To Maxim Gorky

V. I. Lenin

175

TO MAXIM GORKY

[April 16, 1908]

Sent from Geneva to the Isle
of Capri (Italy)

First published in 1924

Printed from the original

From V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, 4th English Edition,
Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1966

Vol. 34, p. 393.

Translated from the Russian
by Clemens Dutt
Edited by Bernard Isaacs

Prepared © for the Internet by David J. Romagnolo, djr@marx2mao.org (October 2001)

page 393

175
TO MAXIM GORKY

April 16, 1908

Dear Al. M.,

Today I received your letter and hasten to reply. It is useless and harmful for me to come: I cannot and will not talk to people who are preaching the union of scientific socialism and religion. The time for notebooks[377] is past. It's no use arguing, and it's stupid to jangle one's nerves for nothing. Philosophy must be separated from Party (factional) affairs: the decision of the Bolshevik Centre[378] makes this obligatory.

I have already sent to be printed the most formal declaration of war.[379] There is no longer any room for diplomacy here -- of course, I am speaking of diplomacy not in the bad sense, but in the good sense of the word.

"Good" diplomacy on your part, dear A. M. (if you, too, have not come to believe in God), should consist in separating our joint (i.e., including myself) affairs from philosophy.

A talk on other matter than philosophy won't come off now: it would be unnatural. Incidentally, if these other matters, not philosophical, but Proletary matters, for example, really demand talks just now, and at your place, I could come (I don't know whether I shall find the money: there are difficulties at present), but I repeat: only on condition that I do not speak about philosophy or religion.

And I definitely intend coming to have a talk with you when I am free and through with my work.

All the very best.
Yours,
Lenin

Best regards to M. F.: she is not for God, by any chance, is she?

page 505

NOTES

[377] "Notebooks " -- "Notes of an Ordinary Marxist on Philosophy" -- was written by Lenin in 1906 in connection with Bogdanov's book Empirio-monism (Issue III). Lenin deals with these "Notes" in greater detail in his letter to Gorky dated February 25, 1908 (see Vol. 13 of this edition). [p. 393]

^[378] The Bolshevik Centre was elected by the Bolshevik group of the Fifth (London) Congress of the R.S.D.L.P. in 1907. [p. 393]

^[379] Lenin is referring to his article "Marxism and Revisionism" published in the symposium Karl Marx -- 1818-1883, in which he stated for the first time in print that he would shortly write a number of articles or a separate book against the neo-Humist and neo-Berkeleyian revisionists -- Bogdanov, Bazarov and others (see Vol. 15, pp. 29-39, of this edition). [p. 393]