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Vienna, April 3, 1910
IX., Berggasse 19
Dear friend,
I went home with Steiner yesterday noon, arrived here in the evening, and today I still feel very tired after recovering from Easter, and need to chat with you, in the manner of an epilogue, about the Congress.1 There is no doubt that it was an extraordinary success, yet the two of us, personally,
had the least luck. My lecture evidently fell flat, and I don't know why; it contained much that was worthy of interest. Perhaps it betrayed my inner tiredness too much. Your impassioned pleading had the misfortune of unleashing so much opposition that they forgot to thank you for your significant inspiration. Every society is thankless; that doesn't matter. But we are both a little at fault, since we didn't sufficiently take into account the effect this would have on the Viennese; it would have been easy to omit entirely the critical allusions and to take up the direct promise of scientific freedom, and we could have made resistance on their part rather difficult. I believe that my aversion toward the Viennese circle, which has been accumulating for a long time, and your brother complex have had the combined effect of making us shortsighted.
But that is not the essential thing. It is more important that we have accomplished a big piece of work that will have a far-reaching influence on the shape of the future. I am happy to state that we have both found ourselves in clear agreement, and I thank you very much for your decidedly successful support.
Events will now continue. It has become clear to me that the moment has now come to carry out a decision which has been long in the making. I will resign the leadership of the Vienna group and in so doing withdraw from all official influence. I will transfer the leadership to Adler, not out of inclination or satisfaction but because he is the only [prominent] personality and because in this position it will perhaps be necessary for him to share the defense of the common ground. I