love letters of great men

"El producto ms franco, ms libre y ms privado de la mente y del corazn humano es una

carta de amor" deca Mark Twain. En el Da de San Valentn, seleccionamos 5 fragmentos

de cartas de amor histricas.

En cierta ocasin Sigmund Freud le escribi a su novia y futura esposa Martha Bernays

una carta de amor que despus ha dado la vuelta al mundo al ser considerada una de las

confesiones ms romnticas de la historia: "No apetezco sino lo que t ambicionas para

ambos porque me doy cuenta de la insignificancia de otros deseos comparados con el hecho

de que seas ma. Estoy adormilado y muy triste al pensar que tengo que conformarme con

escribirte en vez de besar tus dulces labios".

Vctor Hugo, otro romntico empedernido, escribi en cierta ocasin a Adle Foucher:

"Tienes razn. Hay que amarse y luego hay que decrselo, y luego hay que escribrselo, y

luego hay que besarse en los labios, en los ojos, en todas partes".

Albert Einstein tambin expresaba con frecuencia sus sentimientos hacia su gran amor,

Mileva, por carta. En una de estas epstolas, enviada desde Miln el 13 de septiembre de

1900, el fsico afirmaba: "En todo el mundo podra encontrar otra mejor que t, ahora es

cuando lo veo claro, cuando conozco a otra gente. [...] Hasta mi trabajo me parece intil e

innecesario si no pienso que tambin t te alegras de lo que soy y de lo que hago."

El novelista Scott Fitzgerald tambin escribi largas misivas a la que sera su esposa,

Zelda Sayre: "T y yo hemos pasado momentos maravillosos en el pasado, y el futuro an

est cargado de posibilidades si levantas la moral y procuras creerlo. El mundo exterior, la

situacin poltica, etctera, siguen siendo oscuros e influyen en todos directamente, y es

inevitable que te afecten indirectamente a ti, pero procura distanciarte de todo ello mediante

alguna forma de higiene mental, inventndola, si es necesario.

Djame repetirte que no quiero que te concentres demasiado en mi libro, que es una obra

melanclica y parece haber obsesionado a casi todos los crticos. Me preocupa muchsimo

que lo ests releyendo. Describe determinadas fases de la vida que ya estn superadas.

Ciertamente nos hallamos en una ola ascendente, aunque no sepamos a ciencia cierta hacia

dnde va."

Por su parte, Franz Kafka le envi numerosas cartas a su amada Felice. En una fechada en

enero de 1913 le expresaba as su doble amor hacia ella y la literatura: "Querida: te pido

con las manos alzadas que no sientas celos de mi novela. Cuando los personajes en la

novela se dan cuenta de tus celos, se me escapan, ms aun cuando slo los tengo agarrados

por la punta de sus vestidos.

Y ten en cuenta que, si se me escapan, tendra que correr tras ellos, aunque fuera hasta el

mundo de las tinieblas, su verdadero hogar. La novela soy yo, mis historias soy yo. As que,

te ruego, dnde existe el menor motivo de celos? De hecho, cuando todo lo dems est en

orden, mis personajes se toman del brazo y corren a tu encuentro, para, en ltimo trmino,

servirte a ti. [...] gracias a que escribo me mantengo con vida, me aferro a esa barca en la

cual te encuentras t, Felice. Ya resulta bastante triste que no consiga apartarme a ella. Pero

comprende, Felice, que tendra que perderte a ti y a todas las cosas si alguna vez perdiera el

escribir."

"Amada ma": cartas de amor de grandes personajes de la historia

CONTALO

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Hombres y mujeres clebres abrieron su corazn en cartas confesando amores a primera

vista, pasiones no correspondidas, ansias secretas y deseos imposibles. Muchas fueron

contestadas pero otras no siempre llegaron al amado. Le un puado de esos ardientes

textos privados.

por Patricia Rodn@patriciarodnOpin

Enviar por mail esta nota:

Tu nombre

Tu Email

Email del destinatario

"La carta de amor", de Jan Vermeer de Delft (1669) (detalle). (Foto pintura.aut.org)

"Mujer leyendo", de Pieter Janssens.

Slo el amor puede despertar emociones tan extremas como la pasin y el odio. Enrique

VIII enloqueci por Ana Bolena antes de ordenar su muerte, Napolen sufri por el desdn

de Josefina, Pern tuvo en Evita su tesoro adorado.

