DOCS.
372,
373
AUGUST
1917 367
372. To
Paul
Seippel
[Lucerne,] Sunday.
[19
August
1917][1]
Highly
esteemed
Colleague,[2]
Through
a
trick of fate
it
had to be
that,
upon addressing
the letter
directed
to
me, you
wrote “Zurich” instead
of
“Lucerne”
on
the
envelope;
thus
I
received
it
only today,
so
when
the letter
reached
me you
had
already
left
Zurich. I
regret
this
exceedingly,
thinking
that
I
really
could
possibly
be of
some use
to
you
or
to
the
cause.[3]
Unfortunately,
my
state of
health
does not
allow
me
to travel from
here to meet
you
somewhere; however,
I
can
be met
anytime
this
week at
my
sister’s
house,
Mrs.
Winteler,
16A
Bramberg
St.,
Lucerne
(difficult
to
find; ask!).
I
should
naturally
also be
glad
to
go
to
the train
station, if
you
inform
me
of
your
arrival
(identifying
portrait:
gray
suit,
pale
face,
large dark-gray
felt
hat).
In
the
hope
of
soon
making your personal acquaintance,
I
am
yours very truly,
A.
Einstein.
373. From
Romain Rolland
Byron Hotel,
Villeneuve
(Vaud), Tuesday,
21 August 1917
Dear
Sir,
Prof.
Zangger
tells
me
that
you
intend to set
off
again
imminently
from
Lucerne.[1] I
had
formed
the
plan
of
going
to
shake
your
hand
before
your
de-
parture;
but there
is
little
chance
that
I
shall find the time
for
that this
week. I
would
like at
least
to
convey
to
you my
kind
regards.
I
know that
your
health
has suffered
rather
much and
that
you
do not want to take
care
of it
as
would
be
necessary,
which
is
a
crime toward science and
distressing
to your
friends.
But
I
know
only
too
well
that there
are
moments
in
life
when each
is
his
own
“torturer”:-
I
hope
that,
despite everything, your sojourn
in Switzerland has
restored
enough
of
your
strength
to
weather,
without
too much
strain,
another
winter
of
physical
and moral
privation
in Berlin.
I
scarcely
believe
you
have
lost
the
optimism
that had
struck
me so
at
the
time
of
the
visit
you
were so
kind
as
to
pay me
in
Vevey
two
years
ago.[2]
I
have retained
a
tonic and
illuminating memory
of
it.- For
my
part, if I
suffer in
my
heart
at
seeing
the
West
and,
above
all, my
France,
bleed itself
white,
I
remain
an
optimist
of
things
overall and
of
the future
progress
of
humanity.
It
may
be
that
some
nations
deplete
and void
themselves,
as
Spain
had done
in times
past. Yet, humanity
continues its march with
new
Previous Page Next Page