I Think of You Constantly with Love: The Letters of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Ben Richards

by Alfred Schmidt (Editor), Gabriel Citron (Editor), Ray Monk (Foreword)

432 pages, Hardcover

Published April 16, 2026

About the author

Alfred Schmidt was a German philosopher. He studied history and English as well as classical philology at the Goethe University Frankfurt and later philosophy and sociology. He was a student of Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer and gained his doctorate with his The Concept of Nature in Marx.

Schmidt was professor of philosophy and sociology at the University of Frankfurt from 1972 and was made emeritus in 1999. Schmidt's primary research topics were the critical theory of the Frankfurt School, philosophy of religion, and Arthur Schopenhauer's philosophy.

Reviews

[James Klagge · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating new discovery of letters between Wittgenstein and his close friend and (at least Platonic) lover Ben Richards. Ben was 35 years younger than Ludwig--a similar asymmetry to other "love" relationships Wittgenstein had. Reading the letters it is hard to see what Ben got out of the relationship--it seemed more like he was being solicitous to his grandfather. But perhaps this should be seen more on the model of male relationships in ancient Athens. In any case it was hard for me to understand. Wittgenstein, on the other hand, got a lot from the feeling of being loved and valued, and this sustained him constantly over the last 6 years of his life. It even made him a better person. And apparently Ben was holding his hand when he passed away.
We learn a lot about Wittgenstein and his activities during this period, but almost nothing about his philosophy. Yet this is a new perspective, which was hardly suspected. The text is full of thoroughly researched footnotes by the editors which provide the needed context for everything in the letters. Well worth reading for Wittgenstein fans--whether scholars or not.

[Bruno]

Elizabeth Anscombe, on accompanying Wittgenstein, in the last months of his life, to the house of his friends the Bevans, in Cambridge. Edward Bevan, a doctor, offered to let W. stay there because W. had such a horror of dying in an English hospital. This is what Anscombe says about the train trip from Oxford to Cambridge:

"Wittgenstein was very frail then. We took a 1st class carriage so that he could lie on the seat, and there was some complication about paying extra for a ticket I already had. The inspector came to alter the charge that had been made, and explained that it was a matter of interpretation of the rules. With rules, he said, the thing was, there was always more than one way you could take them. 'Yes, yes,' Wittgenstein said and tried to wave him away, but he laboured the point for all it was worth. I was very much amused and Wittgenstein mildly so; he muttered something about not escaping lectures in philosophy."

(I'm not actually finished and probably won't read all these letters. Still, dipping into it has been a pleasure. Mostly I just clicked "I'm finished" because otherwise the interface won't allow me to write at length.)

[Therearenobadbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very emotional to know they had these years before death silenced the letters. The book is well written and put together with detailed notes and references, and information to allow us to be in context of what is said in the letters.