Simn Bolvar le escriba a su amante Manuela Sez mientras entre batalla y batalla,

Sigmund Freud le envi ms de 900 cartas a Martha Bernays, Gabriela Mistral puso por

escrito su pasin por el poeta Manuel Magallanes Moure en sus misivas, Pablo Neruda le

envi centenares de arrebatadas epstolas a Matilde mezclando besos con encargos de

comida y tabaco.

"Ms que los besos, son las cartas las que unen las almas", escribi John Donne en el siglo

XVI. En diferentes pocas y escenarios, los protagonistas de la historia han volcado por

igual sus sentimientos, no siempre correspondidos, a travs de cartas que demuestran que

slo el amor es capaz de desnudar el alma de hombres y mujeres, cualquiera sea su origen,

edad o condicin social.

"El poeta favorito", de Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1888).

Manual para escribir cartas de amor

Verona, la ciudad de Romeo y Julieta, alberga el libro ms antiguo sobre cartas de amor, un

cdice del siglo XII escrito por un clrigo llamado Guido. El texto, llamado Modi

dictaminum, est en escrito en latn y sobre pergamino, y contiene consejos para todo tipo

de cartas, entre ellas las de amor, que ocupan todo el cuarto captulo.

Dichas recomendaciones van desde alabar la belleza de la amada comparndola con piedras

preciosas hasta hacer referencia a versiones mitolgicas de la pareja de enamorados, como

Paris y Helena de Troya. Se ensea de esta forma tanto la manera en que la mujer debe

escribir al marido como el modo en que deben hacerlo los amantes, cmo presentarse a la

amada y cmo despedirse.

El autor aconseja tambin figuras retricas que indiquen la incapacidad para expresar lo

que se siente, como: "Cun profundamente te amo no podra expresarlo con palabras, ni

aunque todos los miembros de mi cuerpo pudieran hablar".

Despedirse con "tantos saludos como peces hay en el mar" o "como flores trae el verano",

referirse a la amada diciendo que "vuestra belleza sabe", "vuestra dulzura conoce" y "ya es

conocido a vuestra nobleza" o hablar de los momentos felices con expresiones como "el

nimo no soporta tanta felicidad" son otros de los consejos del manual.

Pero no todo en l es puramente platnico, sino que se alude tambin al amor fsico: besos,

abrazos y deseo. Para ilustrar sus enseanzas, el clrigo utiliza ejemplos, entre ellos los de

una epstola que podra ser, segn los estudiosos, la primera carta medieval de amor de que

se tiene constancia. En ella, un noble de quien slo se conoce que su nombre empezaba por

"G" escribe a su mujer, Imilde, desde la ciudad de Pisa.

En la misiva G. se dirige as a su esposa: "Tu afecto, amiga ma dulcsima, sabe que por el

perfume de tu amor no me negara a escalar montes o a atravesar a nado mares, e incluso

afrontar peligros de muerte".

"Hombre leyendo una carta", de Gerard

Ter Borch (1680).

Los campeones del verso

Seleccionamos fragmentos de algunas cartas de amor cautivantes que se han escrito a travs

de la historia; cartas que hablan de amores a primera vista, amores no correspondidos,

amores secretos, amores imposibles; cartas sin terminar y cartas que, incluso, no siempre

llegaron.

"Mi corazn y mi persona se rinden ante ti suplicndote que sigas favorecindome con tu

amor", escribi Enrique VIII a Ana Bolena en 1528, ocho aos antes de que ordenara

encerrar a su esposa en la Torre de Londres y decapitarla.

Entre batalla y batalla, Napolen Bonaparte volc su vena romntica en sus cartas a

Josefina. Mi dulce Josefina, mame, que ests bien y pienses muy a menudo en m, escribi el emperador en agosto 1796. Ms tarde le escribe: "Es imposible estar ms dbil y

degradado. Vuestros pensamientos envenenan mi vida, desgarran mi alma". Un tono muy

distinto al utilizado apenas un par de meses despus: No te amo, en absoluto; por el contrario, te detesto, eres una Cenicienta malvada, torpe y tonta. Nunca me escribes, no

amas a tu marido, se lamentaba. Quiz el desdn de Josefina le arroj en brazos de Mara Walewska, a quien en una breve y arrebatada carta Napolen confiesa: No he visto ms que a usted, no he admirado ms que a usted, no deseo ms que a usted.

