Letter to Laura Lafargue, October 3, 1883

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 3 October 1883


First published, in the language of the original (English), in: F. Engels, P. et L. Lafargue, Correspondance, t. I, Paris, 1956
Published in English in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 47


ENGELS TO LAURA LAFARGUE

IN PARIS

London, 3 October 1883

My dear Laura,

Herewith cheque for £14.- of which £4.- are your 1/3 share of £12.- sent by Meissner on account of 2nd edition [of] Kapital,[1]

£4.- for Tussy and £4.- for Longuets children, which Tussy has banked for the present until a little more money accrues to them, when we can consider, along with you, what is to be done in their interest.

Jollymeier left here yesterday, highly enchanted with Paris. He says you will come over at Christmas — hope it will turn out true!

Today I sent to you, registered, pages 1-123 of Deville's ms.[2]

I cannot find his letter with his address. The defect of the thing is that many parts of it have been done rather too hurriedly. This is princi- pally the case with the descriptive portions (especially manufacture and grande industrie"). The points do not at all come out as they ought to do. It is not sufficient to express them, as much as possible, in Marx's own words; these cannot be torn from the context without giving rise to misinterpretation or leaving many things in comparative obscu- rity. Deville would do well to revise these two chapters throughout and to complete them by some of the exemplifications of the original without which they have become very abstract and to working- men-readers obscure. In the theoretical parts there are also many slight inaccuracies (some too, as his definition of marchandise[3] very serious) and des choses faites à la hâte,[4] but these it was mostly not very difficult to set more or less right. Then many portions, of interest and importance for theoretical economic science, but without immediate portée[5] on the question between capital and labour, might be omitted. One or two I have indicated.

Now then I close. Though a good deal better I am ordered to lie down as much as possible quietly for a few days longer and so with kind regards to the prisoners and sincere love from Nim and myself remain

Ever yours affectionately,

F. Engels

  1. ↑ the third German edition of Volume I of Capital
  2. ↑ Following the appearance in 1875 of the French edition of Volume I of Capital (see Note 59), the French socialist Gabriel Deville considered issuing a short conspectus of this work (see Marx's letter to Deville of 23 January 1877, present edition, Vol. 45). On 2 August 1882 he met Marx in Paris where the latter looked through part of his manuscript. On 10 August 1883 Deville wrote to Engels that Paul Lafargue had told him he (Engels) was willing to read the rest of the work. He sent Engels the manuscript with the request that he make the necessary corrections. Deville's book was published that year under the title Le Capital de Karl Marx. Résumé et accompagné d'un aperçu sur le socialisme scientifique. In the Preface the author wrote that he had done the work 'at the courteous request and benevolent encouragement of Karl Marx'. Deville sent Engels a copy with his own dedication. For Engels' assessment of the book see this volume, pp. 61, 76-77.
  3. ↑ commodity
  4. ↑ things done in haste
  5. ↑ bearing