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Correspondence from Karl Germer to Heinrich Tränker
[Translation]
Weida
28th October 1925.
Herrn Heinrich Tränker, Hohenleuben.
Mr. Mudd [Norman Mudd] wrote you on Oct 5th. In your letter of Oct 15 you address yourself directly to me. You contest the claims of my account of Mark 6822. 67 and send me your account according to which I am supposed to owe you:
Mark 2027.—in cash 1281 pages of MSS. of translation 400 copies of Pansophia 1 and 2.
In order to avoid the arising of any confusion by the long correspondence I shall group the various points in my criticism of your remarks and your new claims under uniform heads.
PANSOPHIA 1 & 2. Under this head the points of my claims A-1, A-2, A-3 amounting to Mark 905.—and your counter-claims to me of Mark 1000.—for redaction of Pansophia 1 & 2 and 400 copies of Pans. 1 & 2 as honorarium.
To this it will be necessary to enter upon the genesis of "PANSOPHIA".
Since many years you had the plan of editing a periodical without ever putting any money at the disposal of this to put the plan into action. In January 1923 I sold the whole of my property in Vienna. This I wrote to you and you replied asking me to pay with part of the money the foundation of PANSOPHIA. I was at once prepared to do this, went to Munich, bought paper for 4 volumes and made the following agreement with the publishing firm Otto Wilhelm Barth:
Barth and I found Pansophia under your redaction. I supply paper for 4 volumes. He to look after the printing and sale. MSS—to be paid with 1% free—copies of edition and 10% from the sold copies. Administration and property remains always in the hands of the Collegium Pansophicum, which consists of Tränker and Germer. I was the business and legal, you the redactional exponent. No honorarium or any other payment was arranged for this. The C. P. [Collegium Pansophicum] takes no booksellers or editors profit in any way, which goes to Barth alone. However the stock of paper put at his disposal remains the property of the C. P. and on dissolution of the relations the stock of copies of Pansophia, Clichés, drawings etc. go back into the hands of C. P.
According to present prices the paper had a value of 1500 to 1600 marks. I further paid Clichés and many other things, conducted in the first weeks in Munich numerous negotiations, made journeys and applied much personal work to the first establishment of Pansophia.—Except some drawings, which Hopfer [Oskar Hopfer] made for you, but which you did not pay cash, you did not, as far as I see, give any cash support. If these however are to be counted, then I may point out that I also do not count Clichés, journeys, negotiations, correspondence etc. etc.—Thus the burdens of the enterprise were entirely and solely borne by Barth and myself.
At the end of 1924 Barth's business broke down. I went to Munich and laid down a new scheme with Barth and his new partner. After my return a conference took place in my house between you and myself to which you had brought your wife. You did not agree with my arrangements, which I had considered as rather favourable and demanded against my conviction a number of clauses which pertained to free-copies and other things which I do not remember in detail. The consequence was the break with Barth and Herr Werle (the new Partner) wrote you openly his opinion about your smart claims.
The burdens and expenses of the negotiations thereby necessitated rested again upon myself. They lasted til April. The postage, telegram, telephone, lawyer expenses etc. amounted to over 100 Mks, to which you contributed nothing.
Ultimately I concluded the following settlement with Barth: I renounced all claims out of the previous contract, particularly the paper. Barth to supply 750 copies each of Pansophia 1 & 2, 1500 in all as well as drawings and Clichés.
You took the drawings and Clichés. You demanded further for yourself personally 250 each copies, i.e. 500 in all, of Pans. I did not know for what. You offered the remainder to me. This proposal struck me extraordinarily. You perfectly knew, that I had put the money at the disposal of the Great Work and never wanted to have any profit out of it or to have the money back. About a week later, when I was with you again about the matter, your proposal had struck even yourself as too greedy and you declared to be satisfied with 300 copies. These you kept in order to sell them. The rest was sent to your "commissioner" to Leipzig, Herr Gustav Brauns, in your name. I never have heard since about them. They are storing them as I gather from your letter, yet unsold, in your name. I had told you that I would not change my resolution about the original destination of the money, though I did not know whence to take the money for my living. (Besides it is significant for your disposition, that you, who has alone the sale of Pansophia in his hand, have well sold the 300 copies taken for yourself in the meantime, but could not sell one copy so far of the 1200 which were intended for myself. It is now very doubtful, whether the market being oversaturated with Pansophias 1 & 2 is in a position to take up the remaining stock in Leipzig. At any rate you brought into safety your personal part and have surely made some 900 Marks out of them according to my judgment.