Algo similar sugiere la misiva que un domingo de 1868 escribi el poderoso zar Alejandro

II de Rusia a Katia, su amante y futura esposa. "Hola mi ngel, te quiero ms que a la vida

y tu adorable carta de anoche, que vengo de recibir y de leer con pasin y con felicidad, me

volvi loco", expres Alejandro II.

"El hombre que escribe una carta", de

Gerard Ter Borch (1659).

La carta que Juliette Drovet dirigi a Victor Hugo es directa y simple, en ella puede leerse:

"Te quiero, ante todo y despus de todo, te quiero, te quiero, te quiero". En cambio, el autor

de Los miserables escribi un texto ms elaborado para otra amante, Lonie dAunet, el 9

de julio de 1843. "Oh! Piensa en m! Quireme! Suea con el ltimo minuto cuando nos

vimos y el primer minuto cuando volveremos a vernos", expres Victor Hugo. Y agreg:

"Oh Dios mo! Que es largo, y necesito verte! ngel dulce, fija tus ojos adorables sobre

m. De aqu los sentir. Esto me recalentar el alma. Te quiero. Eres mi vida! Hasta el

jueves, oh qu largo es!".

No menos arrebatado parece Lord Byron en su relacin con Caroline Lamb, una dama de la

alta sociedad pero casada con otro: Prometo y juro que ninguna otra, de palabra y obra, ocupar jams el lugar en mi afecto, que es y ser el ms sagrado para ti, hasta que yo sea

nada. Las promesas de Lord Byron se desvanecieron rpidamente a juzgar por su correspondencia con la joven Teresa Guiccioli, a quien confiesa un amor apasionado y en cuyas manos pone su destino con la promesa de que nunca dejar de amarte.

Pero si de pasin se trata, Oscar Wilde super a Byron: Nio mo, comienza una de sus cartas a lord Alfred Douglas, es una maravilla que esos labios de ptalo de rosa rojos tuyos sirvan igual para la msica del canto que para la locura del besar.

Se enamor a los 25 aos de Martha Bernays, una amiga de su hermana y llev un romance

victoriano. l era muy tmido y no tena experiencias sexuales. Freud la vio seis veces en

cuatro aos, pero le escribi ms de novecientas cartas de amor, donde la llamaba

"princesita".

"Mujer leyendo", de Henri Emile Benoit

Matisse (1894).

Te quiero y te amo y te necesito

Las cartas que Antoine de Saint-Exupry dirigi a su ltimo gran amor son desgarradoras.

La mujer, una joven de 23 aos, casada y embarazada, cuyo nombre fue mantenido en

reserva, nunca correspondi la pasin de Saint-Exupry, quien desesperado por los desaires

le envi un sombro ltimo texto en mayo de 1944.

"No hay ms Principito, hoy da ni jams. El Principito est muerto o se volvi totalmente

escptico. Un Principito escptico no es ms un Principito. Estoy resentido con usted por

estropearlo", escribi. "No habr ms cartas, telfono ni seal. No fui prudente ni pens

que arriesgara pena, pero me lastim en el rosal cogiendo una rosa. El rosal preguntar:

Qu importancia tena para usted? Ninguna, rosal, ninguna. Nada importa en la vida. No

ms vida. Adis rosal", agrega.

Dos meses despus de escribir esto, Saint-Exupry desapareci misteriosamente para

siempre cuando pilotaba un avin sobre Francia, en una misin de reconocimiento durante

la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

"Te amo nicamente a ti, no tengo nada; ni capacidad, ni inteligencia, nada, nada, tengo el

amor. Es terrible. Y es por eso que si te perdiera me perdera a m misma y ya no sera

entonces Gala, sera una pobre mujer como hay miles y miles.Tienes que comprender que

no tengo nada mo, t me posees enteramente. Y si me amas cuidars preciosamente tu

vida, porque sin ti sera como un sobre vaco", le escribi Gala a Paul Eluard, su esposo,

casi las mismas palabras que luego le dir a Dal.

James Joyce le aseguraba a Nora Barnacle: "No volver a separarme de ti nunca. No slo

deseo tu cuerpo (como sabes) tambin deseo tu compaa. Slvame y amprame. Soy tu

nio y debes ser severa conmigo, madrecita ma. Castgame cuando gustes, me gustara que

me dieras una bofetada, que me azotases incluso".

