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Internationale Zeitschrift für Ärztliche Psychoanalyse
Budapest, March 20, 19201
Dear Professor,
This time—and in the last few months altogether—I am not in a position to excuse my long silence with the fact that nothing new has happened. On the contrary, hardly a day passes when nothing of vital importance does not take place. The fact that there is little that is gratifying to report may serve as more of an excuse.—You are certainly well informed about the political and social conditions. The material situation is almost unbearable.2 Up to now I have borne the struggle with the price increases, but my strength is beginning to fail. I am working nine or ten hours a day, on top of that three office hours a week, get paid 100 crowns, and in spite of that (with the greatest austerity, without renouncing the necessities, to be sure), I can barely maintain the balance of income and expenditures. In addition to that there is the uncertainty about monetary conditions altogether, e.g., the threatened stamping of banknotes, which—I fear—will result in no corresponding increase in buying power.—But the worst thing is that I obviously don't possess that inexhaustible source of energy that I admire in you, so that in the evening I am completely exhausted and incapable of any intellectual work. I was absolutely unable to take care of the most pressing scientific tasks, to write the reviews, to conceive the paleo-biological paper, to work out some good ideas, to realize two medium-sized plans of work (1. on the scholasticism of obsessional neurotics;3 2.) on the further development of active therapy4). Not a word has yet been brought to paper about all that. I can still talk about happiness, if my health stands up to the overwork.—The other malady, from which the rest of my colleagues are suffering, is not less regrettable; they certainly all have quite a lot of time—they lack money all the more. Lately I was able to send them only a few patients.—The idea of emigrating is taking o