After the break with Barth it was agreed that the Pansophia should be handed over to another publisher. You negotiated with Grosche [Eugen Grosche] and he made very sound, businesslike proposals which were very fair for the C. P. as to the taking over of printing and the distribution of the Pansophia. Suddenly you declared that you would not accept these proposals. I was absolutely for the giving over of Pans. not to a publishing firm. Your wife and yourself declared that you wanted to publish Pans. yourself and alone and you were sure to get a subscribership of over 5000 within 6 months. You had the idea to adopt the method of the Verein für Bücherfreunds, which within a very short time had brought the number of its subscribers to more than 200,000 and possessed numerous paper factories, printing houses etc. You would make a nice profit by adopting this system. When you quite enthusiastically showed me the advertising-plan, published in Vol. 4, I was amazed and contradicted strongly. That system and the spirit breathing from it appeared to be too businesslike to me, but the impression which your first number made in public justified my anxieties in the worst measure. I here clearly declare that all this "Selbatverlag" (Self-publishing) was planned as a profit-making business-enterprise by yourself and your wife. You said "Within 6 months we shall swim in money!" It does not prove anything against that that you declared to pay Mark 1.—per sold copy to the Pansophic Lodge in Berlin. I even do not know in how far this was done under pressure from Berlin. I only expressly state that the enterprise was undertaken by you in "Selbstverlag" though a favourable proposal from Grosche had been made. You sometimes said to your wife: "Do you see now, wife, by your pressing to make Pansophia alone, we are getting into difficulties. Had we but given it to a publisher."
I presume:
Pansophia was called into life through cash-means and risk by Barth and myself. To this you as "redactor", without risk. Let us consider the 3 concerned in turn:
1) Barth cuts out. You and your wife told me often the Barth had had a great profit out of Pansophia. I myself am of opinion that he at least has not made a loss of it.
2) Tränker. You did not invest a Pfennig into Pansophia. As Honorarium you received 100 copies of Vol. 1 at 3.20 = Mark 320. (May-be that you gave away a number of free-copies, but this was done by me also. I even bought a number of copies of the various Vol. and never got anything back.) Furthermore you have sold at least 5-600 copies of the Vols. 1 and 2 and have made surely 6-800 Marks profit. Finally you took the above mentioned 300 copies of Pansophia out of the settlement with Barth, sold them and kept the about 900 Marks which you drew therefrom! Thus you invested nothing—but got made out of Pansophia:—
3) Germer. I am the third concerned. I paid cash:
Thus of the three concerned—
1) Barth invested money and came out at least without any loss.
2) Tränker invested no money but made almost 1900 Marks profit out of it.
3) Germer gave most of the money asked for nothing and received nothing and is the only one who never tried to make a profit from it in any form.
In spit of all that you seized all the rights of Pansophia, print, use my Clichés, draw the bookseller's and publisher's benefit from an undertaking whose expensive preliminary work has been paid by others.
And now comes the high water mark of your mania for exploiting others during the period of your activity which I watched: despite this state of affairs well know to you you demand from me: (as sole remaining partner of Pansophia 1 and 2)
The latter item includes the above mentioned 300 copies, which I do not recognize, which now all at once you increase by 100 and simply take them away from the stock of your Leipzig commissioner, because they are storing there in your name.
The outrageous disparity of your and my performances, your and my usufruct out of this undertaking must even strike you. I therefore decline to enter upon your present statement as same is too unjustified and absurd.
After this conclusive statement of the genesis of PANSOPHIA as to which I refer to Mr. Barth, Mr. Werle as witnesses, as far as they are concerned, I turn to the various points which you contest.
Ad 1) My travels to Munich Mark 225.—. In principle you acknowledge them but you want to pay only one journey with 75 Marks was in Munich 4 or 5 times. Each time I negotiated about Pansophia. However I only debit Pansophia with 3 of these journeys, because at the same time I discussed some personal matters.
