Letter to Laura Lafargue, January 17, 1886

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 17 January 1886


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


ENGELS TO LAURA LAFARGUE

IN PARIS

London, 17 January 1886

My dear Laura,

Glad the dictionaries have arrived at last.[1] They were promised to be sent from here more than a week before Christmas.

Yesterday I received a post-card from Dr Max Quarck informing me that as a good extract from the Capital is wanted, he intends to translate Deville:[2]

'Herr Deville
hat mir nun eben auf
mein
Nachsuchen
die
alleinige Autorisation zur
Übersetzung
seines
Auszuges
ins Deutsche
gegeberi[3]

the great Quarck has offered it to Meissner and desires me to favour him with a preface.

Now if Deville has really done so, I cannot but consider that he has acted very unwisely and moreover contrary to all the international obligations practically existing amongst the lot of us. How in the world could he commit himself with a man of whom he knew noth- ing? This Quarck is one of half a dozen young literati who hover about the boundary land between our party and the Katheder- Sozialismus,[4] take jolly good care to keep clear of all the risks in- volved by being connected with our party, and yet expect to reap all the benefits that may accrue from such connection. They make a live- ly propaganda for das soziale Kaisertum der Hohenzol- lern[5] (which Quarck has dithyrambically celebrated), for Rod- bertus against Marx (Quarck had the cheek to write to me that he honoured the Capital by placing it in his library neben die Werke des grossen Rodbertus[6] ) and especially for each other. The fellow is so utterly impotent that even Liebknecht who has a certain tender- ness for these fellows, has agreed with Kautsky that he is not fit to write in the Neue Zeit.[7]

This moment Kautsky enters with Paul's letter,[8] according to that Deville has not replied and Quarck lies. I should be very glad if this was so, because then I should have that little scamp completely on the hip.

But now as to the translation itself. First of all, an extract from the Capital for our German workmen must be done from the German original, not from the French edition.[9] Secondly Deville's book is too big for the working men, and would in the translation, especially of the second half, be as difficult as the original, as it is composed as much as possible of literal extracts.[10] It does well enough for France where most of the terms are not Fremdwörter,[11] and where there is a large public, not exactly working men, who all the same wish to have some knowledge — of easy access — of the subject, without reading the big book. That public, in Germany, ought to read the original book. — Thirdly, and chiefly, if Deville's book appears in German, I do not see how I can consistently with, my duty towards Mohr let it pass un- challenged as a faithful résumé. I have held my tongue while it was published only in French, although I had distinctly protested against the whole second half of it, before publication. But if it comes to be put before the German public that is quite a different thing. I cannot allow, in Germany, Mohr to be perverted — in his very words. If there had not been that absurd hurry at the time, if it had been revised as I suggested, there would not be that objection now. All I can say, I reserve my full liberty of action in case the book is published in Ger- many; and I am the more bound to do so as it has got abroad that I looked it over in the ms.

I cannot this moment ask Kautsky about his intentions as to Deville's book, because all the people for Sunday's dinner have come in, and I must conclude. Kautsky must write himself. As far as I know Kautsky and Bernstein intend making a fresh extract themselves which would be decidedly the best thing to do, and where they may make use of Deville's work and acknowledge it with thanks.[12]

Tussy, Edward, the Pumps and Kautskys, all send their loves, kind regards and kisses and I don't know what more, ditto Johnny[13] and the other little ones.

Yours affectionately but hungry,

F.E.

  1. ↑ Ibid., p. 375.
  2. ↑ G. Deville, Le Capital de Karl Marx. Résumé...
  3. ↑ In reply to my request Mr Deville has just granted me the unreserved right to translate his brief exposition into German.
  4. ↑ See this volume, pp. 9-10.
  5. ↑ the social empire of the Hohenzollerns
  6. ↑ beside the works of great Rodbertus
  7. ↑ See this volume, pp. 10-11.
  8. ↑ Lafargue's letter to Engels of 10 January 1886. See this volume, pp. 61, 63.
  9. ↑ The first volume of Capital was translated into French in full by Joseph Roy and appeared in Paris in 1872-75 as individual instalments which were then put to gether to form a book. Marx gave an assessment of the translation and the work which had been done in connection with it in the Preface and Afterword to the French edition (see present edition, Vol. 35) and also in his letter to Nikolai Daniel- son of 28 May 1872 (present edition, Vol. 44). The changes and additions which Engels made to the third German edition of Volume I of Capital (1883) on the basis of the French edition were pointed out by him in the Preface to the said edi tion (see present edition, Vol. 35).
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ foreign words
  12. ↑ See this volume, pp. 61, 76-77, 82.
  13. ↑ Jean Longuet