2 November 1938  42 York Terrace  Regents Park NW1

Dear Professor,

I also was for several reasons sorry to be unable to see you on Monday, but I hope to do so next Saturday or Sunday.

As regards the matter of translation I would say this.  I have the English habit, which is found so annoying on the Continent, of being reluctant to promise anything I cannot well see my way to perform.  Therefore we never gave any date by when we could complete the translation, the typescript«FN1.××Freud (1939a).» of which ‑‑ as you will remember ‑‑ we received towards the end of August.  Early in October Mr. Woolf asked me if it could be ready by the end of that month and, of course, I told him it was out of the question.  He then reminded me, which I well knew, that there were certain fixed publishing seasons in the year with definite dates on which travellers were sent round the country beforehand and told me that the next date when this could happen would be February 1st, asking if we could get the translation ready for press by then.  I replied that we would make our best endeavour to do so and we are hopeful of succeeding.  From the publishing point of view there would therefore be no point at all in having the translation ready by the end of next month as you suggest.  If, however, you want it for personal reasons finished next month, i.e. a month before Mr. Woolf's date, then we are, of course, quite willing to hand it over to any other translator you would suggest.  I should tell you, however, that it would be very difficult to find a translator.  In our Journal and other work we have two competent translators, who are paid for their work, and for different reasons they have both failed us at the moment so that we have no one left.  Among analysts only Mrs. Riviere and Mr. Strachey would come into consideration and all my experience of their work is that it is a good deal slower than the rate at which my wife and I work.  It is, of course, possible that Mr. Woolf would be able to recommend some professional outsider, but you probably know that you have the reputation of not being the easiest author to translate.

Auf baldiges Wiedersehen.  Yours,  [Ernest Jones]^[1]

^[1]    Not Jones's signature, but signed "Ernest Jones" by secretary, not initialed.