an irresistible momentum

What am I in the eyes of most people — 

a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — 

somebody who has no position in society and will never have; 

in short, the lowest of the low.

 

All right, then — 

even if that were absolutely true, 

then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, 

such a nobody, has in his heart. 

That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, 

based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion. 

Though I am often in the depths of misery, 

there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. 

I see paintings or drawings in the poorest cottages, 

in the dirtiest corners. 

And my mind is driven towards these things with an irresistible momentum.

~ Vincent Van Gogh