Letter from Freud to Fliess, April 4, 1900

Vienna, April 4, 1900
IX., Berggasse 19

Dear Wilhelm,

The expression of feelings can be postponed, but business matters need to be attended to. Therefore let me reply immediately that I

have no intention of writing a short dream [book] for the Rundschau — for a number of reasons: first, because after the big work it would be a very disagreeable task; second, because I have promised an essay of this kind to Löwenfeld and therefore cannot send it anywhere else; third, because it would violate the principle of differentiation which manifests itself in one man's writing a book and another's reviewing it and which, in addition, gives the reader the benefit of the review and the author the chance to gauge the effect of his work on a stranger; fourth and finally, the Rundschau should not be forced to publish a review against its will. An unwilling reviewer quickly turns into an odious one. That seems to have been the secret of Burckhard's review in the Zeit,1 which in its utter stupidity killed the book in Vienna. Fifth, I want to avoid anything that might resemble an advertisement. I know that what I am doing is odious to the majority of people. As long as I behave perfectly correctly, my worthy opponents are unsure; only when I am doing exactly what they are doing will they feel certain that I am doing nothing better than they. It was for reasons such as these that I refrained some time ago from reviewing your book, which otherwise I would very much have liked to do. These fellows shall not say that we are flattering each other in public. So I think the most advisable course is quietly to accept the Rundschau's refusal as an undeniable sign of public opinion.

Mathilde is in bed with chicken pox and is accordingly not very ill; the others are all well. Thanks to Minna's visit we are informed about the minor accidents in your household. L. is progressing rather well. E. will terminate treatment at Easter, having benefited enormously, I hope. I am still too lazy to work thing