February 27, 1955

Dear Solovine,

The exorbitant price now attached to my life’s work on many occasions also has its more pleasant aspects. A certain sum of money, for instance, has been placed at the disposal of a committee set up here to help refugee scholars; this money is not subject to the same restrictions as other emergency funds but is spent at my discretion. I know that you are tormented by an eye ailment, very common at our age, which makes it difficult for you to work and which can be eliminated by an operation that is frequently performed. I can think of no more worthy use of the funds than to offer them to a man who like you, has grown pallid under the stress of constant intellectual labor, in order to preserve his capacity for work.

Write me about this by return mail. Tell me how the payments can best be made, in a lump sum or periodically, and above all, what sum, without any reservations, can really be of help to you. The payment will then be made in Paris by the sister institution of the local committee, and in this way there will be no confusion.

I have just recovered from a rather serious anemic condition, thanks to medical science. The old cart is again in running condition, but the head is a little rusty—the devil counts out the years conscientiously, we must admit.

I have finally managed to introduce another noteworthy improvement into the theory of the gravitational field (theory of the nonsymmetrical field). But not even these simplified equations can be verified by the facts as yet because of mathematical difficulties.

Warmest greetings to you and your wife.

Your         

A. Einstein