135. Primo Levi a Waltraut Falter, 24 giugno 1970

24 giugno 1970

Cara Mrs. Falter,

ho ricevuto i Suoi bellissimi fiori, insieme al Suo ritratto e alla Sua gentile lettera. Credo che Lei abbia ragione riguardo alle Sue paure, ma più nel senso dalla qualità che della quantità: ovvero, anch’io, come Lei, sento che il mondo intorno a noi va costantemente deteriorandosi, tuttavia mi trovo nella (se così posso dire) impossibilità fisica di credere in un’imminente catastrofe: se lo facessi, rinuncerei a vivere.

Lei senza dubbio mi sopravvaluta. Forse, 25 anni fa mi è capitato di affrontare un’esperienza importante, e forse sono riuscito a ricavarne un po’ di saggezza per me e un po’ di pagine per gli altri, ma ormai è tutto finito: la realtà odierna è di gran lunga troppo complessa per i miei modelli, e «überwältigt»[1] me come quasi tutti gli esseri umani.

Grazie di tutto, anche di sopravvalutarmi!

Suo

Primo Levi

PS: Spero che lei sappia leggere l’inglese: il tedesco lo capisco e lo parlo, ma lo scrivo con grande fatica e commettendo molti errori[2]

24th June 1970

Dear Mrs. Falter,

I received your beautiful flowers, together with your portrait and your kind letter. I think that you are right in your fears, but more quality than for quantity: that is, like you, I am feeling too that the world around us is steadily deteriorating, but I find myself in the (may I say?) physical impossibility of believing in a next catastrophe: if I did, I would give up living.

You are undoubtedly overrating me. Perhaps, 25 years ago I happened to undergo an important experience, perhaps I succeeded in extracting from it some wisdom for me and some pages for others, but by now everything is over: the reality of today is far too complex for my models, and “überwältigt”[1] me, like most humans.

Thank you for everything, even for overrating me!

Sincerely yours

Primo Levi

PS: I hope you can read English: I understand and speak German, but I write it only with much pain and many mistakes[2]

24th June 1970

Dear Mrs. Falter,

I received your beautiful flowers, together with your portrait and your kind letter. I think that you are right in your fears, but more quality than for quantity: that is, like you, I am feeling too that the world around us is steadily deteriorating, but I find myself in the (may I say?) physical impossibility of believing in a next catastrophe: if I did, I would give up living.

You are undoubtedly overrating me. Perhaps, 25 years ago I happened to undergo an important experience, perhaps I succeeded in extracting from it some wisdom for me and some pages for others, but by now everything is over: the reality of today is far too complex for my models, and “überwältigt”[1] me, like most humans.

Thank you for everything, even for overrating me!

Sincerely yours

Primo Levi

PS: I hope you can read English: I understand and speak German, but I write it only with much pain and many mistakes[2]

24th June 1970

Dear Mrs. Falter,

I received your beautiful flowers, together with your portrait and your kind letter. I think that you are right in your fears, but more quality than for quantity: that is, like you, I am feeling too that the world around us is steadily deteriorating, but I find myself in the (may I say?) physical impossibility of believing in a next catastrophe: if I did, I would give up living.

You are undoubtedly overrating me. Perhaps, 25 years ago I happened to undergo an important experience, perhaps I succeeded in extracting from it some wisdom for me and some pages for others, but by now everything is over: the reality of today is far too complex for my models, and “überwältigt”[1] me, like most humans.

Thank you for everything, even for overrating me!

Sincerely yours

Primo Levi

PS: I hope you can read English: I understand and speak German, but I write it only with much pain and many mistakes[2]