I went to Munich particularly on account Pans. in July 1923, on 14-15 July 1924 and end of November—beginning of December 1924. All these journeys had been discussed in detail with you before. You induced me to all those journeys, particularly with the formal order to undertake that journey, though the time was very inconvenient to me. My wife had returned just the previous day from Vienna after 6 month's absence, the family Schütze, who during that time had rented 4 rooms in my house, had removed just a few days ago. In spite of that you insisted on that journey. You claimed to have received an information that Pansophia, your business claims to Barth and my rights out of my Pansophia-contract were in the gravest danger. When I mentioned the money-question, you said the Coll. Pans. would pay for everything. You knew however that I had to borrow the money from the Bank (I think at 3% interest per month). Furthermore you gave me a written authority and the order to settle your personal affairs with Barth. As I am very accurate in such matters I treated your personal affairs directly after Pansophia. I left my private affairs with Barth at the end. About your claims I made a contract with Barth according to your suggestions which protected your interests fully and provided a nice profit for you. In November is was similar. You know exactly that as regards my personal affairs with Barth—the partnership about Paracelsus—I only got there to accept the information that all my money was lost. I mainly negotiated about Pansophia. Mr. Werle declared expressly that his attitude towards me was so rigorous only because you had drawn the last drop of blood out of Barth in your dealings with him and because you were partly the cause of his bankruptcy. It is significant that nevertheless you were never satisfied with the results which I brought back from Munich. You made me notice often that I had not attained enough.
These are the essential facts, I therefore must maintain my claim.
A-2. Proceeds from the sale of 300 copies Pans. (see above) at 3.20 = Mark 960.— less 50% booksellers discount = Mark 480.—
This point has been discussed above at length. On these 300 volumes, which you had seized without a shadow of a right, I had credited you with a 50% discount in my account. Now you claim for the first time since I know you that you demand not only these 300 volumes but even 400 (besides the 1000 Mark for "redaction") as a Honorarium for yourself.
You have only written the first Volume and received 100 copies as a honorarium from Barth. Now you demand again the double of that. You wrote, it is true, a preface and some notes which however brought the volume only a very doubtful profit. (I refer to the attacks of Vollrath resulting therefrom.) I have only received part of my honorarium which had been agreed upon, viz. 200.— or 264.— resp. You claim 200 copies at 3.20 = 640 Mark for your notes! Any commentary is superfluous. I fully insist on my claim of 40 Mark until you clearly prove to me what cash expenses justify these 300 or 400 copies respectively.
A-3. 200 Marks for the Tcheque copyright. This is the only item which you acknowledge without contradiction.
Now to your "counter-claims". You write literally:
"1) Vol. 1 for redaction of No. 1 Mark 500.— "1) Vol. 2 for redaction of No. 2 Mark 500.— "1) (This includes cash-expenses, journeys postage expenses for conferences, correspondence etc. etc.)
"2) Honorarium for both volumes 10% of the edition i.e. 200 vol. each = 400 volumes in all.
(The 150 vol. each in question were to be only a preliminary settlement until a final arrangement.) ( See Germer's account A-2.)"
The absurdity of these claims is made clear by the above conclusive statement of the genesis of Pansophia. You mention these claims for the very first time. "Cash expenses, journeys, postage, expenses for conferences, correspondence etc. etc." I have had just as well as you without so far counting them. And don't you see how you make a fool of yourself by claiming these payments from me personally whereas you have simply seized all copyrights to yourself without paying anybody a Pfennig for them?
TRANSLATIONS. These are composed of A-4, A-5, A-6, B-1, B-2.
A-4. Translation of Vol. 7. You acknowledge. (It is true, not without suppressing the remark: "Deliberately (voluntarily) granted." ! ! ! )
A-5. Translation for Vol. 8. You ordered this MSS. in May together with the one of Vol. 7. at the price of 50 Mark per sheet. The Vol. was intended to have 10 sheets and was to appear in September. Through the delay of Vol. 7, by my continuous presence at Loitzsch as interpreter and by the change of the MSS. originally laid-down for this volume, which I had partly completed already, the volume was arranged to appear in October. The printer received the first 40 pages of the MSS. on the 25th August. He had only so much types that he could print 2 sheets at a time. They had to be set, the proofs had to be corrected, then the printing was done—and then he could start on the next 2 sheets. In consequence of this the continuation of the MSS. were not so urgent and were to be sent to him as they were before the middle of September. But it did not come so far. The printer had completed 2 sheets when that conference took place here on August [illegible], at which you broke with the Master Therion and refused to print anything further of him. You ordered the printer at once to have the finished set destroyed "because the MSS had come too late" ! ! You refuse to pay me the honorarium and even go so far as to charge me with the costs of your foolish, spiteful and rash destruction of the set!
The legal and moral side of the matter is quite clear and there are enough witnesses for the truth of the statement. You cannot get around your obligations.
As a payment of these 2 items (A-4 and A-5) you gave me 2 bills of exchange whose discount—and prolongation expenses you let me pay and which you now decline to pay.
