298 DOC.
309
MARCH
1917
309. To Heinrich
Zangger
[Berlin,]
10
March
1917
Upon
receipt
of
the
typewritten
letter.
Dear friend
Zangger,
Did
the little
Zürcher
boy
not
get
infected
by
Tete?[1]
It
is
a
truly
terrifying
thought
for
me
that
this
should be
the
reward
to
these excellent
people
for
the
goodwill
they
have shown toward
my
family.[2]
Your
consoling
words
about
my
little
boy
are a
real comfort
to
me.
Of
course,
I
approve
of his
being
brought
to
high
altitude
for
a
year.
It
is
only
human!
I
am
inwardly
convinced
that
it
would be in
the
public
interest
to
imitate the
Spartans’
method.[3] And
yet,
I
should blame
myself
most
severely
if
I
really
did
guide my
actions
accordingly.
Do
rational
arguments
here
really
not have
a
place
in
life, or
must
they
be
carried
further until
they
coincide with
the
impulsive
feeling
of
what
ought
to
be done?
A
lesser evil
is
that
one
of
the
3 packages,
into which
you
have
put
so
much
effort,
has
not arrived.[4]
The
post office
here has refused
to recompense us,
as
I
have also read
recently
in
the
newspaper.
The best
upbringing
is
powerless
in
the
face of
hunger.[5]
I
ask
you
now
please
to
receive
the
March
packet
for
me,
which
you
had
announced,
but
to
keep
it in Switzerland
until the
time of
my
stay there.[6]
In
this
way,
we are sure
it
will
arrive at
its destination.
I
urge you please
to reimburse
yourself
from
my
last
remittance,
at least for
the
direct
disbursements
you
make for
the
packages,
even
though
this
is nothing
in
comparison
to
the
time
and
effort
you
have
spent.
Boas has also advised
me
to
take the
oil;[7]
I
did
not want to
keep any
secrets
about
medically
related conduct.
You write
very gloomily
about the
economic future
of
Switzerland.
I
tremble
at
the
thought
that it could
really
be
so
bad. If
so,
then
Europe must truly
be
pitied.
You know
my
views
on
political
matters, of
course.
They
have
only
become
stronger
since. I have
the ardent
wish
to
discuss these
things
with
you
again.
But
I
shall rein back
my craving
until
the
summer,
if
you
do
not
consider
it desirable
that
I
travel to Switzerland
earlier,
for
my family’s
sake.
If,
for
ex.,
the
household has to be
dissolved,
I
shall
come
out.
I
am
not
as
useless in these
matters
as
you
think,
thanks
to
the unsettled
life I
now
have behind
me.
And
it should not
happen
that
you
and others sacrifice
too
much valuable time
on
my
private
affairs.
My
health,
which,
thanks
to
good care,
has
improved very
much,
permits
me
to
undertake
such
a
thing.
I have
had
no more pain,[8]
and
my
appearance
and
subj[ective]
well-being
have also
improved substantially.
Regarding
Albert’s
well-being,
I
have
not
taken
a
decision
yet
and shall
not
do
so
without
private
consultation
with
you
and
Besso.
One
always sees
least
clearly
in
one’s
own
affairs.
Also, everything
should
occur,
if
possible,
in
agreement
with
my wife,
who
is
troubled
so
much
already. Obstinacy
need not be
added