The following is from the book, The First Man" by Albert Camus, published after his death. This letter, and the reply from his teacher, are included with the book.
He wrote this fresh from his speech in Stockholm
accepting the Nobel Prize for literature. He had this to say to his former
teacher:
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 honor, 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
your example, none of all this would have happened. I don't make too
much of this sort of honor. But at least it gives me an 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
As someone who loves Camus and believes in the unique beauty and power of the personal letter, this is amazing.
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