A-6. 1281 pages of translations at 50 Mark per sheet = 4000 Mark. made to your order (in German: Veranlassung = impulse.) You decline payment of this also and that too from various reasons.
1. You say all MSS. were not ready for print and thus useless.
2. That a lump sum of 25 Mark was agreed upon per printed sheet and only for such works as were actually printed. Thus the sum had to be reduced to half of it.
3. In this point you contradict your own statements in point 1 & 2. You refuse payment altogether by figuring: 1281 pages of translation = 1 1/2 month work. But as I had stayed at your house much longer the claim was balanced.
4. All MSS. which were yet in my possession were to be handed to you (680 pages). You pretend never to have seen any of them.
Ad 1) Almost all MSS. were made to your order. Some MSS. (e.g. Albertus Parvus) I declined to translate altogether at first, because I did not like the subject. You however insisted upon it because "a great business could be done with them". Others you demanded over and over again (Achad's [Charles Stansfeld Jones] works, Le Symbolisme des Nombres, The Temple of Solomon the King, Khunrath's Amphitheatre and others.) All the original works after which I translated were from yourself. You yourself selected the works to be translated and decided them. Only in some instances I made suggestions. Some you yourself demanded for your own works. E.g. Allendy: Symbolisme des Nombres, Achad: Egyptian Revival, Achad Q.B.L. These works were made use of so extensively in your "Mystischer Feuerschein" that the American author complained to you and others about your too liberal use of his works. You cannot now say my claims were only justified from the actually printed sheet. It is true, I have supplied you some MSS. which were not quite ready for print. But this does not refer to all, as you claim. Quite a number is ready for print. E.g. Achad's works (which were intended to be printed at once and were even announced as next publications in Vol. 4), Key Claviculus Salomonis, Albertus Parvus, The Temple of Solomon the King, Liber Eidolon [The Treasure House of Images] and others. These alone are more than half of all MSS. I cannot check all Mss. because you have them. But anyhow: the Mss. have been made after discussion with you. If I delivered them before final correction this was done in your own interest, in order to give you a look in those works which you did not understand. This was always agreeable to you. Give me those MSS. which are not yet ready and I shall put the last touch to them.
Ad 2) Long ago you mentioned the rate of 25 Mark als pre-war price, which included one proof-reading. Later however you confirmed on various occasions the rate of 50 Mark per sheet (Pans. 7 & 8, Albertus Parvus, Clavicula Salomonis), directly or indirectly. These are throughout difficult scientific or philosophic translations which cannot be compared with purely literary work. Take the A∴A∴ publications in which every word must be weighed. My fault was that I did not make written contracts with you in each separate case. Since Autumn 1924 I impressed you always again with the urgency of my need for money for living. It is true, you always understood the necessity, but did nothing, though you had good receipts and sufficient money left for the extension (completion) of your house, purchases etc., while you admitted that I was satisfied with the lowest possible standard of living. At the end of 1924 my situation became desperate, because I had simply nothing more to eat. Now you made great expectations. I made the "Albertus Parvus" ready for print. You asserted to have arranged with Grosche to print it at once and asked me to state my claims for honorarium. I said at least 250 Marks. You declared that were too little. You would demand Grosche for 800 Mark for the printing. I to receive 400 for the translation and you 500 for supplying the book. I would receive my money by the end of January. I don't have it to-day! !
As for the rest I hear from an expert, whom I asked for his opinion, that "ladies" sometimes offer translations at 25-30 Mark, but those translations were accordingly. Even 50 Mark was ridiculous! I therefore decline any further discussion about this.
Ad 3) I think it is useless to enter upon your calculation according to time—1281 pages = 1 1/2 months work. You make the fool of yourself if you tell anybody to translate 1281 pages at 33 lines at 60 letters per line with 45 days (it seems including Sundays), and to typewrite them. That is one of your well-known irresponsible, thoughtless Assertions. And then you want to figure up these translations against given hospitality. About this see below. I refuse to balance the work of 2 years against such vague calculations. However, I should like to make some remarks.
