24 November

24 November 1920

Villa Isola Bella, Menton, France

Heres a photograph of the girl you are NOT in love with - sitting on the steps of her vegetable garden. It is one of her hiding places.
Answering your Sunday letter.
Dearest Bogey,
I do wish youd send me your article Art & Morality as soon as you can. Id immensely like to see it. All my ideas on this subject are VERY lively just now but I simply haven't the time to write them. They will have to filter through. But all I know I have learnt by studying divine Shakespeare. I feel that only NOW do I begin to understand how mighty he is - but one feels that once every six months at least . . . "Chief nourisher at Life's feast".
However let me commend to your notice perhaps the most perfect written phrase in all literature: "Reverence - that angel of the world" I am going to ask it to go before my new book. It says all I would say. Merciful Powers! What a man is this!
Will you send me too, my copy of Cinnamon and Angelica? I am very anxious to re-read it. Im a little bit sorry you are writing on Art and Morality just now, because "a clear logical statement" is nothing like enough! The breath of life is in the subject - and it must blow easy, easy, filling the sail. Perhaps thats only an uneasy fear on my part, of which I ought to be ashamed.
But do send me the article. The subject is of FIRST importance.
Its still cold - ice cold here. Snow on the mountains. The thermometer dropped 10 degrees in 24 hours. I fear for the anemones - they are just about 5 inches high - tres frisé - lovely - and the ranoncules are smaller still. They want sun. [To J. M. Murry in Collected Letters, 1920]