Letter to Nikolai Danielson, April 23, 1885

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 23 April 1885


First published, in Russian, in Minuvshiye gody, No. 2, St Petersburg, 1908
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 47


ENGELS TO NIKOLAI DANIELSON

IN ST PETERSBURG

London, 23 April 1885

Dear Sir,

I have received your kind letter of the 9/21 last month and am very much obliged for the very interesting information it contains.[1]

That the law of wages being in inverse proportion to the length of working time should also be verified in Russia is a very interesting fact indeed. So also is the rapid disintegration of the Mipi>[2] by the progress of modern industry and financing, as shown in the increasing number of the 6e3xo3HÖCTBeHHbie xo3aeBa.[3] All such facts are of the highest importance to me, and I shall feel very much obliged if you will communicate to me, from time to time, what you may know about the economical condition and development of your great country. Unfortunately at present all my time is taken up with the publication of the manuscripts,[4] so much so that I have to interrupt not only independent work but even my studies, and can scarcely find time for correspondence; so you see I cannot take advantage just now of your kind offer to send me original Russian works on economical subjects, I should really not have the time to make use of them. But I hope you will not blame me, if hereafter at the first opportunity I take the liberty of reminding you of your kind promise. In the meantime these inestimable manuscripts are to me a source of the highest scientific Genuss,[5] and no doubt so will the proofs be to you. Of these I forwarded to you Nos. 5-9 about 3 weeks ago 27th March and yesterday Nos. 10-14. I shall again forward a set shortly, always registered. The whole of No. II will be about 37 sheets and will be out by end of May. I am now busy with No. Ill which is the concluding and crowning part, and will eclipse even No. I. I dictate from the original, which is positively illegible to any living man except myself, and shall have no rest until it is all transferred to a manuscript which at all events will be legible to others. Then I can take my time with the final redaction, which will be no easy task, seeing the imperfect state of the original. But anyhow, even if I should not be spared to finish that, it would be saved from being utterly lost, and could be published as it is in case of need. This No. Ill is the most astounding thing I ever read, and it is a thousand pities that the author did not live to work it out and publish it himself and see the effect it is destined to create. After this lucid exposition, no candid opposition is any longer possible. The most difficult points are cleared up and disentangled as if they were a mere child's play, and the whole system acquires a new and simple aspect. I am afraid this No. Ill will fill two volumes. Besides that I have an old manuscript which treats the history of the theory and will also require a good deal of work. So you see I have my hands full.

Very sincerely yours,

P.W.Rosher

  1. ↑ Nikolai Danielson provided Engels with some figures about the length of the working day and the wages paid to workers in Russia as well as about the extent to which peasants had joined the ranks of the proletariat. He also was ready to send Engels the following books by Russian economists: H. H. 3n6ep, /Jaeud Putcapdo u KapA Mapuc e ux o6iu,ecmeeHHO-3KOHOMUuecKux uccjiedoeauuHX (2nd edition, St Petersburg, 1885), H.H. RmnyA, <J>a6puuuuü 6um MocKoecKoü eyôepuuu (Moscow, 1882) and n. A. necKOB, Canumapuoe uccnedoeanue (ßaipuK no o6pa6omice soROKHUcmux eewpcme ez.Mocnee (Moscow, 1882).
  2. ↑ (Russ.) rural community
  3. ↑ (Russ.) farmless peasants
  4. ↑ of the third volume of Capital
  5. ↑ enjoyment