Theory Attracts Practice As The Magnet Attracts

I Am Coming More And More To The Conviction That The Necessity Of Our Geometry Cannot Be Demonstrated, At Least Neither By, Nor For, The Human Intellect. . . Geometry Should Be Ranked, Not With Arithmetic, Which Is Purely Aprioristic, But With Mechanics.

With A Thousand Joys I Would Accept A Nonacademic Job For Which Industriousness, Accuracy, Loyalty, And Such Are Sufficient Without Specialized Knowledge, And Which Would Give A Comfortable Living And Sufficient Leisure, In Order To Sacrifice To My Gods [mathematical Research]. For Example, I Hope To Get The Editting Of The Census, The Birth And Death Lists In Local Districts, Not As A Job, But For My Pleasure And Satisfaction.

To The Distracting Occupations Belong Especially My Lecture Courses Which I Am Holding This Winter For The First Time, And Which Now Cost Much More Of My Time Than I Like. Meanwhile I Hope That The Second Time This Expenditure Of Time Will Be Much Less, Otherwise I Would Never Be Able To Reconcile Myself To It, Even Practical (astronomical) Work Must Give Far More Satisfaction Than If One Brings Up To B A Couple More Mediocre Heads Which Otherwise Would Have Stopped At A.

When I Have Clarified And Exhausted A Subject, Then I Turn Away From It, In Order To Go Into Darkness Again.

My Young Friend, I Wish That Science Would Intoxicate You As Much As Our Good Göttingen Beer! Upon Seeing A Student Staggering Down A Street.