NAVILLE (Pierre). - Lot 226

NAVILLE (Pierre). Born in Paris. 1904–1993. Sociologist. Trotskyist activist. Autograph letter signed “P. Naville” to “My dear Merleau-Ponty.” No place, no date [1945]. 1 folio page. Letterhead of *La Revue Internationale*. A very fine letter on the action to be taken in support of the communist activist Tran Duc Thao (imprisoned at La Santé Prison in October 1945, following her active support for the Viet Minh and Ho Chi Minh’s government):...As for Thao, the publication of the revised text in *Libertés* was due to Rimbert, despite my formal instruction (...). I had sent him the text to collect signatures, asking him not to use it until we had considered publishing it in the daily newspapers after receiving your approval and that of the people you had contacted. If Thao is released soon, so much the better, but the charges will likely remain, which is why I thought we should not limit ourselves to protesting merely the fact of his detention. Thao also had me informed that the article he gave me should be modified slightly, which will be done. In any case, we must continue to collect signatures, and to avoid any misunderstandings, I’d prefer to meet with you as soon as possible (...) preferably in the late afternoon, at Gallimard (...). As for the rest, I think you’re the one misinterpreting my intentions! I assure you that in this matter my only concern was to get my friends out of prison, but since I believe to some extent in the interdependence of events, in causality (there you go!), and since I’ve had little political experience, it seemed to me that their imprisonment depended on a broader situation with which you’re familiar, both in Indochina and in France. It’s very simple and quite commonplace. Hence my text, which, incidentally, is very far from my own views on the matter but seemed to me likely to garner a number of significant signatures. I had no intention whatsoever of reproaching you for not taking responsibility in this case. On what grounds?... That said, I’m more than willing to continue a more general discussion with you. I understand your reservations; you’re not the only one who has them. Mine are of a different nature, but it would be beneficial to discuss them in greater detail. I view what you and your friends say and do with the utmost sympathy, and I have never refused to engage in any discussion. Don’t you think it is rather I who might complain of being treated as a suspect? And yet I am one of the freest people there is in my current search for a revolutionary policy... But I have 20 years of experience (...). As for my comradeship, please do not doubt it...