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Vienna IX, Berggasse 19
November 11, 1928
Dear Dr. Simmel
You are right. Once upon a time these rings were a privilege and a mark distinguishing a group of men who were united in their
devotion to psychoanalysis, who had promised to watch its development as a “secret committee,” and to practice among themselves a kind of analytical brotherhood. Rank then broke the magic spell; his secession and Abraham's death dissolved the Committee.
When on leaving Tegel1 I expressed the desire to acknowledge by a token the quite extraordinary kindness with which you managed to transform for me a time of personal difficulty into a time of comfort, my daughter suggested that I renew the old custom with you. And indeed, apart from my personal indebtedness to you, I don't know anyone in Berlin who, by the purity and intensity of his allegiance, would be more worthy of inclusion in that circle-if it still existed.
Forms may pass away, but their meaning can survive them and seek to express themselves in other forms. So please don't be disturbed by the fact that this ring signifies a regression to something that no longer exists, and wear it for many years as a memory of your cordially devoted
Freud
The doctor's house at the Tegel Psychoanalytical Sanatorium had been put at Freud's disposal by Dr. Simmel, the Director, while Professor Schroder, Berlin dentist, treated Freud.