DOCS. 536-538
MAY
1918 557
worth
mentioning.[3]
I'll
save
it
all
up
until
you come,
so
that
you
feel
right
in
your
element.
Then
we’ll
piece
together
the
shocking
balance viribus unitis. Nicolai’s
zeal in
mathematicis
is truly
funny;
the
yearning
for
objective things
is
making
itself
evident,
far
away
from human
concerns;
I
know all about that!
Enjoy yourself
and
come
soon
to
your
Principal.
537. To
Georg
Nicolai
[Berlin,
12
May
1918]
Dear
Nicolai,
Lehmann
is
a
genuine mind-mate,
this
I
know from
Hilbert.[1]
He
is
esteemed
very highly
here
as
a historian, despite
the
liberty
with which he has
treated
pa-
triot[ic]
history.[2]
I do not know whether he made
any
form of
public appearance
in
the last
4
years.[3]
In
any event,
he
is
a
person
of
character and not
a
careerist.
I
do not know him
personally.
It
is
a
thoroughly
welcome
idea to be named
with
him.[4]
It
is
I
who does not deserve
being
named in this
connection;
because
I
have done
nothing
to restore
public opinion,
and because
I
am
Swiss.
At
best,
I
would have
to
be
rebuked if
I,
as a Swiss,
took
a
different stance. If
I
am
to be
rebuked,
then
it
is
only
because
I
am
sitting
here
idly.
But
I
myself
do not know
whether
I
should blame
myself
for
my passivity.
I
could not
see
quite clearly
in
this
regard.[5]
Best
regards
to
you all, yours,
Einstein.
538. From
Max
Wien[1]
Jena, 12
May
1918
Highly
esteemed
Colleague,
From Mr.
Born[2]
I hear
that
at
the last
meeting
of
the
German
Physical
Society
I
was
chosen
as
Chairman.[3]
I
convey my
most cordial
thanks
for
the
honor bestowed
on me
by
this
and
for
the
trust
given me
but,
at
the
same time,
also
my
great
regret
that
I
am
unable to
accept
the
nomination.
My
military
position occupies
me so
completely
that
I
have
no
time left for
any
other
unofficial
functions. For
this
reason,
last
year,
despite
my strong urge
to
inform
myself
of