I only counted 1281 pages though this is figured very moderately. I cannot check the Mss. in your hands: whether single spaced or written on both sides of the paper so that they would have to be counted double. I let this out of consideration. But you leave quite out of account that I have supplied you with a number of works which I never mentioned so far. I translated on your special order the Cabalistic Astrology of Sepharial. This was translated by 2/3, but so badly that it was the same work as if I had made it anew; I translated the remaining part and made it ready for print. As far as I remember this was more than 100 pages. You wanted to publish it at once. Further you had a French astronomic work. On your special order I translated it and made it ready for print. As it was particularly difficult it should be counted as 150 to 200 pages alone. Further I made extraordinarily many work for you personally and for Pansophia. I typed your MSS. (already published and unpublished ones) etc. The work for the invitations to the Conferences in June I did quite alone, I paid partly the paper, postage etc. All this work which I do not remember in detail, should be estimated at at least 1000 Mark. So far I never charged you for such work. But your boundless claims force me to mention such points at least.
Ad A-4) You claim to have never seen the MSS. which I have here. This is not true. As stated, I have here:
Of these you have had: Temple Solomon (I read you from it. Then you said: Take it with you and hurry up to get to the Rituals, which you wanted to play out towards a certain Brother of the G[olden] D[awn] in Nürnberg). You have had Liber Eidolon long enough. It was to appear in Volume 7, is ready for print and was only exchanged at the last moment against "The Star in Sight" [One Star in Sight]. You have also seen Liber DCCCXXXVII. The same refers to Training of the Mind. I think you kept the MSS but decided then, after Therion wrote that it was not official, to print it later. You had "Parsifal" by Achad long enough. When I went to Bayreuth in 1924 I had to get the MS. from you. You have seen Khunrath's Amphitheatre repeatedly. This was a particularly favourable work as old R + C work. We often discussed it because the translation was so difficult. I translated from a French translation, which however was so bad and full of mistakes that I had to compare constantly the Latin original in order to deliver accurate work. Many passages which were particularly difficult I discussed with you. Also the writing was not easy on account of the interrupted setting. It is similarly with Allan Leo: Directions. You wanted to take steps to obtain the Copyright, while I translated. I renounce the Instructions for the Pansophic Lodges.
Taken all in all my remains fully justified. I have figured very moderately in every respect. (One typewriter page covers at least 1 1/4 printed page. Counted accurately these 1281 pages alone cover thus more than 1600 printed pages.)
B-1 and B-2. Translation of your correspondence etc. You yourself demanded the statement of these expenses. Previously you had told me that I should be indemnified for that. It refers to 100 folio-pages in all. This includes about 40 pages of translation of your letters into English, which is a more difficult work than translating into German and can easily be counted double—particularly in view of your difficult style of writing with long sentences which can be split up only with difficulty. My claim of 150 Marks would just be a contribution to the costs as charged by an official translator. It was your own affair not mine, as you say now. It was a definite physical and mental work ordered by you.
B-2. You yourself demanded my—in the beginning— daily visit as interpreter. I was mostly with you during the whole of the afternoon from 12 till 11 at night or on the road. Later it was about 3 times weekly. On some days you demanded my presence from early in the morning. As I had to pay the railway expenses also, I think 300 Mark—if an account takes place, is certainly not too much for those 6 weeks.
In spite of all this you refuse the payment. You say: "B-1 and B-2 fall out, because G. was considered as belonging to the Coll. Pans. Exot." and as he acted at the same time in his own interest. The question of my wife however, was well considered and justified."
What has my belonging to the C. P. to do with the fact that a member—living in all the same ordered circumstances, with a fair wealth and income—exploits for years past another member, look on as the latter—without an income—is forced to live on debts induces it to visit him daily for a long time, to pay the railway fare from new debts, in order to render him new services? By the way I have written declarations for being indemnified for all that. Inn how far did I act in my own interest by translating your discussions with 666? You know how straining the translation of those discussions way. After 2 hours work I was usually exhausted. This was for the greatest part your fault. It was agreed to express what was to be said in short, concise well considered sentences. 666 stuck firmly to this. You, however, always talked endless in long phrases, as the thoughts came to you. I had to watch immensely, in order to translate the contents of several minutes talk.
I decline to consider, whether my interests were served in some vague way whether my interests were served in some vague sense. Under normal conditions one would not insist on a financial indemnification. But during the whole period you drew a continual profit out of the fruits of our common works, and you alone. And you knew that I was in great material needs. I think it was up to you to give me in some way a material help.
Cash expenses. For you. To these belong C-1 to C-8.
