540 DOC.
521 APRIL
1918
521.
To
David Hilbert
[Berlin,
before
27 April
1918][1]
Esteemed
Colleague,
Countless times in these
desolate
years
of
general
nationalistic
delusion,
men
of science
and the
arts issued statements
to
the
public
that
have
already
inflicted
incalculable
damage
to
the
feeling
of
solidarity
that had
been
developing
with
such
promise
before
the
war among
those who devote themselves to
higher
and
freer
purposes.[2]
The hue and
cry
raised
by
strait-laced
preachers
and
servants
of
the
bleak
principle
of
power
is
becoming
so
loud and
public opinion
is
being
misled to such
a degree by
methodical
silencing
of
the
press
that
those
with bet-
ter
intentions,
feeling wretchedly isolated,
do not dare to raise
their
voices.
Day
by day
the
danger
is
growing
that
even
those who have been
clinging
with
all
their
might
to
the
ethical ideals of
a
happier
phase
in
human
development
will
eventually
despair
and
will
also fall victim
intellectually
to
the
general derange-
ment.
This
serious
situation
places those,
who
through
fortunate intellectual
achievements have
gained an
elevated
position among
scholars
throughout
the
entire
civilized
world,[3]
before
a
mission
they
must not evade:
They must
make
a
public
declaration that
could
serve as
support
and consolation for those who in
their
solitude have not
yet
lost
their
belief in moral
progress.
I
am
thinking of
the
following.
Each of
us
provides
an
avowal,
in
the
form of
a
short
essay[4]
of
up
to
about
10 printed
pages, designed
to make
an
impact
in
the
above-indicated
sense.
These
essays
appear,
assembled
together
in
a
little
volume,
on
the
book
market
as
evidence for
international
sentiment,
that
is,
probably
issued
initially
in
neutral
countries abroad. In order to stress the international
character,
we
could
try to
acquire
contributions
by
men
from lands
currently
in
a
state
of
war as
well
as
from
neutral
nations.
This
letter
is
being
sent not
only
to
you
but
also
to
a
very
few reputable men.[5]
Please
tell
me
frankly
whether
you approve
of
this
undertaking
and whether
you
would be inclined to make
a
contribution.
In
great respect,
A.
Einstein.
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