D O C . 2 5 5 J A N U A R Y 1 9 2 0 2 1 3 won’t be able to offer the students something that they couldn’t receive much better from all of you. I do have the feeling, generally, that I’m getting stupider by the day, to which we do as such have a right, of course. But this provides no adequate basis for a lecture.[8] Do you know that Herglotz is being called here as successor to Carathéodory— i.e., after Brouwer, who was called “honoris causa” as first choice, will have declined?[9] Official anti-Semitism definitely has diminished here. Courant is going to Münster.[10] All in all, I believe that the whole debacle, if it can be sur- vived, will improve very much here. But the cure is very intense! We here are depressed by the hopeless illness of my poor mother. God knows how long this torture still has to last.[11] Recently, van Aardenne was here to see us, a dear person. We all, me included, are in love with him.[12] For my inaugural lecture I would like to treat “The Ether and Relativity Theory” because during my last visit to Leyden Lorentz already expressed the wish that I air my position on this problem publicly when the occasion arose.[13] Now the redshift is also quite securely confirmed for the Sun Grebe and Bachem in Bonn cleared up the hitherto negative outcome in an astonishingly sim- ple way (e. g., wrong line identifications, without taking a displacement into ac- count in parts of the solar spectrum that are very densely crowded with lines). The paper is appearing soon in the Verhandlungen.[14] It is planned that the Verhandlungen and the Phys. Zeitschr. would merge, so we will avoid an excess of journals now, after all.[15] Warm greetings to all of you, yours, Einstein. When I go to Leyden again, I’ll bring at least one of the violins with me. You do know that I ordered a twin sister of theirs for myself. They are all still being crafted.[16] I addressed two letters to Zurich on Epstein’s behalf.[17] I hope arrangements will be made for him there. If I hear anything from there, I’ll write you again. 255. To Charles-Eugène Guye Berlin, 12 January 1920 Dear Colleague, I very much appreciated your friendly invitation. As soon as I return to Switzer- land, which will probably become feasible in the course of the coming half year, I will gladly act upon your wish.[1] It will be a great pleasure for me to see Geneva