Letter to Friedrich Adolph Sorge, May 23, 1872

Author(s) Karl Marx
Written 23 May 1872


First published in Briefe und Auszüge aus Briefen von Joh. Phil. Becker, Jos. Dietzgen, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx u. A. an F. A. Sorge und Andere, Stuttgart, 1906
Published in English in full for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 44


MARX TO FRIEDRICH ADOLPH SORGE[1]

IN HOBOKEN

[London,] 23 May 1872

Dear Sorge,

Just a few lines in great haste.

I am overwhelmed with work. Quite apart from all the International BUSINESS—everything is at sixes and sevens—every day I have to correct the German proofs of the second edition of Capital (which will appear in instalments)[2] and the épreuves[3] of the French translation[4] in Paris, which I often have to re-write completely to make matters clear to the French. And in addition I also have the épreuves of the ADDRESS ON THE CIVIL WAR[5] which we are bringing out in French in Brussels. You will be receiving a constant flow of instalments in German and French from me.

In Petersburg a splendid Russian translation[6] has appeared.[7]

The Russian socialist paper, Die Neue Zeit (its German title, the paper comes out in Russian), recently published a five-column-long leader lavishing praise on the book, which, however, was only meant as an introduction to a series of articles.[8] For this, the paper duly received a warning from the police, who threatened to suppress it.

I shall send Liebknecht my answer to the jackasses from the Concordia today.[9] I was unable to get round to it sooner. Moreover, it does no harm to leave that factory-owning mob their illusions of victory for a while.

AS TO HEINZEN, I CARE NOT ONE FARTHING FOR THE faits et gestes[10] OF THIS 'democratic numbskull'. He is the true representative of the 'KNOW-NOTHINGS', in the literal sense of the word.

It will do no harm to send me the French translation of the Communist Manifesto.[11]

I shall tell you in my next letter why the GENERAL COUNCIL is simply abiding by its resolutions[12] for the time being without proceeding in a more aggressive manner. We shall not continue to correspond with those people any more but have only instructed Le Moussu to ask them to return the letters from Eccarius (who has probably already given the ordre to print his letter over there) and Hales.[13]

(Between ourselves. Eccarius has been demoralised for quite some time now and is now a scoundrel pure and simple—canaille, even.)

In sincere friendship,

Karl Marx

  1. ↑ Part of this letter was published in English for the first time in: Karl Marx, On the First International. Arranged and edited, with an introduction and new translations by Saul K. Padover. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1973.
  2. ↑ In early February 1871, at Marx's request, Harney sent a written inquiry to the General Land Office in Washington (see The Harney Papers. Ed. by F. G. Black and R. M. Black, Van Gorcum and Co., Assen, 1969, pp. 267-69).
  3. ↑ proofs
  4. ↑ The surviving manuscript copy of the letter does not bear the name of the addressee. However, its contents and Marx's correspondence on the subject indicate that it was addressed to the heads of the Lachâtre publishing house in Paris. On 13 February 1872 Marx received a reply from the manager Juste Vernouillet, who informed him about the despatch of copies of the agreement on the publication of the French translation of Volume I of Capital. The agreement was signed on 15 February by Marx on one side, and Maurice Lachâtre and Juste Vernouillet on the other. It stipulated that the French edition was to be published in 44 instalments, and sold five instalments at a time.
    The French authorised edition of Volume I of Capital was published between 17 September 1872 and November 1875. The translation was done by Joseph Roy, who began in February 1872 and completed work in late 1873. The quality of the translation largely failed to satisfy Marx; besides, he was convinced that the original needed to be revised to adapt it to French readers.
  5. ↑ K. Marx, The Civil War in France.
  6. ↑ of Volume I of Capital
  7. ↑ The Russian edition of Volume I of Capital was published at the end of March 1872; the edition of 3,000 copies was rather large for that time. It was sold very quickly, contrary to the Tsarist censors' expectations; they considered Capital to be a work 'difficult to understand', and that was the reason they allowed its publication (see also Note 146).
  8. ↑ 'C. IIeTep6ypn,, 22 anpbAn', Novoye Vremya, No. 106, 23 April (5 May) 1872.
  9. ↑ K. Marx, 'Reply to Brentano's Article'.
  10. ↑ feats and gestures
  11. ↑ The Manifesto of the Communist Party was published in English on 30 December 1871 in the American Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly, No. 7. Chapter IV, except for the last four paragraphs, was omitted.
    The first and second chapters of the Manifesto were published in French in the weekly Le Socialiste, the organ of the French sections of the International in the USA, in January-March 1872 under the heading 'Manifeste de Karl Marx' (Nos. 16-17, 19-24 and 26 of 20 and 27 January, 10, 17 and 24 February, and 2, 9, 16 and 30 March 1872).
  12. ↑ K. Marx, 'Resolutions on the Split in the United States' Federation Passed by the General Council of the I. W. A. in Its Sittings of 5th and 12th March, 1872'.
  13. ↑ A reference to the letters from Johann Georg Eccarius and John Hales to the members of New York Section No. 12, which had been expelled from the International by the General Council, in which they stated their disagreement with this decision. Hales' letter was printed by Le Socialiste on 18 May 1872.