“Laziness is a sacred thing” – Weekend – Kommersant
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December 3, 1857 was born the writer Joseph Conrad, the author of the novel “Heart of Darkness”, which formed the basis of the film “Apocalypse Now” by Francis Ford Coppola. We reread Conrad’s letters to friends and collected his thoughts about what real darkness is and where to look for light.
one
The more I write, the less I see the point in my work. It’s awful tolerable. And I’ve come to terms with it, but the fear inside me is growing. My courage is shattered by the sight of this monster.
letter to Edward Garnet, March 1899
2
In a book, you must love the idea and be unwaveringly true to your idea of life. It is in this that the writer’s prowess lies, not in being faithful to his characters.
letter to John Galsworthy, 1901
3
Laziness is a sacred thing. It marks the boundary beyond which there is nothing worth striving for us.
letter to Edward Garnet, September 24, 1895
four
It is hard for me to work in a military atmosphere: reality, as usual, wins over fiction. It is now that this truth has gained exceptional power.
letter to John Galsworthy, August 11, 1915
5
In this world as I know it, we are made to suffer for no reason, excuse or guilt. There is no morality, no knowledge, no hope in it, there is only awareness of oneself, which drives us around the world.
letter to Cunningham Graham, January 31, 1898
6
I don’t know what Dostoevsky stands for or exposes, but I know for sure that he is too Russian for me. In all this, I hear a kind of furious cries coming from the depths of prehistoric times.
letter to Edward Garnet, May 27, 1912
7
I admire Turgenev, but, to be honest, Russia for him is nothing more than a canvas for an artist. Even if all his heroes lived on the moon, he would still remain a great master.
letter to Edward Garnet, May 27, 1912
eight
I completely lost faith in myself, my sense of style and confidence in my ability to tell a story in simple language. My mind goes flat, my hand gets heavy, my tongue swells like I’ve drunk some kind of slow-acting poison that I’ll eventually die from without even an echo.
letter to Edward Garnet, June 10, 1902
9
If only we could get rid of consciousness. The tragedy of mankind is not that it is a victim of its nature, but that it is aware of this.
letter to Cunningham Graham, January 31, 1898
ten
Life does not know us, and we do not know life, and we do not even know our own thoughts. Half of the words we use have no meaning, and the other half is understood by each person to the extent of his stupidity or vanity.
letter to Cunningham Graham, 1898
eleven
I respect courage, truth, loyalty, self-control and devotion to the ancient ideals of mankind. And I’m sorry that, like most people, I fail to practice these simple virtues.
letter to Tadaichi Hidaka, July 11, 1911
12
Christianity disgusts me. I am not blind to its merits, but the absurd oriental fable with which it begins annoys me.
letter to Edward Garnet, February 23, 1913
13
You want to reform not an institution, but human nature. But even your faith can never move that mountain. Not that I consider humanity inherently bad, but stupid and cowardly – yes.
letter to Cunningham Graham, 1898
fourteen
Cowardice is the root of evil, especially cruelty, so characteristic of our civilization. But without cowardice, humanity would simply disappear.
letter to Cunningham Graham, 1898
fifteen
That we are trapped by an incomprehensible logic of chance is the only truth of the universe. It is from it that delusions and inspiration, misdeeds and faith, selfishness and self-sacrifice, love and hatred come.
letter to T. Fisher Unwin, August 22, 1896
16
I believe that the artist’s salvation lies in devotion. In ruthless devotion to one’s own sensations.
letter to Warrington Dawson, 1913
17
Selfishness is the driving force of the world, and altruism is its morality. These two contradictory instincts, one of which is so uncomplicated and the other so mysterious, cannot exist except in a union strengthened by their irreconcilable antagonism.
letter to The New York Times, 1901
eighteen
Skepticism is a strengthening agent for reason, for life, an agent of truth, a path of art and salvation.
letter to John Galsworthy, 1901
19
I can not force myself to do anything, unable to focus on anything. Perhaps the war is to blame? Or was it just the end of Conrad? I think that man must come to an end one day.
letter to Edward Garnet, May 27, 1912
twenty
Struggling with uncertainty about the future, suffering from the uncertainty of the future, at times I found consolation, support and good spirits in what I wrote. This is by no means dope – this is the grace of God, which does not bypass even the unsuccessful novelist.
letter to William Blackwood, May 31, 1902
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