378
DOCS. 507-509
JANUARY-FEBRUARY
1914
Unless
something unexpected happens,
we
shall
come
to
Zurich
during summer
vacation.[13] I
must
come
here
in
any
case
because
I have to
give
a
few
examinations.
So
we
will
meet
in
any case.
Simultaneously
with this
letter,
I
am sending
you
the
proofs
of the little
article
on
kinetics
that
I
wrote
for
the
Kultur der
Gegenwart.[14]
If
you
find it
too
insipid, you
can
use
it
for
kindling.
I
will also send
you a
reprint
of
the
paper
on
the
relativity
theory[15]
once
I receive
it,
and
also
a
reprint
of the
little
article
in
Scientia,
and
possibly
also
the
article in
the
Phys.
Zeitschrift,[16]
the
learned
jargon
of
which
may
bother
you,
however.
Cordially yours,
Einstein
Give
my
best
regards to
Prof.
Hugenin[17]
and
to
your
wife.
508.
To
Elsa
Löwenthal
[Zurich,
28
January
1914]
Dear
Elsa,
The fates
were
unkind! All
that arrived
was
the
cover
of
a
box with
a
few
great-
smelling
grease
stains.
But
in this
way
I
partook
of
purely
moral
pleasure,
which
was
purged
for
certain of
all
vulgar
and materialistic sentiments. Another milestone
on
the
way
to
Buddha
victoriously passed!
But
if
I
could seize
that scoundrel of
a
postal
worker
by
the scruff of
his neck!
With
best
regards
to all
of
you, your
Albert
509.
To Elsa Löwenthal
[Zurich,
February
1914][1]
Dear
Else,
Don't
be
angry
with
me
for
my
being
such
a
poor
letter-writer.
This
does
not
mean
that
I love
you
any
less. I cannot find
the
time to write
because
I
am
occupied
with
truly
great
things.
Day
and
night
I
rack
my
brain
in
an
effort
to
penetrate
more
deeply
into
the
things
that
I
gradually
discovered in
the
past
two
years
and that
represent
an
unprecedented
advance
in
the fundamental
problems
of
physics.[2]
Now,
I have
to
write
a long
polemical
article, since
my
most
distinguished colleagues
refuse
to
accept
my
point
of
view.[3]
So I
do not have
enough peace
of
mind to be able to
chitchat,
just
as one
is
not able to
play
the
violin
after
having
worked
with
a
heavy
hammer.
But this
does
not
lessen the
eagerness
with which
I
look forward
to
being
with
my
dear
Else, in
whose