2 5 2 D O C U M E N T 1 2 3 A U G U S T 1 9 2 0
And this satisfaction is worth the labor of a lifetime!
You are a man! A natural fighter! Nothing will break your intellectual blows—
And yet—all knowledge notwithstanding, even the strongest is sometimes cast
down—For, even the power of the best among us has its limits:
In such moments, send out your thoughts to those to whom you mean so many
great things—and they are in the thousands!
My intellect cannot always follow yours (for I am a young woman and no
learned mind); and yet I feel it in every nerve: your writings taught me, after a
heavy blow of fate, to love the Earth again—for—they led me back from misan-
thropy and contempt of the world—to the silent majesty of eternal nature!
Just for that, I wanted to thank you herewith.
Greetings from a remote stranger,
Countess Elsa von Schweinitz and Krain
123. From Max Wolf[1]
Heidelberg, Königstuhl, 30 August 1920
Highly esteemed Sir,
To my horror I received today an announcement from Berlin about a lecture se-
ries against the gen. theory of relativity, on which I discover my
name.[2]
Thus I
have unknowingly, and in an unwarranted manner, been connected to you and, con-
sequently, you will surely excuse me if I disturb you with these few lines.
I want nothing more than to explain to you that I did not offer my name so as to
act against you in this way, as seems to be going on in Berlin!
Mr. Weyland, previously unknown to me, visited me on Aug.
3[3]
and coaxed out
of me that I had reservations about the gen. theory of relativity, which is indeed the
case owing to the time principle. At the same time, however, I told the gentleman
that I took a neutral stance on the subject, and that, quite contrary to my wishes,
measurements I had recently taken came out in favor of the solar eclipse
data.[4]
I
did not promise Mr. Weyland a talk and am therefore appalled to find my name on
the lecture listing.
I harshly condemn these whole proceedings; it reminds me terribly of the medi-
eval councils.
I am writing to Mr. Weyland at the same time, in order to urge him to keep my
name out of this affair.