DOCS.
257,
258
SEPTEMBER
1916 249
257. To
Hedwig
Born
[Berlin,]
8 September 1916
Esteemed Mrs.
Born,[1]
Your
poem delighted me,
above all because it
signals
a
cheerful
disposition
but
also
is
a
sign
that
you
entertain
the
best
of
relations not
only
with the Parnassian
Muse
but
also
with the
Flemish
sow.[2]
The
latter
is truly
not
necessary,
though,
to make
the
prospect
of
a
couple
of
pleasant evening
hours
spent
in
your
home
appear
to
me
in the
most
enticing
colors!
I read
the
book
with
great
interest.
It
is
interestingly
written,
without
a
doubt
by
a man
who knows
the
pitfalls
of the human
soul.
Incidentally,
I
believe
I
have
made
the
acquaintance
of this
man
in
Prague.[3]
He apparently
belongs
to
a
small
philosophically
and
zionistically
infested
circle,
which
was
loosely
associated
with
the
university philosophers,
a
small
troop of
unrealistic
people, harking
back to
the
Middle
Ages,
with whom
you
have become familiar
on
reading
the
book.[4]
Best
regards
to
you
both,
yours,
Einstein.
I
am
sending
you
the
two
papers you
wanted at
the
same
time.
I will
bring
the
book
along
myself.
[2]“Flämisch” also
meaning “of
the
flames.”
258. To Helene
Savic
Berlin,
Wilmersdorf.
13
Wittelsbacher
St., 8
September 1916
My
dear
Helene,[1]
Your
letter
pleased
me
greatly,
first because
you
talk
in
detail about
my
dear
boys,[2]
then
because
you
do
not
judge
me
superficially,
as
most
of
my
acquaintances
do.
Separation
from
Mieze[3]
was a
matter of
life
and
death
for
me.
Our
life
together
had become
impossible,
even depressing; why,
I
cannot
say.
Thus
I
deprive myself
of
my
boys,
whom
I
still
love
tenderly. During
the
two
years
of
our
separation,
I
saw
them
twice;
last
spring
I
went
on a
little
trip
with
Albert,
and to
my
great
dismay,
I noticed
that
my children,
not
understanding
my
behavior,
feel
secretly angry
at
me,[4]
and
I
find
that,
although
it
is
distressing,
it
is
better for
them
if
their father
does not
see
them
anymore.
I
would be satisfied
if
they
became useful and
respected men; everything points
toward
believing
that
this
will
be
so;
for
they
are
quite gifted,
and
although
in
general
I
do not have
a
high opinion
of
the
influence
of education,
I have
great
confidence
in
that
of
their
Previous Page Next Page