"Katia Lisant", de Balthasar Klossowski de Rola (Balthus).

Besos de tinta

En un estilo ms directo y simple, tambin se puede declarar el amor, como lo hace en un

telegrama Nathalie Paley al poeta y dramaturgo Jean Cocteau, que apenas dice: "Yo

tambin, mi amor, en todas partes y siempre".

"Te adoro, Manuel. Todo mi vivir se concentra en este pensamiento y en este deseo: el beso

que puedo darte y recibir de ti", le escribe Gabriela Mistral al poeta chileno Manuel

Magallanes Moure destinatario de sus ardientes cartas donde la Nobel desnuda su corazn y

su alma.

"Mujer leyendo", de Pablo Ruiz Picasso

(1935).

De todos los amores de Pablo Neruda, el de Matilde Urrutia fue quiz el ms intenso y

prolongado. Una pasin encendida y secreta al principio, cotidiana y domstica al final. El

tumultuoso poeta no se priva de nada al escribirle a su Chascona, a su cochina Patoja.

Y mientras en una carta de octubre de 1951 le dice: Yo pienso en ti da y noche, noche y da, amor mo, dulce ma, y no s si te quiero pero te quiero. Eres ma y te beso, en diciembre de ese mismo ao la increpa: Yo confo en t, y aunque no tenga sino tu silencio qu me importa, () s que eres ma y que soy tuyo y las cartas y las noticias sobran, nuestro amor llena todo, y cada cosa te hablar de m a toda hora, y todo me trae noticias

tuyas. Te quiero mi amor, no seas perra, esprame. Tu Tuyo.

En otra misiva grita amorosamente: No eran celos, amor, sino exigencia de tu plenitud, de tu totalidad. Ahora ya te he arado entera, te he sembrado entera, te he abierto y cerrado,

ahora eres ma. Para siempre!.

Ms comedido, Truman Capote comparte con Newton Arvin sus emociones durante una

estancia en Grecia, en 1958, pero no quiere presionarle: No te molestes en contestar mis cartas, querido Sige. Slo quiero que sepas que pienso constantemente en ti, y que aqu

estoy para cualquier cosa que necesites. Como siempre, y por siempre jams. Poco

despus, sin embargo, Capote recrimina a su amante su falta de inters y sustituye el por siempre jams por un simple con todo mi afecto, recibe un abrazo.

Las cartas que intercambi la cantante Edith Piaf con su amante, el boxeador Marcel

Cerdan, son emocionantes. En 1949, cuando Cerdan preparaba una pelea en Nueva York

contra Jake La Motta, Piaf le envi una carta de amor desde Pars, sin firmar para evitar que

su manager la confiscara. "Es raro. No tengo reflejos, ni ideas, nada. Me parezco a alguien

que espera un acontecimiento. En el lugar de mi corazn existe una angustia, una pena. Mi

amorcito, mi amorcito cmo te quiero, es una locura e inquietante!", escribi.

"Habitacin de hotel", de Edward

Hopper (1931).

Ms all de la poltica

Aunque no slo reyes, emperadores y escritores han llorado por amor. Tambin los

polticos han dejado testimonio de sus cuitas con muy distintos estilos, pero siempre desde

el apasionamiento.

Las ingenuas cartas de Mara Guadalupe de la Cuenca a su esposo Mariano Moreno

tuvieron la dolorosa particularidad de que l nunca las ley porque el revolucionario muri

en alta mar mientras ella las escriba: Ay Moreno de mi corazn: No tengo vida sin vos, se fue mi alma, y este cuerpo sin alma no puede vivir y si quieres que viva venite pronto, o

mandame llevar. No me consuela otra cosa ms que cuando me acuerdo las promesas que

me hiciste los ltimos das antes de la salida, de no olvidarte de m, de tratar de volver

pronto, de quererme siempre, de serme fiel, porque a la hora que empieces a querer alguna

inglesa adis Mariquita.

En su abundante correspondencia amorosa con Manuela Sez, Simn Bolvar es capaz de

olvidarse de la poltica. S, te idolatro hoy ms que nunca jams. Al arrancarme de tu amor

y de tu posesin se me ha multiplicado el sentimiento de todos los encantos de tu alma y de

tu corazn divino, de ese corazn sin modelo, le escribe en 1825.

