( Photo Albert Camus addressing dignitaries at the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm)
THE HUMILITY OF ALBERT CAMUS
Camus was less than a year old when his father was killed on the battlefield of World War I. He and his elder brother were raised by their illiterate and deaf mother and a despotic maternal grandmother, with hardly any prospects for a bright future. His mother worked as domestic help in some households to earn for the family . Camus grew up in poverty .In a testament to what happens when education lives up to its highest potential to ennoble the human spirit, a teacher named Louis Germaine saw in young Albert something special and undertook the task of conjuring cohesion and purpose out of the boy — the task of any great mentor. Under his teacher’s wing, He asked Camus to join him for after-school classes, arranged scholarship for him and bought him books. Camus came to transcend the dismal cards he had been dealt and began blossoming into his future genius. Through Germain's support, Camus was able to attend a prestigious school, which exposed him to the ideas and studies that would later define his career as a philosopher, writer, and Nobel laureate.
There are many letters that Camus wrote to people who mattered to him. The letter that Camus wrote to his former teacher, Louis Germaine, after winning the Nobel Prize is considered one of his best letters . The text of the letter is profound in expressing deep gratitude for Germaine's influence on his life and education, acknowledging the pivotal role his teacher played in shaping his path. The letter speaks of Camus's humility, thankful nature, impactful language, gratitude and empathy .The letter is a powerful reminder of the enduring impact of mentorship and the importance of recognizing those who help us along the way. The letter was published by the French newspaper ,Combat on its front page .Here is the text of the letter:-
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" 19 November 1957
Dear Monsieur Germain,
I let the commotion around me these days subside a bit before speaking to you from the bottom of my heart. I have just been given far too great an honour, one I neither sought nor solicited. But when I heard the news, my first thought, after my mother, was of you. Without you, without the affectionate hand you extended to the small poor child that I was, without your teaching and example, none of all this would have happened. I don’t make too much of this sort of honour. But at least it gives me the opportunity to tell you what you have been and still are for me, and to assure you that your efforts, your work, and the generous heart you put into it still live in one of your little schoolboys who, despite the years, has never stopped being your grateful pupil. I embrace you with all my heart.
Albert Camus"
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And when Camus was killed in the tragic car accident, Louis Germaine went all the way to Lourmarin village and was seen carrying the casket of his illustrious pupil to the burial ground. Others who joined Camus's funeral at the Loumarin village included Professor Jean Grenier ( another mentor of Camus at the University) , Rene Char ( well-known French poet) and Baston Gallimard ( publisher) . Jean Grenier had introduced Camus to the major Western philosophers and had also suggested to him to read the Bhagwad Gita and the Upanishads. Camus wrote many letters to Grenier acknowledging his debt in mentoring him at the University. Grenier became a close friend of Camus and the friendship continued till Camus's tragic death.
.( Avtar Mota )
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