Starry Night

I was reading one of my son's Van Gogh books a few years back when I got
news that my cousin had just died from leukaemia. The book consists of his
paintings and letters from him to his brother Theo. His painting Starry
Night was accompanied by the following letter from 1889 which touched me and
I thought that you might like it:

That raises again the eternal question: is the whole of life visible to us,
or do we in fact know only the one hemisphere before we die?. For my part I
know nothing with certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream, in
the same simple way I dream about the black dots representing towns and
villages on a map. Why I ask myself, should the shining dots in the sky be
any less accessible to us than the black dots on the map of France? If we
take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, then we take death to go to a
star. What is certainly true in this reasoning is that while we are alive we
cannot go to a star, any more than, once dead, we could catch a train. It
seems not impossible to me that cholera, gravel, phthisis and cancer could
be means of celestial transportation, just as steam boats, omnibuses and
railways serve that function on earth. To die peacefully of old age would be
to go there on foot.

Ian

PS I don't belive in god, but I can see the stars.

"Bozz" <NotGiven@BTInternet.com> wrote in message
newsLCdnSW7z5F8HhzYRVnyuwA@bt.com...
>I was reading one of my son's Van Gogh books a few years back when I got
>news that my cousin had just died from leukaemia. The book consists of his
>paintings and letters from him to his brother Theo. His painting Starry
>Night was accompanied by the following letter from 1889 which touched me
>and I thought that you might like it:
>
> That raises again the eternal question: is the whole of life visible to
> us, or do we in fact know only the one hemisphere before we die?. For my
> part I know nothing with certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me
> dream, in the same simple way I dream about the black dots representing
> towns and villages on a map. Why I ask myself, should the shining dots in
> the sky be any less accessible to us than the black dots on the map of
> France? If we take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, then we take
> death to go to a star. What is certainly true in this reasoning is that
> while we are alive we cannot go to a star, any more than, once dead, we
> could catch a train. It seems not impossible to me that cholera, gravel,
> phthisis and cancer could be means of celestial transportation, just as
> steam boats, omnibuses and railways serve that function on earth. To die
> peacefully of old age would be to go there on foot.
>
> Ian
>
> PS I don't belive in god, but I can see the stars.
>

That is beautiful, thank you for sharing with us.

Betsy

Bozz said...
> That raises again the eternal question: is the whole of life visible to us,
> or do we in fact know only the one hemisphere before we die?. For my part I
> know nothing with certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream, in
> the same simple way I dream about the black dots representing towns and
> villages on a map. Why I ask myself, should the shining dots in the sky be
> any less accessible to us than the black dots on the map of France? If we
> take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, then we take death to go to a
> star. What is certainly true in this reasoning is that while we are alive we
> cannot go to a star, any more than, once dead, we could catch a train. It
> seems not impossible to me that cholera, gravel, phthisis and cancer could
> be means of celestial transportation, just as steam boats, omnibuses and
> railways serve that function on earth. To die peacefully of old age would be
> to go there on foot.
>
I like that. I like that a lot. Thanks, Bozz.

Emily wrote:

> Bozz said...
> > That raises again the eternal question: is the whole of life visible to us,
> > or do we in fact know only the one hemisphere before we die?. For my part I
> > know nothing with certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream, in
> > the same simple way I dream about the black dots representing towns and
> > villages on a map. Why I ask myself, should the shining dots in the sky be
> > any less accessible to us than the black dots on the map of France? If we
> > take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, then we take death to go to a
> > star. What is certainly true in this reasoning is that while we are alive we
> > cannot go to a star, any more than, once dead, we could catch a train. It
> > seems not impossible to me that cholera, gravel, phthisis and cancer could
> > be means of celestial transportation, just as steam boats, omnibuses and
> > railways serve that function on earth. To die peacefully of old age would be
> > to go there on foot.
> >
> I like that. I like that a lot. Thanks, Bozz.

Yes, I liked that a lot as well and started thinking of my relatives who went
there on foot.
I know 3 had excellent quality of life, the 4th questionable.
J

On Thu, 14 Dec 2006 17:03:37 -0000, "Bozz" <NotGiven@BTInternet.com>
wrotF:

>I was reading one of my son's Van Gogh books a few years back when I got
>news that my cousin had just died from leukaemia. The book consists of his
>paintings and letters from him to his brother Theo. His painting Starry
>Night was accompanied by the following letter from 1889 which touched me and
>I thought that you might like it:
>
>That raises again the eternal question: is the whole of life visible to us,
>or do we in fact know only the one hemisphere before we die?. For my part I
>know nothing with certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream, in
>the same simple way I dream about the black dots representing towns and
>villages on a map. Why I ask myself, should the shining dots in the sky be
>any less accessible to us than the black dots on the map of France? If we
>take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, then we take death to go to a
>star. What is certainly true in this reasoning is that while we are alive we
>cannot go to a star, any more than, once dead, we could catch a train. It
>seems not impossible to me that cholera, gravel, phthisis and cancer could
>be means of celestial transportation, just as steam boats, omnibuses and
>railways serve that function on earth. To die peacefully of old age would be
>to go there on foot.
>
>Ian
>
>PS I don't belive in god, but I can see the stars.
>

What an inspirational piece! Thank you. I'm a cancer patient and an
amateur astronomer. Most relevant. Thanks again.