Muy diferentes son las cartas de Pern a Eva Duarte, su tesoro adorado y su chinita querida. Un sentimiento plenamente correspondido por Evita, que promete a su Juancito amor eterno y adoracin desde el cielo porque yo vivo en ti, siento por ti y pienso por ti.

Franz Kafka le escribe a Milena una bellsima frase que bien sirve para cerrar esta nota:

"Las cartas de amor son una relacin con fantasmas: los besos escritos no llegan a destino,

son bebidos por los fantasmas por el camino".

Fuentes: 108 cartas de amor, de Valeria Cipolla; Cartas de amor, de Pablo Neruda; Cartas

de amor y desamor, de Gabriela Mistral; Breve tratado de la pasin, de Alberto Manguel;

Antologa del amor apasionado, de Varios Autores; 99 cartas de amor, de Varios Autores.

Patricia Rodn

http://www.mdzol.com/nota/272483-amada-mia-cartas-de-amor-de-grandes-personajes-de-la-

historia/

When Carrie Bradshaw in the "Sex and the City" movie began reading the book Love Letters of

Great Men, millions of women wanted to get their hands on the book. Of course, what could be

more romantic than an entire book of love letters, written by men!

Unfortunately the "Love Letters of Great Men" book was not real!!

Of course, intrepid authors immediately went out to WRITE the book, and instantly several of

them appeared on Amazon after the fact. Those authors were jumping in to benefit from a fake

book the movie had created.

In any case, the love letters that spawned this whole rush are real, including the Beethoven one

quoted by Big at their wedding ceremony. Here are the actual love letters by great men for you to

enjoy and treasure! If you have any other letters you feel should be included in this listing, please

let me know! I'm always happy to expand my listing.

Beethoven - powerful musician

Beethoven Love Letter 1



Note: This third letter is the one that Big quotes: "ever thine, ever mine, ever ours"

Voltaire - enlightened thinker

Voltaire Love Letter

John Adams - passionate revolutionary

John Adams Love Letter

Vincent Van Gogh - visionary painter

Vincent Van Gogh Love Letter

Dylan Thomas - Welsh poet

Dylan Thomas Love Letter

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Prodigy Pianist

Mozart Love Letter

Napoleon Bonaparte - Intrepid General

Napoleon Love Letter 1




Beethoven - Love Letters of Great Men

July 6, in the morning

My angel, my all, my very self - Only a few words today and at that with pencil (with yours) - Not

till tomorrow will my lodgings be definitely determined upon - what a useless waste of time - Why

this deep sorrow when necessity speaks - can our love endure except through sacrifices, through

not demanding everything from one another; can you change the fact that you are not wholly

mine, I not wholly thine - Oh God, look out into the beauties of nature and comfort your heart

with that which must be - Love demands everything and that very justly - thus it is to me with you,

and to your with me. But you forget so easily that I must live for me and for you; if we were wholly

united you would feel the pain of it as little as I - My journey was a fearful one; I did not reach here

until 4 o'clock yesterday morning. Lacking horses the post-coach chose another route, but what an

awful one; at the stage before the last I was warned not to travel at night; I was made fearful of a

forest, but that only made me the more eager - and I was wrong. The coach must needs break

down on the wretched road, a bottomless mud road. Without such postilions as I had with me I

should have remained stuck in the road. Esterhazy, traveling the usual road here, had the same

fate with eight horses that I had with four - Yet I got some pleasure out of it, as I always do when I

successfully overcome difficulties - Now a quick change to things internal from things external. We

shall surely see each other soon; moreover, today I cannot share with you the thoughts I have had

during these last few days touching my own life - If our hearts were always close together, I would

have none of these. My heart is full of so many things to say to you - ah - there are moments when

I feel that speech amounts to nothing at all - Cheer up - remain my true, my only treasure, my all

as I am yours. The gods must send us the rest, what for us must and shall be -

Your faithful LUDWIG.

These letters were found in Beethoven's desk after he died. They were not addressed to anybody,

so it is impossible to know who he was writing to. Historians feel they were written to a married

woman who he loved dearly, and who was leaving the city at the time of these letters.

