Letter to Friedrich Engels, March 23, 1868

Author(s) Karl Marx
Written 23 March 1868


First published abridged in Der Briefwechsel zwischen F. Engels und K. Marx, Bd. 4, Stuttgart, 1913 and in full in MEGA, Abt. III, Bd. 4, Berlin, 1931
Printed according to the original
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 42


MARX TO ENGELS

IN MANCHESTER

[London,] Museum,[1] 23 MARCH 1868

IN HASTE

DEAR FRED,

I thought Laura would notify you about the £40. She claims, however, that I did not ask her to. Thus malentendu[2] During the whole of last week I had many bleeding shingles; particularly obstinate and hard to obliterate the mess under my left armpit. But GENERALLY I feel much better, IN FACT like a RFcoNVAi.EscENT and I am sure that the business is coming to an end.

At the same time, I am sending you the Schweitzer, which please return to me after use. A few lines from Meissner, in which he notifies me of his stupidity in informing Schweitzer that he should not continue with his EXTRACTS[3] until / have stated my views. Quelle bêtise![4] I immediately attempted to redress things. Whatever secondary motives Schweitzer may have (e.g. to annoy old Hatzfeldt, etc.), one thing must be admitted. Although he makes a MISTAKE here and there, he has studied the stuff really hard, and knows where the centres of gravity lie. Such a 'base consciousness' is still preferable to the 'honest consciousness' of a Heinzen or the 'noble consciousness' of a Wilhelmchen.[5] Hegel forgot to list idleness as an essential element of 'noble-minded consciousness'.[6]

More de diversis[7] in the next letter. Salut.

Your

K. M.

  1. ↑ the British Museum Library
  2. ↑ a misunderstanding
  3. ↑ [J. B. Schweitzer,] 'Das Werk von Carl Marx', Der Social Demokrat, Nos. 10 12, 14, 15 and 24; 22, 24, 26 and 31 January, 2 and 23 February 1868.
  4. ↑ What stupidity!
  5. ↑ Wilhelm Liebknecht
  6. ↑ See G. W. F. Hegel, Phänomenologie des Geistes, Abt. 'Die Bildung und ihr Reich der Wirklichkeit'.
  7. ↑ on various topics