D O C U M E N T S 1 0 0 , 1 0 1 M A R C H 1 9 2 1 8 1
100. To Maurice Solovine
[Berlin,] 16 March 1921
Dear Solovine,
I am returning to you
(Gauthier-Villars)[1]
the signed
contracts.[2]
Please send
the money to Prof. Ehrenfest, Witte Roozen St., Leyden, with the remark that it is
intended for me. This happens because I need a lot of money abroad, esp. in Hol-
land and
Switzerland,[3]
and it’s simplest this way. I have the permission from the
Academy.[4]
On Sunday I’m departing already, so none of your letters will reach
me here anymore. In two months I hope to be back here
again.[5]
If I do deliver any
scientific lectures, it will probably be at Princeton University, which was the first
to invite
me.[6]
If you would like to write to me in America, a letter addressed to
the banking house Kuhn, Loeb, [& Co.,] New York, will reach
me.[7]
D[ear] Solovine, I am not a patriot either and confidently believe that the Jews
will be prevented by the smallness and dependency of their Palestinian colony from
becoming obsessed with
power.[8]
D. Solovine, I would like to chat more with you but I’m as hurried as a hare and
have to wangle every minute. Cordial greetings to you, for now, from your
A. Einstein.
101. From Maurice Solovine
Paris, 16 March 1921
Dear Einstein,
Since I haven’t yet received the papers you had the kindness to send to me, I
would like to urge you please to do your utmost to have them reach me as soon as
possible.[1]
The safest way to put an end to the nonsense that these unqualified ras-
cals allow themselves to perpetrate with your ideas can only be through translation
of your work into
French.[2]
The already translated writings are in great demand
here.[3]
Serious, competent people are very glad to be able to draw your new mag-
nificent ideas from the source itself.
At the suggestion of a number of my friends, I must once again return to das-
tardly Fabre. Enclosed you will find an article by him published in the paper
LÊIntransigeant, where he imputes to you the stupidest
nonsense.[4]
On this basis
you can write a letter to the chief editor of this
paper[5]
in which you most energet-
ically protest against his ignorance, in that he demonstrates ignorance not just of
your papers but also of the most elementary laws of physics; for if it’s possible for
rays to penetrate the thickest walls and rocks, it would be humanly impossible to
carry out such a thing.—The stupid dolt simply doesn’t draw any distinction