with the universe, what am I and what is He who is named the Greatest—­and still this again shows the divine in man.  I weep when I think that probably thou wilt get the first news from me only on Saturday evening.  However much thou lovest me, my love for thee is stronger; but never conceal thy thoughts from me.  Good-night!  As I am taking the baths I must go to bed [two words scratched through].  O God—­so near! so far!  Our love—­is it not a true heavenly edifice, firm as heaven’s vault!

Good morning, on July 7.

While still in bed, my thoughts press to thee, my Beloved One, at moments with joy, and then again with sorrow, waiting to see whether fate will take pity on us.  Either I must live wholly with thee, or not at all.  Yes, I have resolved to wander in distant lands, until I can fly to thy arms and feel that with thee I have a real home; with thee encircling me about, I can send my soul into the kingdom of spirits.  Yes, unfortunately, it must be so.  Calm thyself, and all the more since thou knowest my faithfulness toward thee!  Never can another possess my heart, never—­never—­O God! why must one part from what one so loves—­and yet my life in V. at present is a wretched life!  Thy love has made me one of the happiest and, at the same time, one of the unhappiest of men; at my age I need a quiet, steady life—­but is that possible in our situation?  My Angel, I have just heard that the post goes every day, and I must therefore stop, so that you may receive the letter without delay.  Be calm—­only by calm consideration of our existence can we attain our aim to live together; be calm—­love me—­today—­yesterday—­what tearful longing after thee—­thee—­thee—­my life—­my all—­farewell!  Oh, continue to love me—­never, never misjudge the faithful heart

Of Thy Beloved

L.

Ever thine, ever thine, ever each other’s.

NO. 55

TO HIS BROTHERS CARL AND ——­ BEETHOVEN

O ye men who regard or declare me to be malignant, stubborn, or cynical, how unjust are ye towards me!  You do not know the secret cause of my seeming so.  From childhood onward, my heart and mind prompted me to be kind and tender, and I was ever inclined to accomplish great deeds.  But only think that, during the last six years, I have been in a wretched condition, rendered worse by unintelligent physicians, deceived from year to year with hopes of improvement, and then finally forced to the prospect of lasting infirmity (which may last for years, or even be totally incurable).  Born with a fiery, active temperament, even susceptive of the diversions of society, I had soon to retire from the world, to live a solitary life.  At times, even, I endeavored to forget all this, but how harshly was I driven back by the redoubled experience of my bad hearing!  Yet it was not possible for me to say to men: