If Others Would But Reflect On Mathematical

The Infinite Is Only A Manner Of Speaking.

In The Last Two Months I Have Been Very Busy With My Own Mathematical Speculations, Which Have Cost Me Much Time, Without My Having Reached My Original Goal. Again And Again I Was Enticed By The Frequently Interesting Prospects From One Direction To The Other, Sometimes Even By Will-o'-the-wisps, As Is Not Rare In Mathematic Speculations.

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.

By Explanation The Scientist Understands Nothing Except The Reduction To The Least And Simplest Basic Laws Possible, Beyond Which He Cannot Go, But Must Plainly Demand Them; From Them However He Deduces The Phenomena Absolutely Completely As Necessary.