V O L U M E 8 , D O C U M E N T S 3 3 3 a , 3 4 3 a 5 1
Vol. 8, 333a. To Heinrich Zangger
[Berlin,] Saturday evening, [5 May
1917][1]
Dear friend Zangger,
This evening, after the letter to you had barely
left,[2]
I received news according
to which the reduction in my earnings will not occur for the
present.[3]
My com-
ments in this regard consequently do not apply. It is very good that among all the
other evils this one is not added as well. For the present at least we do not need to
think about that yet. Couldn’t my sister take care of something that might relieve
you or Besso of some
effort?[4]
She has a free
ticket,[5]
you know, and would gladly
do anything. (I am thinking of dealing with the things in the apartment, putting in
mothballs, etc.)
Cordial regards, yours,
Einstein.
Sunday morning, [6 May 1917]
Your and my Albert’s
report[6]
delighted me, with the exception of the last remark,
the content of which enraged me. If only people would finally leave you in peace!
The tragedy of it lies in that the phlegmatic cannot grasp the agility of your intellect
and interpret it
wrongly.[7]
Genuine ill-will would rarely play a role.–
It is touching how you always revert to a belief in the elevation of human beings!
I am convinced that even ethical conventions are subject to fashion. They unfortu-
nately change like the weather. They emerge epidemically in the herd. Albert’s re-
port delighted
me.[8]
It is impossible for me to leave before July (course; phys.
society, etc.).
Vol. 8, 343a. To Heinrich Zangger
[Berlin], Wednesday, [23 or 30 May
1917][1]
Dear friend Zangger,
In the past few days I have been thinking constantly about how my family could
be properly provided for without causing an unsustainable financial situation, and
I arrived at the following results, which I now present to you.
1) With this letter another is going out to my sister with the request that she travel
to Arosa and make inquiries on location about how my boy can be accommodated
there well but less expensively than by following your
suggestion.[2]
My sister will
then immediately report the results of her research to you so that you can make your
assessment appropriately, in accordance with the
circumstances.[3]
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