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Hôtel de l'Europe,
Dear Professor Freud, Amsterdam,1 4 September 1907
Just a couple of words in haste by way of abreaction. I spoke this morning but unfortunately couldn't quite finish my lecture as I would have exceeded the time-limit of half an hour, which wasn't allowed.2 What a gang of cut-throats we have here! Their resistance really is rooted in affect. Aschaffenburg made two slips of the tongue in his lecture (“facts” instead of “no facts”), which shows that unconsciously he is already strongly infected. Hence his furious attack. Typical that in conversation he never tries to learn anything but goes all out to prove to me what a frightful mistake we are making. He won't listen to any of our arguments. I have compiled a pretty dossier of his negative affects. All the rest of them are cowards, each hanging on to the coat-tails of the fatter man in front. The discussion is tomorrow. I shall say as little as possible, for every word sacrificed to this kind of opposition is a waste of time. A ghastly crowd, reeking of vanity, Janet the worst of the lot. I am glad you have never been caught in the bedlam of such a mutual admiration society. I constantly feel the urgent need of a bath. What a morass of nonsense and stupidity! But in spite of everything I have the impression that the ferment is working. However, we still need a few highly intelligent and dynamic men capable of creating the right atmosphere—I mean