D O C U M E N T 1 3 2 J A N U A R Y 1 9 2 8 1 4 1 the families, it would be taken for granted that Albert could come to visit my wife’s son-in-law.[4] But I don’t know whether this would go off without upsetting Ilse, who is very sick.[5] Also, I can’t simply give orders to my wife’s son-in-law. If Al- bert writes a really friendly letter to Mr. Rudolf Kayser, who is also up there, and tells him that the poor man should not incur any expenses, and that Albert wanted to come without his wife, then I think he would be received in a very friendly way. Don’t be angry that I write so little. My life is taxing and full of duties, so that private life always gets short shrift. But I would always like to have enough time for Tete.[6] I’d like it if he came here again at Easter, as he did last year.[7] I hope you’re in agreement about that.— Concerning Albert,[8] by the way, on the basis of Zangger’s letter I have invited him to visit me here in the apartment so that he can rest up here.[9] Why should he go directly to Celerina? He is, after all, exhausted from work and not getting enough food. There has been no answer to this invita- tion. What do you think about that? I think Albert’s wife will not allow it, because from her point of view she fears a disadvantageous influence, and rightly so. The young fellow will go kaput because of his mistake, I fear. But we did all we could to prevent him from making it. Best regards from your Albert 132. From Michele Besso Bern, 17 January 1928 Dear Albert, When we last saw each other, you twice mentioned attaining a doctoral degree, which in fact never happened[1]—and I had to think a long time about how many quite different bonds there are between us. I owe you my wife and thus my son and grandson [2] I owe you my position, and along with it the peace of the worldly cloister,[3] and my financial security in hard times. I owe you the scientific over- view that without such a friendship can be achieved only at the expense of one’s whole person, if at all and you know better than anyone what a powerful, supra- individual feeling of life is connected with that. For my part, I was your audience back in 1904 and 1905 [4] in the conception of your papers on the quantum problem I provided you with part of your fame,[5] and therefore made Planck a friend of yours [6] and it was perhaps partly because of my defense of Judaism and the Jewish family that your family life took the turn it did, and that I had to bring Mileva from Berlin back to Zurich.[7] Now I am once again involved with you in the matter that we also talked about when we were in Berisal.[8] There you said: I helped (or I must help or I will help, I no longer know how things already stood at that time) my son[9] get into that, and