1. Theo was staying with Uncle Cor (FR b2514). Vincent went to visit them on Sunday, 18 March and left the next day; see letter 109.

2. Willemien turned 15 on 16 March. She received not only the books mentioned in this letter but also one from Theo (FR b2514, 17 March 1877).

3. Elizabeth Wetherell, De wijde, wijde wereld, a translation of The wide, wide world; see letter 80, n. 5. The first Dutch translation dates from 1854 (Doetinchem); the second edition appeared in 1863 (Amsterdam) and the third in 1877 (Schoonhoven). It is not known who translated it.

4. Louis Félix Bungener, Het kersfeest aan de Pool, of God overal; een nieuw kersverhaal. Translated from the French by J.P. Hasebroek. Amsterdam [1864] (Christmas at the Pole, or God everywhere: a new Christmas story). This 32-page book cost 0.25 guilders. Another edition is Het kerstfeest aan de pool, of God overal. Een nieuw kersverhaal, translated from the French by J.P. Hasebroek, Utrecht n.d. [possibly 1873]. The original title was Noël au Pôle ou Dieu partout: quelques pages pour les enfants. Lausanne 1864 (Christmas at the Pole or God everywhere: a few pages for children). This edifying children’s book tells the story of the crew of a ship stranded on the North Pole. Several members of the crew have already died, and the morale and faith of the survivors is seriously weakened. By putting up a Christmas tree, the crew’s leader manages to restore trust and faith in Christ.

5. John 16:32.

6. Matt. 28:20.

7. Rhy. ps. 16:4.

8. Ps. 121:5: like the previous quotation, the source is one of the Psalms of David.

9. Johannes Aertsen, who was seriously ill, was the husband of Adriana van Eekelen and lived at Tiggelt 131 in Rijsbergen (see letter 110). This large family and the Van Goghs saw each other regularly. Aertsen had long been an elder and church warden. As head of the local branch of the Maatschappij van Welstand (Welfare Society), Mr van Gogh did his best to promote the welfare of the farmers, including Aertsen, who had been in the position to lease a farm since 1849. This farmer had experienced many setbacks, including failed harvests and cattle plagues. See Kools 1990, pp. 46-47, 52, 55 69-71, 120.

10. William Holman Hunt, The Light of the World, 1853 (Manchester, City Art Galleries). Ill. 1800

. In 1860 Ernest Gambart published a costly print made by William Henry Simmons, which became exceptionally popular and was copied many times. Ill. 2307

. In 1865 Gambart had a smaller and less expensive reproduction made in the form of an etching by William Ridgway. See Jeremy Maas, Holman Hunt and the Light of the World. Aldershot 1987; Engen 1995, pp. 42-46, and Verhoogt 1999, pp. 27-28.

11. Ps. 119:105.

12. Cf. Matt. 5:3 and Luke 6:20.

13. Cf. Gal. 5:22, Eph. 4:2 and Col. 3:12.

a. Meaning: ‘be true to yourself’.

14. 2 Cor. 6:17.

15. The passage reads: ‘en trek niet uit de wereld zonder uw liefde en eerbied voor den Stichter van het Christendom op de een of andere wijze openlijk aan den dag te hebben gelegd’ (and leave not the world without having shown openly your love and respect for the Founder of Christianity). See Matthias Claudius, De Wandsbecker Bode, translated by I.C. van Deventer. 2 vols. Haarlem 1853, vol. 2, p. 163 (The Wandsbeck Messenger). There were other translations of this book as well.

The passage is originally from the book Matthias Claudius, An meinem Sohn Johannes (To my son John): ‘und gehe nicht aus der Welt, ohne Deine Liebe und Ehrfurcht für den Stifter des Christentums durch irgend etwas öffentlich bezeugt zu haben’ (and do not leave this world without having testified in some way to your love and respect for the Founder of Christianity). Sämtliche Werke. Ed. J. Perfahl et al. Munich 1968, p. 548.

16. Rev. 3:11.

17. Ps. 80:6 (in KJ Ps. 80:5). Also quoted in Thomas a Kempis, L’imitation de Jésus-Christ, i, 21.

18. Based on the chapter ‘La vérité nous enseigne’ (The truth teaches us) in Thomas a Kempis, L’imitation de Jésus-Christ, i, 3, from which Van Gogh quotes in letters 134 and 135.

19. Ps. 51:19 (in KJ Ps. 51:17).

20. Cf. Ps. 97:10.

21. Cf. Heb. 5:14.

22. Cf. Ps. 121:7.

23. Cf. Luke 14:26.

24. Expression, possibly based on Prov. 14:23, ‘In all labour there is profit’. Cf. letter 104, n. 20. Dorn considers this line to be one of Thomas Carlyle’s central theses, seeing in it a paraphrase of ‘Blessed is he who has found his work’ from Carlyle’s Past and present. Dorn also refers to Carlyle’s ‘Know thy work and do it’. See exhib. cat. Mannheim 1996, pp. 34, 48 (n. 17). Cf. letters 128, 288 and 294.

25. Van Gogh had asked for this photograph in letter 105.