *Au-dessus de la mêlée* were from ‘“European” minds […] who were resolutely opposed to the war’, and the book could only be published ‘when the reign of freedom returns’… (21 January). Reading and commentary on Lionello Venturi’s *Modern Painters* (14 February). Press release for *The Inner Journey*; he reflects on the circumstances of Stefan Zweig’s death: ‘I have lost the best of my German friends’ (2 March). Merejkowski’s “illuminated” book on Dante […] of prodigious interest in terms of art and thought” (15 March). Writing his *Memoirs and Recollections*; whilst rereading Péguy’s letters, he decides to undertake a study on Péguy (19 March). On Paul Claudel: ‘We were old schoolmates at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. Then we lost touch for a lifetime. Four years ago, we met again, bound by deep friendship. My forthcoming volume on Beethoven is dedicated to him – in memory of the concerts of our youth, where we fought the philistines together!” (26 March). Progress on the Péguy study, which will comprise two volumes; one must ‘have read the entire works of Péguy. Yet there is almost nothing in his work that is unimportant. And he possesses a unique sincerity. Every work is a fragment of a Confession. One must therefore lose nothing of it. ‘I have tried’ (14 October). 1943. Proofreading the layout of *Michel-Ange* (20 June). On his health, in response to articles: ‘I am no worse off than usual’ (25 October). On his work on Péguy, for which he is finishing ‘dictating the manuscript’: he has followed Péguy, ‘ from start to finish, in his writings, letting him speak for himself as much as possible: so that it is not just another thesis, set against other theses, but Péguy himself who shatters all theses and sends all factions packing! ’ (8 October). He entrusted the manuscript of the Péguy study to Charles Vildrac; he will send the concluding pages which “deal with Péguy’s creative process, his interrupted literary projects, the role he might have played after the war, and the moral (if not social and political) influence he can and must exert” (15 November). Final corrections to *Michelangelo* (17 November), and submission of the index (21 December). On Stendhal and *The Charterhouse of Parma*: ‘I have a particular fondness for this book – I believe it is one felt especially by musical souls, for it is entirely imbued with an inner music: that was Stendhal’s secret, which non-musical intellectuals will never fathom’ (30 December). 1944. On Pascal’s *Pensées*, which led him to ‘enter the laboratory of the mind, at the centre of the “becoming”’; concerns regarding the unpublished works announced by Pierre Péguy, which might force him to rewrite his book (3 January). A memory of Rodin speaking to him about Michelangelo (11 January). On Aragon, who ‘overflows with talent and vitality. The trouble is that he juxtaposes this with an ideology of Counter-Morality in action, which does a disservice to his free expression. He must, after having rolled out, step by step, his ‘damned’ (selfish individualism), end up ‘well-done’—like those whose holy baking delighted, in church, the eyes of Villon’s mother ’; and on Iran (18 January). He is ‘in a state of rather severe nervous exhaustion, insomnia, etc. I am concerned about this accumulation of trials concerning my Péguy, which are about to befall me’ (31 January). Visit from André George, whom he entrusts, along with Sabatier, with looking after his manuscripts after his death; enclosed is a copy of a letter to Malwida von Meysenburg concerning Péguy (1900); on his Memoirs, the first three parts of which he had written (12 February). Proposed illustrations for *L’Âme enchantée* by Berthold Mahn (23 February). Proofs of the Péguy work (12 March). ‘My Instructions to my two executors, charged with looking after my manuscripts and papers’, notably regarding the fate of his unpublished works, and more specifically his Diary and his Memoirs (March). Mabille de Poncheville’s book on Péguy; the illustrations for the Péguy volume (2 April). Chest pains. “The noose is tightening. All the radio sets were taken away yesterday in Auxerre. We are waiting for our turn, today or tomorrow. And then there will be complete silence” (14 April). After the liberation of Paris: “We also had our share of fighting in Vézelay: cannons, machine-gun fire and burnt-out houses. We are still under threat from passing armies. It seems we (the whole of central France) are being forgotten, left to fend for ourselves’ (4 September). From the Lyautey Clinic (where he was treated by Dr Mondor), on the proofs of Péguy’s work (23 October). Request from the USSR to publish Péguy ‘in the Soviet language’ (19 November). Péguy’s press office: ‘I categorically rule out the names of Maurras and Massis’. Concerns: ‘The new German advance towards Liège and Montmédy is worrying. We know this route of invasions and their pace all too well… The fate of France is being decided in these very days’ (21 December). [Romain Rolland died on 30 December.]
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About the sale Letters and Autograph Manuscripts – Part II
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Auction time 10/14/2026 at 2:00 PM
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