Love Letters of Great Men


Evening, Monday, July 6

You are suffering, my dearest creature - only now have I learned that letters must be posted very

early in the morning on Mondays to Thursdays - the only days on which the mail-coach goes from

here to K. - You are suffering - Ah, wherever I am, there you are also - I will arrange it with you and

me that I can live with you. What a life!!! thus!!! without you - pursued by the goodness of

mankind hither and thither - which I as little want to deserve as I deserve it - Humility of man

towards man - it pains me - and when I consider myself in relation to the universe, what am I and

what is He - whom we call the greatest - and yet - herein lies the divine in man - I weep when I

reflect that you will probably not receive the first report from me until Saturday - Much as you

love me - I love you more - But do not ever conceal yourself from me - good night - As I am taking

the baths I must go to bed - Oh God - so near! so far! Is not our love truly a heavenly structure, and

also as firm as the vault of heaven?


Good morning, on July 7

Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, now and then joyfully, then

sadly, waiting to learn whether or not fate will hear us - I can live only wholly with you or not at all

- Yes, I am resolved to wander so long away from you until I can fly to your arms and say that I am

really at home with you, and can send my soul enwrapped in you into the land of spirits - Yes,

unhappily it must be so - You will be the more contained since you know my fidelity to you. No one

else can ever possess my heart - never - never - Oh God, why must one be parted from one whom

one so loves. And yet my life in V is now a wretched life - Your love makes me at once the happiest

and the unhappiest of men - At my age I need a steady, quiet life - can that be so in our

connection? My angel, I have just been told that the mailcoach goes every day - therefore I must

close at once so that you may receive the letter at once - Be calm, only by a calm consideration of

our existence can we achieve our purpose to live together - Be calm - love me - today - yesterday -

what tearful longings for you - you - you - my life - my all - farewell. Oh continue to love me - never

misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.

ever thine

ever mine

ever ours

Voltaire - Love Letters of Great Men

The Hague 1713

I am a prisoner here in the name of the King;

they can take my life, but not the love that I feel for you.

Yes, my adorable mistress, to-night I shall see you, if I had to put my head on the block to

do it.

For heaven's sake, do not speak to me in such disastrous terms as you write; you must live

and be cautious; beware of Madame your mother as of your worst enemy.

What do I say?

Beware of everybody; trust no one; keep yourself in readiness, as soon as the moon is

visible; I shall leave the hotel incognito, take a carriage or a chaise, we shall drive like the

wind to Sheveningen; I shall take paper and ink with me; we shall write our letters.

If you love me, reassure yourself; and call all your strength and presence of mind to your

aid; do not let your mother notice anything, try to have your pictures, and be assured that

the menace of the greatest tortures will not prevent me to serve you.

No, nothing has the power to part me from you; our love is based upon virtue, and will last

as long as our lives.

Adieu, there is nothing that I will not brave for your sake; you deserve much more than

that.

Adieu, my dear heart!

Arout

(Voltaire)

Voltaire was a brilliant French writer and thinker of the 1700s. He was imprisoned several

times for speaking out against the government. For fifteen years he was the passionate lover

of the Marquise Gabrielle - a brilliant woman in her own right. Together they studied

thousands of books and discussed all topics under the sun.


John Adams - Love Letters of Great Men

The love letters of John Adams and his wife Abigail are legendary. This couple weathered

many long separations as John fought night and day for the independence of America.

Amazingly, the Massachusetts Historical Society not only has most of their letters online,

but they even have the scanned versions of the original handwritten letters so you can read

them yourselves! Amazing!

John Adams Letters Online


Vincent Van Gogh - Love Letters of Great Men

September 7, 1881

Life has become very dear to me, and I am very glad that I love. My life and my love are

one. "But you are faced with a 'no, never never'" is your reply. My answer to that is, "Old

boy, for the present I look upon that 'no, never never' as a block of ice which I press to my

heart to thaw."

Vincent Van Gogh is perhaps most famous for his yellow sunflower painting. He lived in

Holland in the 1800s. He was desperately in love with his cousin, but his cousin refused to

marry him. This letter was written by Vincent to his brother, Theo, talking about his love

for his cousin.


Dylan Thomas - Love Letters of Great Men

March 16, 1950

Cat: my cat: If only you would write to me: My love, oh Cat.

This is not, as it seems from the address above, a dive, a joint, saloon, etc. but the

honourable & dignified headquarters of the dons of the University of Chicago.

