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Vienna, April 2, 1896
Dear Wilhelm,
Tomorrow your manuscript will wander off to Deuticke. I have just now read through it and was very pleased with it. We shall soon
be able to discuss it. It does my heart good to see that you are capable of substituting realia [realities] for my preliminaries. It may be possible to justify the distinction between neurasthenia and anxiety neurosis in terms of organic processes as well; I made it on the basis of a kind of clinical instinct. I have always conceived of the processes in anxiety neuroses, as in the neuroses in general, as an intoxication, and often also thought of the similarity of the symptoms in anxiety neurosis and Basedow's disease, which perhaps you still can mention. I shall tell you in person about certain practical reservations I have concerning the case history of your I.F. (which you should disguise more so that Ida cannot be identified).
On the whole I am making good progress on the psychology of the neuroses and have every reason to be satisfied. I hope you will lend me your ear for a few metapsychological questions as well.
The prospect of Easter has brightened the entire stretch of time for me. Now I hope we shall meet, as you propose, without any obstacles. I shall arrange things according to your telegram; in any event, I shall leave Saturday evening. Will I arrive in Schandau or Dresden before you? If both of us are still granted a few more years for quiet work, we shall certainly leave behind something that can justify our existence. Knowing this, I feel strong in the face of all daily cares and worries. As a young man I knew no longing other than for philosophical knowledge, and now I am about to fulfill it as I move from medicine to psychology. I became a therapist against my will; I am convinced that, given certain conditions in regard to the person and the case, I can definitely cure hysteria and obsessional neurosis.
Until we see each other, then. We have honestly earned a few good days.
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