(本館) 
(トップ) 
(分館)
(本館) (トップ) (分館)
第２巻第６章 アメリカ（1938～1944）
プリンストンの社会はきわめて心地よいものであり,全体的に見て,私がアメリカで出合った他のどの社会集団よりも心地よいものであった。 その頃には（長男）ジョンはイギリスに戻り,英国海軍に入り,日本語の学習に従事させられていた。（長女）ケイトはラドクリフ女子大学で自活し,非常によく学業に励んでおり,ちょっとした教職の仕事を得ていた。従って,英国に渡航する許可を得ることは困難であることを除いて,私たち（自分と妻とコンラッド）がアメリカに留まっていなければならない理由はまったくなかった。けれども,その困難は,長い間乗り越えることができないように思われた。私は,英国上院における（私の）義務の遂行を認められなければならないということを主張するために,ワシントンに出かけ,そうしたいという私の欲求が非常に熱烈であるということを当局にわからせて説得しようと試みた。ついに私は,英国大使館を納得させる論法を発見した。 私は彼らに言った。 「この戦争は,ファシズムに対する戦いであることを認めますね？」一同爆笑のうちに,私の渡航許可が即座に認められた。しかしながら,妙な難問がまだ残っていた。妻と私は（渡航のための）優先権順位Aを得たが,息子のコンラッドはまだ立法機能がまったくないため－ Bしか得られなかった。当然のこと,私たちは,７歳のコンラッドがその母親と一緒に旅行できるように望んだが,そのためには,妻が優先順位Bに分類されることに同意しなければならなかった。権利を与えられた格付け（分類）よりもより低い格付け（分類）を受ける人が出てくるなどという例は,それまで全然なかったために,役人たちはみな当惑し,彼らが理解するのに数ケ月かかった。しかしながら,ついには,まず妻のピーターとコンラッドの出航日が決まり,約２週間後に私の出航日が決まった。私たちは,1944年5月,アメリカを後に出帆した。 |
v.2,chap.6: America
The last part of our time in America was spent at Princeton, where we had a little house on the shores of the lake. While in Princeton, I came to know Einstein fairly well. I used to go to his house once a week to discuss with him and Gödel and Pauli. These discussions were in some ways disappointing, for, although all three of them were Jews and exiles and, in intention, cosmopolitans, I found that they all had a German bias towards metaphysics, and in spite of our utmost endeavours we never arrived at common premisses from which to argue. Gödel turned out to be an unadulterated Platonist, and apparently believed that an eternal 'not' was laid up in heaven, where virtuous logicians might hope to meet it hereafter. The society of Princeton was extremely pleasant, pleasanter, on the whole, than any other social group I had come across in America. By this time John was back in England, having gone into the British Navy and been set to learn Japanese. Kate was self-sufficient at Radcliffe, having done extremely well in her work and acquired a small teaching job. There was therefore nothing to keep us in America except the difficulty of obtaining a passage to England. This difficulty, however, seemed for a long time insuperable. I went to Washington to argue that I must be allowed to perform my duties in the House of Lords, and tried to persuade the authorities that my desire to do so was very ardent. At last I discovered an argument which convinced the British Embassy. I said to them: 'You will admit this is a war against Fascism. ' 'Yes', they said; 'And', I continued, 'you will admit that the essence of Fascism consists in the subordination of the legislature to the executive'. 'Yes', they said, though with slightly more hesitation. 'Now,' I continued, 'you are the executive and I am the legislature and if you keep me away from my legislative functions one day longer than is necessary, you are Fascists.' Amid general laughter, my sailing permit was granted then and there. A curious difficulty, however, still remained. My wife and I got A priority, but our son Conrad only got a B, as he had as yet no legislative function. Naturally enough we wished Conrad, who was seven years old, and his mother to travel together, but this required that she should consent to be classified as a B. No case had so far occurred of a person accepting a lower classification than that to which they were entitled, and all the officials were so puzzled that it took them some months to understand. At last, however, dates were fixed, for Peter and Conrad first, and for me about a fortnight later. We sailed in May 1944. |
