Victor HUGO comments on his masterpiece, Les Misérables.

Victor HUGO (1802.1885)

Autographed letter signed to Nathanaël Martin-Dupont.

Three octavo pages on laid paper with watermark. Fragile at the folds.

Hauteville House [Guernsey]. May 3 [1862]

"This is our duty: to calm by enlightening. To destroy hatred and evil with light."

Despite exile, the great man maintains his pursuit of progress and comments on his masterpiece, Les Misérables.

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“Sir, I have read your article on Les Misérables . You possess a truly noble style, one that springs from noble thought. Your support means a great deal to me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Yes, you have felt it and you say it: what I desire is moral improvement alongside material relief; without the progress of the soul, there is no progress. Those who prioritize physical comfort only serve to harden the rich and corrupt the poor.”

First and foremost, duty. My aim is this: to reveal to humankind the fullness of consciousness. I say fullness , because until now, it seems that philosophers have made it their business to show consciousness only in part; some flattering the fortunate, others provoking the wretched. Now, this is our duty: to calm by enlightening. To destroy hatred and evil with light. These things are in your soul, and you express them eloquently and powerfully. Your page on Les Misérables is the work of a noble and good mind. I shake your hand. Victor Hugo.

Le Mouvement had eagerly accepted your excellent work on art and was about to publish it when suddenly they were put on trial, and in eight days this valiant journal was accused, tried, and silenced. It no longer exists; such is liberty in France. Your long and excellent article is available for your review. Write to me about it. Le Mouvement was the only French journal that enjoyed sufficient public acclaim.

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Nathanaël Martin-Dupont (1834-1910), a French pastor and journalist, was serving on the island of Jersey in 1860, where he met Victor Hugo, then in exile on the neighboring island of Guernsey. They maintained a correspondence until Hugo's death. In 1904, Martin-Dupont published *Victor Hugo anecdotique *, in which he recorded, among other things, his recollections of the great man.

Victor Hugo, anecdotal. N. Martin-Dupond, Stock, 1904, volume II, p. 213.