Letter to Pasquale Martignetti, April 20, 1888

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 20 April 1888


First published, in the language of the original (German), in La corrispondenza di Marx e Engels con italiani. 1848-1895, Milano, 1964
Printed according to the original
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 48


ENGELS TO PASQUALE MARTIGNETTI

IN BENEVENTO

London, 20 April 1888
122 Regent's Park Road

Dear Friend

I'm glad to hear that a fresh prospect appears to be opening up for you and hope you'll manage to prepare for the exam.[1]

I cannot, unfortunately, suggest any books that might assist your studies in this direction. For an Italian examination German books would cover too much ground on the one hand and too little on the other; moreover, I am not familiar with the more recent short compendiums. Still less do I know of any Italian books that would suit your purpose; the most I could recommend would be Carlo Botta, Storia dei Popoli d'ltalia which begins with Constantinus Magnus, circa AD 300. Perhaps also Pietro Colletta, Storia del Reame diNapoli, covering the years 1735-1825, a classic. But probably most helpful of all would be the textbooks currently in use in your grammar schools (corresponding to the French lycées and collèges and our Gymnasien), since most of the candidates for archivist's appointments will have attended these establishments and the examiners will therefore have to conform to the syllabus laid down in those schools.

But since it is impossible for you in your present straitened circumstances to purchase these books I deem it my duty to offer you my assistance. I have therefore permitted myself the liberty of taking out the enclosed money order in your name for the sum of four pounds sterling or fr. 10080 centesimi and trust you won't be angry with me for sending you this small amount without first obtaining your consent. I only hope that it will be enough, and that you will be able to procure what you need and pass your exam.

You will have read about our Zurich friends' expulsion from Switzerland.[2]

I shall look over and return the translation shortly[3] —as soon as I have finished an important piece for America.[4] Going through a whole lot of numbers at the same time cuts down the work.

With most cordial regards.

Yours

F. Engels

For postal purposes my first name has been given in its English form: 'Frederick'.

  1. ↑ In this letter to Engels on 11 April 1888, P. Martignetti said he was offered a job in the archives of the Italian town of Benevento, but had to pass competitive examination to be able to qualify.
  2. ↑ At the insistence of the German authorities the Swiss Federal Council on 18 April 1888 expelled several associate editors of and contributors to the Sozialdemokrat (Eduard Bernstein, Julius Motteler, Hermann Schluter and Leonard Tauscher) from the country. Until 22 September the paper continued to appear in Switzerland, edited by the Swiss Social Democrat Conrad Consett. From 1 October 1888 to 27 September 1890 the paper was published in London.
  3. ↑ Martignetti's letter to Engels (dated 3 January 1888) was accompanied by the issue of the journal Mefistofele, carrying the first instalment of the Italian translation of Engels' biography written by Karl Kautsky. Martignetti intended to continue the publication in this journal of excerpts from Kautsky's work and then have it published in full as a separate pamphlet. For this reason he asked Engels to look through the translations in the Mefistofele and send him comments on the translation. The Engels biography was published in the journal between 1 January and 30 November 1888.
  4. ↑ 'Protection and Free Trade. Preface to the Pamphlet: Karl Marx, Speech on the Question of Free Trade'