Letter to Wilhelm Liebknecht, January 9, 1877

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 9 January 1877


First published in full, in Russian, in Marx-Engels Archives, Vol. I (VI), Moscow, 1932
Printed according to the original and the text in the Vorwärts
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 45


ENGELS TO WILHELM LIEBKNECHT[1]

IN LEIPZIG

London, 9 January 1877

Dear Liebknecht,

D'abord,[2] a Happy New Year to you and family and all our friends.

Herewith the remainder of the 'Philosophy'[3] ; I shall at once set to work on the 'Political Economy' and 'Socialism', although there might well be a hiatus after the 'Philosophy'. I wish you had waited until after the elections[4] ; at that time you ought to have been using the space for agitation. Again, I'd be perfectly satisfied if some of my work appeared in two numbers per week, leaving the third free for your other stuff. But should you occasionally give me space in the third number of the week as well, I would naturally not object.

We had already sent Geib £10 via Bracke some time ago, as our contribution to the election fund, and so were unfortunately not in a position to make another one. Hence I couldn't accede to your request to send you something more. Provided you people are not deluding yourselves and the reports in the Vorwärts are not exaggerated [...]

If the Turks stand their ground, it will soon be all up with the Russians. General conscription has disorganised the Russian army far more than I had expected,[5] while the Turks have never been in better shape and, what is more, their fleet of ironclads is the best and strongest in the world after the British. If things get cracking—and if they don't there'll be another revolution in Constantinople and then things will really get cracking—it will lend singular actuality (topicality)[6] to your motion on the restoration of Poland.

[...] to tell the truth. And should they complain of my tone, I trust you will not forget to confront them with the tone adopted by Mr Dühring vis-à-vis Marx and his other precursors, and more particularly with the fact that I substantiate, and in detail at that, whereas Dühring merely calumniates and abuses his precursors.

They have asked for it, and they're going to be thoroughly hauled over the coals, you have my word for that.

Your

F. E.

  1. ↑ The second page of the original letter is missing. The penultimate paragraph of this letter is published according to the text quoted by Wilhelm Liebknecht in an item printed by the Vorwärts, No. 8, 19 January 1877, in the section 'Sozialpolitische Uebersicht'. He introduced the quotation with the following note: 'A competent person writes to us in a private letter about the present state of the Eastern Question.'
  2. ↑ First
  3. ↑ F. Engels, Anti-Dühring, Part I.
  4. ↑ Regular elections to the German Reichstag were held on 10 January 1877. About half a million votes were cast for the socialist candidates of whom 12 were actually elected (see also Note 248).
  5. ↑ General conscription was introduced in Russia on 1 January 1874.
  6. ↑ The word in parentheses was probably inserted by Liebknecht.