Dec. 1st, 1921

Dear Friends:

I am sorry to say that Rivers’ attitude is being more hostile and also in a personal 
way, especially to Professor and myself, so that one can hardly hope for more from him; he 
will go the way of many others at first interested by Psa and then unable to endure a 
closer approach to it.

The Dutch asked me some time ago about the propriety of accepting as member a doctor 
known to be manifestly homosexual. I advised against it, and now I hear from van Emden that 
the man has been detected and committed to prison. You do think this would be a safe 
general maxim to act on? On the other hand, they were doubtful about accepting Varendonck 
and referred his election to me; I spoke of course in his favour.

An Oxford woman has written a very interesting book on witchcraft, the main point of 
which is that witches were remnants from pre-Christian fertility cults, definitely organ-
ised as a religion. Can anyone suggest a psychological explanation of the belief that the 
devil, particularly his penis and semen, was always icecold? Can this be a simple reversal?

Bryan had a great success at the British Psychological Society by reading a paper 
largely based on Abraham’s Congress one. You see how parasitic we are on the Continental 
workers, but we are at least honest about it.

Tomorrow I shall finish the last chapter of the Vorlesungen, three quarters of which is 
already printed. It will relieve the pressure on my time, so I am glad, but I only wish 
that the Press, not Unwin, were getting the benefit of such a careful translation. 
Berlin. Congratulations on the activity in the Policlinic and Society. With regard to the 

M.32, please add that to all the other subscriptions from Austria, Germany and Hungary: 
you are surely the Association Treasurer for those countries, appointed last summer 
(or was it perhaps Sachs?).

Budapest. I seem to be the only one hearing regularly from you. London gets letters the 
quickest because of the luxury trains, but I fear it may not continue so far as you are 
concerned, for I read that the Bucharest express is to avoid Hungary in the future on acco-
unt of the difficulties at the frontier.

I will put Frau Sokolnicka into contact with Dr Mourgue.

Vienna. I should be glad to see the cutting referred to by Ferenczi (Nov. 20). Don’t you 
think in general that it would be wise when circu- lating documents to send them in such an 
order as to reach Vienna last, because that is usually their final destination (Museum). 
Of course there would be exceptions at times in matters urgently concerning Vienna. In 
fact it might be worth while, to save time, to work out a regular order in which each of 
us should circulate documents, e.g. London, Berlin, Buda- pest, Vienna, etc.

Will Róheim’s Das Selbst appear later in book form? I ask because of the question of 
reviewing or abstracting it. Also please let me know what arrangements have been made for 
reviewing our own Psa books, e.g. the last ones of the Schriften series, because I have to 
consider the question of reviewing the English translation, e.g. Sadger. We arranged in 
September about the Verlag books, but not the others. Kegan Paul have just bought the 
English rights of the Leonardo and Wit. Was there not to be a Nachtrag to Ferenczi’s 
article on the symbolism of bridges? I have the latter translated, but have kept the public-
ation of it back so as to print both together.

With cordial greetings to all,

Ernest Jones.