D O C U M E N T 3 9 8 D E C E M B E R 1 9 2 4 3 9 3
fortunately have none of or not enough here. I share Carathéodory’s
view[3]
com-
pletely and urgently request that the plan be kept, and Brouwer be written another
pacifying letter so that he does not feel
injured.[4]
Strangely enough, I wanted to
write Painlevé today anyway, quite coincidentally. Now I can add this matter com-
pletely casually. Cara. is entirely right that in order to reach other French mathema-
ticians one must go through P. For,
Hadamard[5]
is timid and somewhat Germano-
phobic, not at all broad-minded in matters remote from his science. If, however,
one cannot reach H. directly, neither can one write Borel directly, who is personally
much more liberal—. It ought to work out this way.
P. S. I shall write to P.
Langevin,[7]
who is a close friend of mine, to speak with
Painlevé. That is the best way.
…
398. To Paul Langevin
Berlin, 16 December 1924
Dear Langevin,
I am pleased to have an opportunity to write to you. In doing so, I see you before
me as if we were sitting together and chatting, as I hope will soon happen again.
The paper by De Broglie greatly impressed
me.[1]
He has lifted one corner of the
great veil. In a new paper I arrive at results that seem to support
his.[2]
Please con-
vey to him my high regard and moral support when you see him. I want to present
his ideas at our colloquium.
I notice, to my joy, that the views the most influential and experienced men here
hold against France and against the League of Nations have changed very much for
the better; albeit, this enlightenment has not yet penetrated to the species minorum
gentium.[3]
But that is sure to come. Over here I hear that
Painlevé[4]
is working
toward a Franco-German reconciliation. May he find the right men on this side! If
I can do anything for him in this regard, I am readily willing and also have the nec-
essary connections. I now have a special favor to ask of Painlevé, which is the ac-
tual reason for this
letter:[5]
The Mathematische Annalen are publishing a volume in honor of Riemann (ed-
itors: Blumenthal, Hilbert, Carathéodory, and I) and would like to use this occasion
to reopen ties with French mathematicians by inviting them to provide contribu-
tions to this
volume.[6]
My request is the following: Please ask Painlevé in my name
whether he would receive such an invitation amicably. We can imagine that it is im-
possible for such a very busy man to deliver a contribution himself. But perhaps he