2 4 V O L U M E 8 , D O C U M E N T 2 3 2 a
Vol. 8, 232a. To Heinrich Zangger
[Berlin,] 11 July
[1916][1]
Dear Friend,
Your long letter, in which you informed me about how my boys are faring,
pleased me very much, but it also filled me with a certain concern in one
respect.[2]
Whenever my
wife[3]
confided in any one of my friends, I almost always had to give
him up for lost. Besso alone counts as a famous
exception.[4]
So don’t allow the
slightest drop of venom into your subconsciousness. It would be such a pity on our
fine relations. Surely not that I believed the woman would complain about me out-
right; it’s a matter of indirect influence on the emotions, by which women so often
get the better of
us.—[5]
My relations with the boys have frozen up completely
again. Following an exceedingly nice Easter excursion, the subsequent days in
Zurich brought on a complete chilling in a way that is not quite explicable to
me.[6]
It’s better if I keep my distance from them; I have to content myself with the knowl-
edge that they are developing well. How much better off I am than countless others,
who have lost their children in the war! Planck also lost a son like that, the other
one has been languishing in French captivity for almost 2
years.[7]
I’m extremely happy that Besso adjusted so well to his new
profession.[8]
He has
your stabilizing influence largely to thank for that. The few days I spent with him
during the Easter holidays were exceedingly
fine.[9]
He is one of the best minds I
ever encountered and is at the same time an excellent fellow.
This vacation I’m not going to come to Switzerland, for one because I have con-
fidence that peace is coming soon, so next spring I could travel there without those
chicaneries; on the other
hand,[10]
because revisiting my boys would be rather more
painful than enjoyable.
Concerning science, I’m only working on smaller things now, living a more con-
templative life and appreciating the work of others. The general theory of relativity
has now penetrated to the point where I can regard my task in this connection as
completed.
I shut my eyes as best I can to the insane goings-on in the world at large, having
completely lost my social consciousness. How can anyone merge in such a social
monstrosity if one is a decent person? A fleeting glance at the newspaper is enough
to make one disgusted with our
contemporaries.[11]
One can find solace only in cer-
tain individuals.
Cordial greetings, yours,
Einstein.
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