Letter to Florence Kelley, February 25, 1886

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 25 February 1886


First published, in the language of the original (English), 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
Reproduced from the original
Published in English in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 47


ENGELS TO FLORENCE KELLEY-WISCHNEWETZKY

IN ZURICH

London, 25 February 1886

Dear Mrs Wischnewetzky,

To-day mailed to you, registered, the rest of the ms. with my introduction or postscript — according to where it may suit you to place it. I believe the title had better be a simple translation: The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844, etc.

I am glad that all obstacles to publication have been successfully overcome. Only I am sorry that Miss Foster has applied to the Executive of the Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei in New York,[1] as appears from their report of meeting in Der Sozialist, New York, 13th February. Neither Marx nor myself have ever committed the least act which might be interpreted into asking any Working Organisation to do us any personal favour—and this was necessary not only for the sake of our own independence but also on account of the constant bourgeois denunciations of 'demagogues who coax the workmen out of their hard-earned pennies in order to spend them for their own purposes'. I shall therefore be compelled to inform that Executive that this application was made entirely without my knowledge or authority. Miss Foster no doubt acted in what she thought the best way, and this step of hers is in itself no doubt perfectly admissible; still, if I could have foreseen it, I should have been compelled to do everything in my power to prevent it.

The revision of your translation has delayed that of the English translation of Das Kapital by three weeks — and at a most critical period of the year too. I shall set about it to-night and it may take me several months. After that, the German 3rd volume must be taken in hand; you see, therefore, that for some time it will be impossible for me to undertake the revision of other translations, unless few and far between and of small volume. I have at this moment waiting here an Italian translation of Marx's Lohnarbeit und Kapital[2] which must wait some weeks at least. But if you will translate that into English (it was recently republished at Zurich) and will not be too pressing for time, I shall be glad to revise it, and you cannot have a better popular pamphlet than that. My Entwicklung[3] Aveling intends to translate, and as the subject is in part rather difficult, I could not well give it to anyone except he be here on the spot, accessible to verbal explanation. As to my Anti-Dühring I hardly think the English speaking public would swallow that controversy and the hostility to religion which pervades the book. However we may discuss that later on, if you are of a different opinion. At present Marx's posthumous manuscripts must be dealt with before anything else.

The semi-Hegelian language of a good many passages of my old book is not only untranslatable but has lost the greater part of its meaning even in German. I have therefore modernised it as much as possible.

Yours very truly,

F. Engels

  1. ↑ The Socialist Labor Party of the United States (originally called the Workingmen's Party) was founded at the unification congress held in Philadelphia on 19-22 June 1876 as a result of the merger between the American sections of the First International, led by Friedrich Adolph Sorge and Otto Weydemeyer, and the Labor Party of Illinois and Social Democratic Party, led by Adolph Strasser, A. Gabriel and Peter J. McGuire. However, the party failed to become a mass organisation throughout the country due to the sectarian policies pursued by the leadership which neglected to form links with the mass organisations of the indigenous American proletariat, and due to the predominance of the Lassallean influence in a number of local organisations.
  2. ↑ Wage Labour and Capital
  3. ↑ Socialism: Utopian and Scientific