In May 1963, the Paris weekly Lettre Francaise published a speech by Marc Chagall, delivered in the United States in a close circle of compatriots: "All my life I loved to listen to others and, as far as I could, learn from them. If I had been more intelligent, I would have remained with my painting, undisturbed by anything, and engaged in the work that is the main goal of my life and which, I dare say, I do not do for myself alone." The artist talked about the power of the human spirit and the leading role of spirituality in all spheres of life. Ideas born only from the head, bypassing the soul, are untenable and short-lived: "What can be more touching in our era, in our human community, on our planet Earth-than the desire and willingness to listen to the human soul and hear in it the movement of the world, with all its sighs and dreams?" The speaker referred to examples of the works of ancient epochs. It was in them that he found the already established concept of the human world. According to M. Chagall, the centuries that followed the classical period and the Renaissance are not able to elevate a person and enrich his spiritual world, and thus give strength for creativity and daily existence. Discussing the meaning of being, the artist, without falling into contradiction, claimed, on the one hand, that he deeply believes "in the sublimity of human nature itself", on the other, he is convinced that human fate is subject to the intervention of cosmic influences. This is how the speaker approached the concepts of fate and fate. They are of interest to art only because at the center of the artist's being and awareness of it is the human being. The author complained about the time and people who began to treat such concepts as "God, perspective, color, the Bible, form, line, tradition, all kinds of humanism, love, loyalty, family, school, upbringing, prophets, and at the same time Christ" differently. the World rests on these concepts and therefore does not collapse. ... Read more