xviii
INTRODUCTION
TO
VOLUME
4
the
conceptual problems
and
epistemological
considerations
that
had
motivated
him. As
several
papers
in this
volume
clearly demonstrate,
Einstein did
not
address
his
writings exclusively
to
specialists;
he
also
hoped
that
his
ideas
would
be
understood
by
a
wider
public.
One
of
his
papers,
for
example,
includes
an
imaginary dialogue
between
a
specialist
and
a
layman
on
the
con-
cept
of absolute
space:
"Our fearless observer
will
interject:
'You
may
be
incomparably
learned,
but
just
as
I
could
never
be
persuaded
to
believe
in
ghosts,
can
I
believe in
that
giant object,
of which
you
speak
and
that
you
call
space.
I
can
neither
see
such
a thing, nor can
I
imagine
it.'
"[8]
Einstein did
not encounter
skepticism
from
all
sides,
however.
There
were
some
who stimulated and
encouraged
him.
Evidence
is
provided
by
lively
correspondence with, among
others,
Michele
Besso,
Paul
Ehrenfest, and H. A.
Lorentz.
He also
used
the
opportunity
of
a
lecture
course
on
electricity
and
magnetism to present
his ideas
to
students,
although
the amount
of stimulation
he
received from them
must
have been limited. When Einstein moved
to
Berlin
in
April
1914,
the
early history
of
general relativity
was
not
yet complete,
but
the foundations of
the
later
development
had been
laid.
Only
a
few
weeks
earlier Einstein had
written:
"Nature
only
shows
us
the tail
of
the lion. I
am
convinced, however,
that
the
lion
is
attached
to
it,
even
though
he
cannot
reveal
himself
directly
because of
his
enormous
size. We
see
him
only
as
would
a
louse that
sits
on
him."[9]
[8]"Unser furchtloser Beobachter wird aber
sagen:
'Du
magst ja unvergleichlich gelehrt sein.
Aber
ebensowenig,
als
ich
je
dazu
zu
bringen war,
an
Gespenster
zu
glauben, glaube
ich
an
das
riesige
Ding,
von
dem
Du
mir
sprichst,
und das Du
Raum
nennst.
Ich
kann weder
so
etwas
sehen,
noch mir
etwas
darunter denken....'" See Einstein
1914h
(Doc. 31),
p.
345.
[9]"Die Natur
zeigt
uns von
dem Löwen
zwar nur
den Schwanz. Aber
es
ist
mir unzweifel-
haft,
dass der Löwe dazu
gehört,
wenn er
sich auch
wegen
seiner
ungeheuren
Dimensionen
dem Blicke nicht unmittelbar
offenbaren kann. Wir sehen
ihn
nur
wie
eine
Laus,
die auf ihm
sitzt." See Einstein
to
Heinrich
Zangger, 10
March
1914
(Vol.
5,
Doc.
513).