22 December 1926  81 Harley Street  London W1

Dear Professor,

«IP4,0»In writing to wish you a pleasant Christmastime I want also to thank you warmly for your cordial letter, with its kind allusions to myself.  I will treasure its words of wisdom.  What a pity Vienna is so far from London; there are so many things I should like to discuss with you.

Your judgement about my Überich paper«FN1.××Jones (1926c).» did not surprise me, for it was also my own ‑‑ but I only meant to ask you one single point in it, whether you would agree that hate of the object is as essential as love of that object before it can be incorporated as a super‑ego?  Perhaps some time you will tell me this, if I have made the question clear enough for it to be answered in a line.

Things here all go well, except that first‑class analysts are too rare ‑‑ as they seem to be everywhere.  One must be patient and wait for the next generation.  I am sure the chief reason is not the lack of «MDUL»potentially«MDNM» excellent analysts, but the difficulty of getting fairly normal people to join us.  The capable brains find easier paths in life.  Things will be better when we have more "official" contacts, and our chief political problem is how to obtain these without making any scientific sacrifice; for die Sache itself must of course always come first.

When I told you of my difficulty in reading Gothic, did I not tell you that there was one exception ‑‑ namely your own handwriting?  I do not pretend it is easy for me, but it is possible.  Perhaps my omission was due to my fondness for your English, which is very attractive.

Please give my kindest greetings to your wife and to Anna, who I hope is flourishing, and accept all good wishes yourself

From yours always affectionately,  Ernest Jones