Abstract

Max Weber was not a great letter writer. As in his scholarly oeuvre, he wrote pragmatically, paying little attention to style and form. He did not aspire to a high literary standard, and certainly did not write his letters for posthumous collection. Usually he did not try out or elaborate his thoughts in correspondence. He preferred to be brief, if not blunt, in expressing criticism and disagreement, but he also showed diplomatic finesse in academic politics. If necessary, he would coax and cajole. With some significant exceptions, letters were for him no vehicle for profession or confession, and he almost never turned intimate. Only relatives are addressed by their first names, and the familiar case (Du) is never used for outsiders.