I love you. That is all I know. But all I know, too, is that I am writing into space: the kind

of dreadful, unknown space I am just going to enter. I am going to Iowa, Illinois, Idaho,

Indindiana, but these, though mis-spelt, *are* on the map. You are not.

Have you forgotten me? I am the man you used to say you loved. I used to sleep in your

arms - do you remember? But you never write. You are perhaps mindless of me. I am not of

you. I love you.

There isn't a moment of any hideous day when I do not say to myself. 'It will be alright. I

shall go home. Caitlin loves me. I love Caitlin.' But perhaps you have forgotten. If you have

forgotten, or lost your affection for me, please, my Cat, let me know. I Love You.

Dylan

Dylan wrote his poetry in the early 1900s. His personal readings were famous - Americans

loved his lilting accent. He is most famous for his work "Do not go gentle into that good

night". He wrote this letter to his beloved wife Caitlin. He was away from her, doing a book

tour.


Mozart - Love Letters of Great Men

October 17, 1790

...

PS

While I was writing the last page, tear after tear fell on the paper. But I must cheer up -

catch! - An astonishing number of kisses are flying about - The deuce! - I see a whole

crowd of them! Ha! Ha!...I have just caught three - They are delicious! - You can still

answer this letter, but you must address your reply to Linz, Poste Restante - That is the

safest course. As I do not yet know for certain whether I shall go to Regensburg, I can't tell

you anything definite. Just write on the cover that the letter is to be kept until called for.

Adieu - Dearest, most beloved little wife - Take care of your health - and don't think of

walking into town. Do write and tell me how you like our new quarters - Adieu. I kiss you

millions of times.

Mozart was a child prodigy of the 1700s who wowed the courts of Austria. He was an

amazing pianist who wrote numerous famous works. He wrote this letter to his wife,

Constanze.


Napoleon - Love Letters of Great Men

To Viscountess Josephine de Beauharnais

December 1795

I awake full of you. Your image and the intoxication of last night give my senses no rest.

Sweet, incomparable Josephine, what a strange effect you have on my heart. Are you angry? Do I

see you sad? Are you worried? My soul breaks with grief, and there is no rest for your lover; but

how much the more when I yield to this passion that rules me and drink a burning flame from your

lips and your heart? Oh! This night has shown me that your portrait is not you!

You leave at midday; in three hours I shall see you.

Meanwhile, my sweet love, a thousand kisses; but do not give me any, for they set my blood on

fire.



To Citizeness Josephine Bonaparte

April 3, 1796

I have received all your letters, but none has made me such an impression as the last. How, my

beloved, can you write to me like that? Don't you think my position is cruel enought, with out

adding my sorrows and crushing my spirit? What a style! What feelings you show! They are fire,

and they burn my poor heart. My one and only Josephine, apart from you there is no joy; away

from you, the world is a desert where I am alone and cannot open my heart. You have taken more

than my soul; you are the one thought of my life. When I am tired of the worry of work, when I

feel the outcome, when men annoy me, when I am ready to curse being alive, I put my hand on

my heart; your portrait hangs there, I look at it, and love brings me perfect happiness, and all is

miling except the time I must spend away from my mistress.

By what art have you captivated all my facilities and concentrated my whole being in you? It is a

sweet friend, that will die only when I do. To live for Josephine, that is the history of my life I long.

I try to come near you. Fool! I don't notice that I am going further away. How many countries

separate us! How long before you will read these words, this feeble expression of a captive soul

where you are queen? Oh, my adorable wife! I don't know what fate has in store for me, but if it

keeps me apart from you any longer, it will be unbearable! My courage is not enough for that.

Once upon a time I was proud of my courage, and sometimes I would think of the ills destiny might

bring me and consider the most terrible horrors without blinking or feeling shaken. But, today the

thought that my Josephine might be in trouble, that she may be ill, above the cruel, the awful

thought that she may love me less blights my soul, stills my blood and makes me sad and

depressed, without even the courage of rage and despair. I used often to say men cannot harm

one who dies without regret; but, now, to die not loved by you, to die without knowing, would be

the torment of Hell, the living image of utter desolation. I feel I am suffocating. My one

companion, you whom fate has destined to travel the sorry road of life beside me, the day I lose

your heart will be the day Nature loses warmth and life for me. I stop, sweet friend; my soul is sad,

my body tired, my spirit oppressed. men bore me. I ought to hate them: they take me away from

my heart.

