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Baden Baden, May 31, 1923
Dear Professor,
I am not astonished that you do not know what to think of Nachbewusst. Only now do I understand what you mean by Vorbewusst. Up to now I imagined that the pre-conscious was close in front of the conscious (spatially) and this is why I fantasised about something that is close behind the conscious (spatially) and moreover lies after the conscious (chronologically). Leave it at that, it is only of value as a sign of evil intent and the same may apply to Nachlust and disappear forgotten and forgiven.
This brings me to the little louse which is really a huge louse. On my part the anger started when you compared me to Stekel. That is now a year and a half ago. Apart from the fact that I had heard what you think about Stekel, I felt guilty that I had appropriated a number of ideas from Stekel's book in my dreams without really digesting them. I do not feel guilty about thefts when they conform to my nature. Yet I sometimes steal things which are not me and then there are evil consequences. The anger was increased by Rank's correspondence83 about The Book of the It and by a few words you wrote on it. And finally there was the Berlin congress that finished me off. I fell violently ill afterwards and the whole time is an unpleasant memory for me. Particularly the farewell party and the meal at Eitingon's. Hattingberg's performance caused a fit of rage which is rare with me these days. I know roughly what led up to all these things. In September 1921 Ferenczi had his first treatment with