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I
have erected but a lofty castle in the air... I compare space to a cloth
floating (at rest) in the air, a certain part of which we can observe.
This part is slightly curved similarly to a small section of a sphere's
surface. We philosophize on how we must construe the continuation of the
cloth so that an equilibrium is reached in its tangential tension, whether
it is fastened in position at the edges, extends infinitely, or has a
finite size and is a closed unit. Heine has provided the answer in a poem:
"And a fool waits for an answer."... So let us be satisfied
and not expect an answer, and rather see each other again as soon as possible
in acceptable health in Leyden. |
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