| Author(s) | Friedrich Engels |
|---|---|
| Written | 1 June 1894 |
ENGELS TO NIKOLAI DANIELSON
IN ST. PETERSBURG
London, 1 June 1894
My dear Sir,
Last week I forwarded to you sheets 7 to 16 incl. of Vol. II[1] and hope you have received them. They were registered, and my name as sender at the back (L. K.[2] ). 371
I am glad to learn of the success of the 'Essays'.[3] I hope a new edition is in the press. I should be very glad if I could find a German translator for the book, unfortunately most of the translation work from Russian into German is done by ladies, generally not well prepared for economic work.
With many thanks I received the Russian 'Origin' etc., 372 the translation, as far as I have read, seems to me very well done, and on the whole the censorship seems to have dealt leniently with the book.
The sheets were sent rather late, but it was the fault of the publisher who delayed them a long time. It is very hard work reading the proofsheets of a book like this. You will find in the sheets sent the solution of the question how the different rates of surplus value are equalised into one and the same average rate of profits, the law of the tendency of that rate of profits constantly to fall, and the mode in which commercial capital participates in the distribution of surplus value. This comes to a conclusion in Sheet 21, in which the 5th Section opens: the splitting up of profits into interest and 'profits of enterprise' (Zins und Unternehmergewinn), moneyed capital generally, banking and credit. This section fills up a whole third of the book; it has cost me more trouble than all the rest. — The last third consists of section VI: Rent of Land, and VII: the three kinds of revenue: Rent, profits (interest), wages.
The last of the Manuscript is in the printer's hands. But I only now find what an enormous amount of arrears of work I have on my hands, as everything not absolutely necessary had to be put back in order to finish Vol. 3rd. This must be my excuse if I do not now recur to some of the economic questions previously discussed between us. As it is, I think we both have plenty of work on our hands and better leave that discussion for another time.
Yours very sincerely
L. K.
The volumes on industrial and agricultural development of Russia (Chicago Exhibition) 373 have reached me. Please accept my hearty thanks. They are very useful indeed, especially when compared with the 'Essays'.