Family Tree

“A man with a mirthful and cheerful character, an optimist, a little arrogant in speech, avid, fearless, fond of his independence, not afraid of anyone and well equipped with a vivid imagination.”

“A man who had many skills, broad-minded, who was there for everyone even to his own disadvantage; a nice person in company and in dealing with other people; who adored life, but on the other hand without much luck and experiencing a lot of setbacks due to his kindness, although he never lost his good mood facing disaster.”

“Grandmother lived with us in Heule. I still remember her and I can almost picture her coming down the stairs of the little upstairs room where she slept. What I have heard through the grapevine, is that she had a difficult character, obstinate, closed, one-handed and scrupulous regarding religion.”

“Mother claimed that she had never seen her in a good mood nor that she had been able to bear laughter or to have fun. She was meticulous and modest in her appearance.”

“He then appeared to us as a creature we looked up to in admiration : a strongly built man, tall in stature, broad-shouldered, with a heavy step and a head that seemed to be carved from stone, with a short-cut moustache as hard as iron wire, and with hard and upright gray spiky hair. When he spoke he used a surly voice and I have never seen him other than with a serious, closed expression on his face - self-assured and fond of authority.”

“Despite his closed nature and unruly looks, he was easy going. He was a rough diamond with a sensitive heart, but it was hard for him to show. We looked up at him in awe, but we admired him for his kindness towards children. Every time he came to visit, he brought us a present.”

“On February 13th, 1909, mother died suddenly and without a death struggle. When I arrived, she was lying on her bed with an expression that I had never seen before on her face, an expression of seriousness, anger, closed - identical to the death-mask of her brother Guido, as I had seen on his deathbed.”

“From what became known of uncle Seppen and from what we were able to deduce later from the family letters, he first of all had the conduct of a moody, hypersensitive, spoiled child; without willpower, floating and fickle, unsteady and indecisive; inflicted with an inferiority complex, mourning, dismayed, which then resulted in an extreme mood swing: enterprising, fierce, passionate with fixed plans and ready to tackle the most difficult problems.”

“He has never shown any ability or talent - his brother, with his endless poems, bored him. We know nothing about his function as the religious shepherd of his parish flock, nor of his sermons. He has only left a reputation as a weirdo. When he was a pastor at the village of Stene (meaning Stone), for example, he used to collect all kinds of stones in his garden. Such and other eccentricities made him quite notorious.”

“Florence had grown less than her brothers and sister — short and stocky in stature, with the typical, spirited head of the Gezelle family. She was a proud woman, coquettish, somewhat spoiled being the youngest child, with a pleasant nature; she was well-educated, worldwise, quick-on-the-uptake; she spoke French and English fluently. Aunt Florence is certainly the only one in whom I have been unable to notice any of the family oddities. She had a determined personality, which she certainly could not have inherited from her father and even less from her mother.”

“Her good education and monastic discipline will certainly have shaped her character. She was a staid, sensible and a veritable religious sister, but she had the courage to express her own opinion and to give advice whenever it was needed. I have often witnessed that in confusing circumstances she had common sense and her own view on worldly matters.”

“As a student, he was always dressed after the latest fashion and even a tiny eccentrically. I have known my mother to remark: “He is far too vain to become a priest! ” Once he was wearing his soutane his looks suddenly changed in stature and appearance and he then had an imposing air, a beautiful, young clergyman, to whom one looked up. Just as before, he was smartly dressed. He wore silver buckles on his shoes and he loved wearing a Roman cloak. I had the opportunity to witness Cesar’s transformation from teenage boy to manhood.”

“I am firmly convinced that he was an exemplary and conscientious priest, who wanted above all to fulfill his duties as a clergyman. But I am well aware that he has been wearing a mask all his life - the outer bark tucking away the inner sensitive soul; a lifetime of suppression - restraining his heart, as his uncle had been doing before, who had moreover told him this. As a poet, he suffered from the pressure of his uncle, feeling like the imitator, the epigone of the important Gezelle.”