(^23) [ 19 36 -1 (^939) ]
Of course I read your letter entirely. But I know how matters tend
to change, and therefore I asked again.
I was very glad to hear your statements about the stomach attitude of
children. Here I am sure is the future of Therapy and Prophylaxis. I
would like to be in your place, to work with children and not with
grown-ups. Would you please write down your observations for our
Communication of the Institute? It would mean much. I am starting to
discover that I have discovered something important, and am ceasing
to believe that everybody always knew about it.
Write please again. At Easter I shall probably interrupt my work for
about 8 days. If that will not disturb you, I should like to go on with you.
Summerhill School
Leiston, Suffolk
Dear Reich,
- I •
November 26, 1938Failure again. The professor asked me to dinner and then
looked at the slides under the microscope, obviously without interest.
"They show some inflammation by bacteria," was all he said. He had
never heard of your work and when I told him in my unscientific way
what you were doing, he said what Bernal said ... infection from the
atmosphere. God, .Reich, these men are children. They aren't really
interested in science. This man Wright is a very nice fellow, kind,
broad-minded in politics and in everything except science. I fear you
will get no help from the orthodox scientists. Zu klein [Too small].
They all seem terrified to commit themselves to an opinion. I'll try once
more with Haldane this time. Next time I go to London I'll ask him to
see me, and will keep the slides till then, unless you give up English
scientists in despair and ask me to send the box back.
Today I have a letter from the big publishers John Lane saying
they would like to see the translation of the S. im Kulturkamp/, and
I am sending on the introduction and the first chapter that Barnes sent
me. I told Lane that you were the only man who had given us something
new and valuable since Freud. I am not entirely pleased with the trans
lation. One phrase, "disorganisations of the vegetative harmony," means
nothing to most people. You should really make some sort of explana
tion of your terms, for the word vegetative is unknown to most readers.