Einstein letters discuss marriage and relativity

SHERNA NOAH

say the letters reveal “delight in his work, his relish for a new theory” and sense of “getting closer to God” when grasping at fundamental truths.

The last letter in the correspondence is written to Besso’s family a few days after his friend’s death in 1955, shortly before Einstein’s own death at 76.

The letter ends: “Now he has again preceded me a little in parting from this strange world. This has no importance. For people like us who believe in physics, the separation between past, present and future has only the importance of an admittedly tenacious illusion.”

Einstein, famous for developing the theory of relativity, first met Besso when they were students in Zurich in the 1890s.

Estimates range from £800 in an online auction from July 6-13, to £150,000 in a live auction on July 12.