1 3 4 D O C U M E N T 1 3 8 A P R I L 1 9 2 2 138. From Paul Oppenheim[1] Frankfurt/Main, 9 April 1922 Dear Professor, It doesn’t take much tactfulness to notice how right I was to postpone my assis- tance in the manuscript affair upon your inquiry by telephone until other ways out had failed: I had the feeling, and still have it, that our friendship might be strained by it, without being of service either to someone or to science.[2] That is why I ask you to make the decision on your own, whereby you might still find a way to take the known, somewhat divergent point of mine, a little bit into account. But I broached the manuscript issue only as a symptom, you know. For me, the main thing was to repair the broken relations between the two parties, out of friend- ship and a love of science. Together we performed psychoanalysis by subjecting the causes, as far as they may have been unwitting, to conscious scrutiny and thereby eliminated them so that henceforth another attitude emerges: You wanted henceforth to regard some things as the opposites to hot-blooded emotion and tem- perament, or however else you wish to call it, that you had previously only evalu- ated logically and condemned. To my exceedingly great joy you promised me, in ethical greatness equating that of your science, to at least resume scientific rela- tions, in the interest of science.[3] I have the confidence in you that you will keep this promise, particularly because, as I believed to sense, when it was made, a little bit of friendship spoke along in its favor, which although perhaps not deserving the spirit of it, surely would warrant some loyalty. I do not need to tell you how pleased I would be soon to hear that you had spoken with each other I am convinced that you will find it satisfying. In this hope I am, with many cordial regards across the board from both of us,[4] your truly devoted Oppenheim. 29 April 1922 I can only send off the foregoing today because I did not receive a reply from Freundlich, who had been away, earlier. It changes none of my arguments but rather prompts me to the following, hopefully not importunate suggestion, which at the moment appears to me to be the best solution: After my refusal, you have to decide. Wouldn’t you want to wait with it for a while? Such decisions should not be made in the grip of emotions. For the interim you could deposit the manuscript in a safe place that is at your personal disposition at all times (e.g., in the manuscripts col- lection of the State Library[5] or ultimately also in your home). I naturally promise you that I won’t mention a word to you about the whole affair unless you directly
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