Einstein, Albert. Autograph letter signed, 2 pages, no place or date....

Click the image to load the highest resolution version.

Sold on Jun 11, 2015 for:

$24,000.00 Bid Source: Internet bidder

Get one of these:

Share this lot

Track Item Printable Auction Results

Sell One of These

Description

Auction Info

Guides & Info

Description

Einstein, Albert. Autograph letter signed, 2 pages, no place or date. Autograph letter signed ("Papa"), 2 pages (8.5 x 11 in.; 216 x 279 mm.), front and back, in German, no place or date, written to his son Eduard (nicknamed "Tetel" for petit). Usual folds. Fine. Einstein writes philosophically to his son Eduard about what it means to be young and then discusses in detail his son's previous letter commenting on the value of intellectual creations. "I've had problems my whole life and since the first day was filled with the belief that the process of gaining insight in science and art is the best thing we have. My love for these things has never left me and will stay with me till my last breath." Einstein writes in part: ...When I read your letters, I have to think back to my own youth. When you're young, you tend to mentally oppose the world. You measure your strength on everything and go back and forth the between hesitation and confidence. You have the feeling that life never ends. That everything you do and think is so important. You feel as if you are the first and only person who has gone through all of this. However, this heroism is pretty finicky and can only be corrected by humor and by somehow contributing to run the social machine. He continues on material versus intellectual values...What you are saying about the non-value of intellectual creations is something I cannot agree with. It is, of course, an irrefutable standpoint if you reject values in general - consequent pessimism or Nihilism. But if you want to attach a value to society and every living thing in general, and are happy about the fact that there is consciousness, then you have to recognize the highest level of consciousness as the highest ideal. Eudaimonism [moral philosophy that defines right action that leads to the well-being of the individual] as opposed to consciousness being the highest ideal, would be a bleak ideal. We want creatures not to be tortured and without misery, but that alone is not a goal that can make life worth living. Because the balance of happiness and pain remains rather negative, and the goal might be rather achieved best by destroying the life. I've had problems my whole life and since the first day was filled with the belief that the process of gaining insight in science and art is the best thing we have. My love for these things has never left me and will stay with me till my last breath. You were also born for this and your words to the contrary arise only from the fear of not being able to produce something important. Dear, Tetel, for this reason I have sympathy for you. But that's easy to fix. One becomes a wheel in the big machine so that no one can demand anything else from you. And one remains a thinking and feeling creature in private and for your own joy. If you hear the angels sing a few times in life, you have something to give to the world and are one of those particularly lucky and blessed. But if that's not the case, you are still part of the soul of your generation and that's a beautiful thing too. Think about it so you don't fall victim to the devil of ambition and vanity. And also, not the yearning for success, but only the love of things can lead to something real. In any case, you give me lots of joy because you're not walking through life blindly, but seeing and thinking...Write me again soon. Yours, Papa.