598
DOCS.
571,
572
JUNE
1918
realize
what
one
gets
when
the
sense
of
inadequacy
does not have
enough
force.
There
is
presently a danger
that
he
will
work himself to
pieces.
Unfortunately,
his
wife[12]
does not
seem
to
be
a good manager.
Now I
have
the
opportunity
of
returning
what I still
owe
you.
It
would be
good
if
you gave
me a
complete
itemization.[13] I
am
very
glad
now
that
I
am
able
to
secure
my
children’s
future
financially
so
well
that
they will
not be
dependent
on
outside
help
if
they
want
to
study, as
was
the
case
with
me.[14]
Cordial
regards
from
your
Einstein.
572. To
Michele Besso
[Berlin,
before
28
June
1918][1]
Dear
Michele,
When
I
see your handwriting,
I’m
always very
particularly
pleased,
for
no one
is
so
close
to
me as you
and knows
me so
well
and
means so
well.
Don’t
worry
at
all
about
my experiences
on
paper
with
Anna;
I
don’t want to
bear
a grudge
against
her for it
and
am
grateful
for her effort.
But
I
must
say
one
thing.
Never
before has
anybody
been
so
insolent to
me,
and
I
hope
that
no one ever
will
again
in
the
future![2]
Weyl
is
an ingenious,
fine
fellow,
but
his
conception
of
electricity
is
no good;
I wrote
Dällenbach about it in
a
bit
more
detail,[3]
nothing
new,
by
the
way.
I’m not
going
to
try to
convince
you
all
but leave
it to
time.
I
would
have liked
to
hear
Weyl’s lecture;[4]
everything by
him
is
so
original
and
is
elaborated
so
exquisitely.
And he
certainly
can
calculate!!
I have
no
patience
for
writing a
statistical
mechanics.
Besides,
Gibbs’s
book[5]
is
a
masterpiece,
although
hard
to
read and with
the
main
points
between
the
lines....
It’s
a
simple
matter to
recommend
book-writing
to
a
friend,
you
scoundrel,
but
where
is
your
book
then,
which
you were telling me
about
so
earnestly
last
year?
Par
nobile
fratrum![6]
Now
to
the
contract. I
very
much
hesitate
presenting
Mileva
with
sugges-
tions for
new
alterations
or
additions,
now
that
she
is satisfied.[7]
She
will
surely
handle the
money carefully
when I’m
dead;
so
I
don’t want to
burden her with
any
supervision,
so
let’s leave aside
the
addendum to
(2).
The
addition
to
(3)
is
inapplicable
because
the
interest from
the
hypothetical
Nobel Prize
will
not
exceed Fr.
8000.[8]
Finally,
I
cannot
expect my
uncle to take
care
of
my boys
as
well,
indeed,
I
don’t
even
want
it. Who knows
anyway,
how much of his
splendor
this
great
era
will
leave
him.[9]
I’m
very skeptical.
Aside
from
this,
what has
now