Letter from Sigmund Freud to Ernest Jones, October 1, 1913

Internationale Zeitschrift für Ärtzlíche Psychoanalyse

1 October 1913
Wien

My dear Jones,

Here I am after 17 delicious days of Rome. Work is beginning fast. I will have to work 5 hours tomorrow and nine this day week. This Wednesday is unofficial, Cafe Landtmann. The two books, Totem and Tabu, and the third series of Kleine Schriften zur Neurosenlehre may appear in this very month.1

I have not been shaken in any point by the growing distance from the Munich impressions, they only appear [to] me even more ludicrous and pitiful than when fresh. I would prefer a neat division as soon as possible but for your London group, which ought to march safely before this event comes on.

I have been consulted by Heller about some practical discussions between you and him which I trust will arrange themselves to no damage for you. If you know H. you will not be astonished at his ups and downs, fit of enthusiasm followed by fits of caution. But at the whole he is an honest fellow and driven by intellectual interests as well as by material ones. He is awfully impressed by you and afraid, you might be angry for his want of propensity to translate your book on ΨA into German.2 I think he is wrong about it. You know I am sure that this translation is not neces[s]ary or desirable, the book being intended to adress directly an english audience with no other path to ΨA open to it: a french translation would suit us much better.3 To the german public you have become known by your more original productions and so let it be.

At Rome I began to do some work, I attacked the matter of Narzissm