I am at Port Maurice, near Ognelia; tomorrow I reach Albenga. The two armies are moving, trying

to outwit each other. Victory to the cleverer. I am pleased with Beauliu; he maneuvers well and is

stronger than his predecessor. I will beat him soundly, I hope. Don't be frightened. Love me like

your eyes; but that is not enough: like yourself, more than yourself, than your thoughts, your life,

all of you. Forgive me, dear loe, I am raving; Nature is frail when one feels deeply, when one is

loved by you.

Bonaparte

Sincere friendship to Barras, Sucy, Madame Tallien; respects to Madame Chateau-Renard; true

love to Eugene, to Hortense.

Goodbye, goodbye! I shall go to bed without you, sleep without you. Let me sleep, I beg you. For

several nights I have felt you in my arms; a happy dream, but it is not you.




April 24, 1796

My brother will bring you this letter. I have the greatest love for him and I hope he will gain yours;

he deserves it. Nature has given him a sweet and utterly good character; he is full of good

qualities. I am writing to Barras to get him appointed consul in some Italian port. He wants to live

with his little wife far away from the hurly-burly and political affairs; I commend him to you.

I have your letters of the 16th and the 21st. There are many days when you don't write. What do

you do, then? No, my darling, I am not jealous, but sometimes worried. Come soon; I warn you, if

you delay, you will find me ill. Fatigue and your absence are too much.

Your letters are the joy of my days, and my days are happiness are not many. Junot is bringing

twenty-two flags to Paris.

You must come back with him, do you understand? Hopeless sorrow, inconsolable misery, sadness

without end, if I am so unhappy as to see him return alone. Adorable friend, he will see you, he

will breathe in your temple; perhaps you will frant him the unique and perfect flavor of kissing

your cheek, and I shall be alone and far, far away. But you are coming, aren't you? You are going to

be here beside me, in my arms, on my breast, on my mouth. Take wing and come, come! But

travel gently. The road is long, bad, tiring. Suppose you had an accident, or fell ill; suppose fatigue-

come gently, my adorable love, but I think of you often.

I have received a letter from Hortense. I will write to her. She is altogether charming. I love her

and will soon send her the perfumes she wants.

Read Ossian's poem "Carthon" carefully, and sleep well and happily far from your good friend, but

thinking of him.

A kiss on the heart, and one lower down, much lower!

B.

I don't know if you need money; you have never talked about your affairs. If so, you can ask my

brother, who has 200 louis of mine.




May 13, 1796

So, it is true that you are pregnant. Murat has written to me; but he tells me that it is making you

ill and he thinks it unwise for you to undertake so long a journey. So I must still be deprived of the

joy of holding you in my arms! I must still spend several months far from all that I love! Is it

possible that I shan't have the pleasure of seeing you with your little belly? That should make you

interesting! You write that you have changed. Your letter is short and sad and shakily written.

What is it, my adorable? What can be upsetting you? Oh! Don't stay in the country; go to town; try

to amuse yourself, and remember that there is no truer torment for my sould than to know you

unwell and unhappy. I thought I was jealous, but I swear to you I am not. I think I would rather

myself give you a lover than to know you are miserable, so be gay and cheerful, and remember

that my happiness depends on yours. If Josephine is unhappy, if she lets herself be sad and

discouraged, then she doesn't love me. Soon you are going to bring into the world another being

who will love you as much as I-no, that is impossible, but your children and I will always be around

you to convince you of our love and care. You won't be horrid, will you? No tantrums!! Except as a

joke. And then just two or three pouts; nothing is prettier, and a liittle kiss puts everything right.

The courier has brought me your letter of the 18th. How sad it makes me! Can't you be happy,

darling Josephine? Is there something you want? I am waiting patiently for Muray to know the

details of what you are doing, what you are saying, whom you are seeing, what you are wearing.

Everything to do with my adorable is dear to my heart, which only longs to know.

Things are going well here; but my heart is indescribably heavy. You are ill and far away from me.

Be gay and take great care of yourself, you are worth more than all the universe to me. The

thought that oyu are ill makes me very unhappy.

Please, my sweet, tell Freron that my family does not wish him to marry my sister, and that I am

determined to takes steps to prevent it. Please tell my brother

B.


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