C-1 to C-6 and C-8. You refuse to pay these moneys back to me. Here your unscupulosity can hardly be beaten. It refers to the following:—You had invited Therion repeatedly and persistently—many months before I ever heard his name—to stay with you as long as it pleased him. It then turned out that Therion was without any means. We discussed what was to be done, and how the necessary money was to be procured. You desired his presence absolutely till the middle of June and wrote always more pressing. Then I proposed to procure the money provisionally from my bank and to send it. Though there exists no written contract between yourself and me about this, it has been stated very often the mutual agreement that I was to get this money back. And this should weigh just as heavy between us. Now you declare for the first time that you refuse. Because you cannot be got at legally? It is a matter of a clear breach of promise. It was you that invited Therion, not I. He was your guest and came as such. Now you go even so far as to charge me with 500 Marks for board for him. In your letter to him of Dec. 12 1924 you had invited Therion to stay with you as long as he liked. Before that you had invited him through Achad. After that you repeated your invitations. Nobody expects under such circumstances to come as a Hotel-Guest. I think it was in February that I heard about all that for the first time and I had never anything to do with these invitations. I only acted as an interpreter of your correspondence. I wrote the first letter to him in May after you induced me because you wanted to avoid the trouble of writing yourself. Please explain on what grounds you base your claim for the board of Therion, towards me. And then please explain the extraordinary amount of 500 Mark. It refers to about 35 days stay of Therion and about 25 days of his wife. Do you want to charge 8 Mark for board and per day? a board which I can get here, at the Aumühle at Mark 4.50 including excellent food? And please remember you made me pay for cigars, pocket-money, Visa, travel for reception to Gera etc. You skillfully evaded the simplest demands of tact. You and your wife managed finally that Therion left your house because you do not know and never knew what the term of hospitality implies, which can be testified by all "guests" who visited your house in the last years repeatedly.
No other but you was it who proposed and took the necessary steps that your house was to be the headquarter for Therions work and that everything was to be concentrated there. The amounts claimed by me are only the mutually discussed cash-expenses for you. The other expenses caused by all this are much higher. I bear them willingly.
These items are the very clearest of all. If you deny them it would put the crown to your unscrupulousness.
C-7. This is actual cash I had given you in June. (I had forgotten the exact amount; in order to be safe I claimed only 50 Mark. You say it was 90 Mark). I gave you the amount because I could dispose that money at my Bank or because my father had given me a help. I had seen that your wife worried very much and wanted to show you that you could count on my assistance in every respect, if I was in a position to give it. Unhappily I gave it in my way—without losing a word or being asked by you. The over-tact, lying therein, now gives you perhaps the grotesque courage to refuse even this sum on which I have paid in the mean time some interest ! ! Your pretense, that Therion has used up so much for postage stamps, is to ludicrous.
BOOKS BOUGHT IN LEIPZIG. In this matter you behaved very strange. It gave me for the first time a deep insight into your disunited psyche. The transaction was this: You wrote me in the beginning of, 1922 to Vienna that there was a book-auction in Leipzig which included many interesting books for you. You said you did not have the money. You requested me to send you the money; you wanted to buy the books; I could make quite a nice amount of money on it. I sent you the requested money—15000 Marks—at once. According the rate of that time this indeed represented about the sum of 75 dollars. (Nobody better than you knows that that was a much greater sum than 300 Mark to-day.) You bought books without ever giving me a statement of same. This surprised me. During the year 1922 I saw you repeatedly, but you never showed me the books. When I asked you said usually: "I will show them to you afterwards", or "Yes, I must really seek them out for you", "when you come the next time you can see them." In Spring 1923 I came here for continually. You were—when I stayed with you for some weeks in April—however only on the pressure of your wife, to whom the matter became too painful—obliged to "seek the books together". I was most deeply surprised when I had to see that you trembled when you showed me the books! As a trained psychoanalytic I saw that there was an inhibition complex. Already then I interpreted as a deep-seated desire for possession. Anyway I saw the books for the first time one year after they were bought. You promised on my request to sell the books as I needed the money. Some you wanted to keep for your "Lodge-Library", the others would cover the money invested by far. Then the conflict with my wife took place. I decided against my wife and for the Great Work and thus for you. Apart from the typewriter I gave over the Work also the books—not to you personally—partly formally in order to withdraw them from the grip of the lawyers. This are the facts. If you consider this as a present to you personally, this is interiorly untrue, because there has never been the smallest doubt between you and myself about the meaning and the intention of this act.
In your statement you enclose an amount of 300 Marks. Do you want to settle this affair by that? I herewith request you for a statement of the books. I intend to put them before an expert in order to find out whether to-day's value is really not more than 300 Marks. For I cannot admit by principle under the present circumstances that under the cover of magnanimity you make a masked business. I had quite forgotten this point in my first statement.
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