BR TO RALPH BARTON PERRY, 23 DEC. 1913
BRACERS 54131. ALS. Harvard U. Archives
Proofread by K. Blackwell

<letterhead>
Rome
Grand Hotel1
23 Dec. ’13

Dear Professor Perry

Your letter of Dec. 8 has been forwarded to me here, where I am spending a fortnight.

I do not think I could manage such an amount of night travelling as would be involved in the suggested excursion to Vassar; in fact, I would rather avoid night-travelling altogether unless for some very exceptional reason. I do not wish to get too tired to perform my duties at Harvard with spirit and enjoyment.

The plan of going to New York and Baltimore during the Easter recess strikes me as in some ways preferable to going West. At the same time, I should like to see Chicago. So I think perhaps if New York and Baltimore can conveniently be arranged at some other time, I will go West at Easter if it would not be too expensive; but <if> that is the only time for New York and Baltimore, I will sacrifice the West.

I am infinitely grateful to you for undertaking the trouble of my arrangements. Of course I should not wish to undertake anything which would even indirectly clash with my Harvard teaching.

Wiener, who has been at Cambridge for a term now, seems to me distinctly able and original; my opinion of his powers has steadily increased as I have got to know him better. I have rather advised him not to try to write much at present; his danger seems to me a premature ripeness (excuse the bull2), which would prevent subsequent growth. As he is still very young, it seems to me he ought to remain for a while as far as possible receptive, rather than primarily himself creative. Do you agree?

Yours faithfully
Bertrand Russell.

• 1

  [document] Proofread against a photocopy of the original letter.

• 2

  bull [What does BR mean?]