D O C . 4 5 5 T R A V E L D I A R Y 4 5 1
This morning quietly at home. Afternoon reception at the university with intro-
ductory talk.—
[35]
Long hall, cylindrical vault. Spirited speeches, I, mumbling in French amidst
commotion. Uncultured affair.
28. First lecture in overfilled hall in seething heat. The young are always pleas-
ant because interested in things. Likable education minister is also
there.[36]
Many
useless visits, but tolerable enough.
In evening of the 27th, small party at Hirsch’s. He, a powerful willful person,
she, a beautiful Jewess, an Alice-type translated as
triumphant.[37]
House with
magnificent pictures and organ. The craving to take possession of beauty, or buy it
up, is the first step from the barbarian to the refined person. Comparable to a child,
for whom it is not enough to be pleased at the sight of a butterfly, having rather to
grope after it or even put it into its mouth in order to get the satisfaction peculiar to
a child.
29. Rainy Sunday in blissful peace alone in my room in the morning. One needs
quite a lot of external disquiet in order to find one’s bliss when it is quiet. My prepa-
ration for that in the past half-week was copious enough. Afternoon walk with Mr.
Wassermann. 30. Rainy Monday 30. In afternoon, lecture with
discussion.[38]
Eve-
ning at Robert’s together with Hofer; how much we have
aged![39]
12–½ past 1 visit
to Prensa. Immense waste of paper and people and technology for? One realizes
how sad the times
are.[40]
31. Visit to the editorial office of Dos Volk and to the Jewish quarter as well as
many “schools” and the
orphanage.[41]
The tragedy of the Jewish people: It looses
its soul along with its lice. Is it the same with other peoples, too? I do not believe
quite as markedly.
In the afternoon, with Hofer on his country estate in “El Tigre.” Has a daughter
of genuine Swiss type and lives very contemplatively.
1 April. In the morning, flight over city by Junker hydroplane with Mrs.
Wassermann.[42]
Exalted impression, especially at lift-off.
In the afternoon, visiting ministers and president. Visit to the ethnological mu-
seum, lecture, and dinner at
Lugones’s.[43]
That’s enough.
2 April. Visit to La Plata. Pretty, quiet, Italian-like city, with magnificent univer-
sity buildings that are furnished in North American style. Visit to the very interest-
ing natural history museum. Inaugural ceremony of the semester with a very long
speech and musical
presentations.[44]
3 April. Meal with rector.
Lecture.[45]
4. Evening, Robert with Dreyfus. The latter clever and yet pleasantly relaxed.
Makes smart, middle-class, good-humored impression. Beforehand, afternoon lec-
ture in Faculty of Philosophy on representations of spherical
space.[46]
[p. 16]
[p. 17]
[p. 18]
[p. 19]