NAVILLE (Pierre). - Lot 174

NAVILLE (Pierre). Born in Paris. 1904-1993. Sociologist. Trotskyist activist. L.A.S. "P. Naville" to "Mon cher Merleau-Ponty". S.l.n.d. [1945]. 1 folio page. La Revue Internationale letterhead. Very fine letter on the action to be taken in favor of the communist militant Tran Duc Thao (imprisoned in the Santé prison in October 1945, following his active support for the Viet Minh and the Ho Chi Minh government): ...With regard to Thao, the publication of the modified text in Libertés is due to Rimbert, despite my formal indication (...). I had sent him the text to collect signatures, inviting him not to use it until we had considered publication in the dailies with your agreement and that of the people you had contacted. If Thao is released soon, so much the better, but the charge will undoubtedly remain, and that's why I thought we shouldn't limit ourselves to protesting against the simple fact of his detention. Thao also warned me to make some changes to the article he had given me, which will be done. In any case, we must continue to collect signatures, and to avoid misunderstandings, I would prefer to see you as soon as possible (...) preferably in the late afternoon, at Gallimard (...). As for the rest, I think it's you who are improperly probing my intentions! I assure you that my only concern in this matter was to see my friends get out of prison, but since I believe somewhat in the interdependence of events, in causality (voilà voilà!) and since I have indeed seen little political experience, it seemed to me that their imprisonment depended on a more general situation that you know, both in Indochina and in France. It's all very simple and commonplace. Hence my text, which is very far removed from my own views on the matter, but which I felt would bring together a number of significant signatures. I had no intention of reproaching you for not taking responsibility in this case. In the name of what? Having said that, I'd be happy to pursue a more general discussion with you. I understand your scruples; you're not the only one to have them. Mine are of a different order, but it would be profitable to discuss them more closely. I examine with the utmost sympathy what you and your friends say and do, and I've never shied away from any discussion. Don't you think I'm the one who should be complaining about being treated like a suspect? And yet I'm one of the freest people around in my current quest for revolutionary politics... But I have 20 years' experience (...). As for my comradeship, please don't question it...