Manuscript of Friedrich Engels (March 1881), preserved at the IISG (Karl Marx / Friedrich Engels Papers, inv. K 1515), transcribed from the digital facsimile by the Escuela de marxismo, 2026; attribution to Marx and Engels according to the MEW (vol. 19). Draft in Engels's hand of the letter sent in the name of both; the letter actually sent is not preserved. Diplomatic transcription: spelling, abbreviations, capitals and punctuation as in the manuscript; deletions as text only where they can be read with certainty, otherwise [ilegible]; interlinear and marginal additions inserted where marked, with a note; [?] after an uncertain reading; [ilegible] for an illegible word. Traducción al español

To the Chairman of the Slavonic1 Meeting, March 21st 1881, in celebration of the Anniversary of the Paris Commune;

Citizen

We regret our inability This With great regret, that we have to declare that our [ilegible] being prevented from attending we have to inform you that we are not able to attend your meeting.

When, [ilegible] ten years ago, the Commune of Paris succumbed to the atrocious massacre organized by the defenders of "Order", the falling[?] victors2 little thought that ten years would not elapse before an event would happened3 in distant Petersburg, which, must ultimately lead, after a series of in maybe after long & violent struggles, must ultimately & certainly lead to the establishment of a Russian Commune.

That the King of Prussia who, had4 by his besieging Paris, prepared the Commune by besieging Paris & thus compelling the Ruling bourgeoisie to arm the people — that that same King of Prussia could only, ten years after,5 besieged by the [ilegible] in his own capital by socialists, would only be able6 would be compelled, so as to maintain his throne, by declaring in that the state of siege in that [ilegible]7 capital Berlin. They still less little thought8

On the other hand,9 But quite as little thought the European Continental governments who by After the fall of the Commune persecuted the compelled by their persecutions compelled the I. W. M. A. to give up its formal, external organisation — these governments who believed they cd crush the great International Labour movement by decrees & special laws — little did they think that ten years later that same Internal. Movt., would be more powerful than ever, that would embrace10 the working classes not only of Europe but of America also; that the common struggle for11 bound together by the common interests of a common struggle against a common enemy, would bind them together into a new & greater spontaneous International, outgrowing more & more all12 [ilegible] would of themselves, & spontaneously form & without any for external forms of association, form a greater[?] International far more dangerous to existing society than ever even the old one with all its Council's[?] Organisation ever had been.13

Thus the Commune which the powers of the old world believed to be[?] exterminated14 thought to have died[?], for ever, lives stronger than ever, & thus we may join you in the cry: Vive la Commune!15

  1. «Slavonic» written above the line. ↩

  2. Above the deleted word another word written and also deleted, illegible. In the left margin, written vertically opposite «When,», two words, the first crossed out and the second circled: «the[?] heroes[?]»; they are not linked to the text by any sign. ↩

  3. «would» written above «happened», whose ending is cancelled. ↩

  4. «had» written above the line. ↩

  5. «after,» is crossed out like the following words, but has a row of dots beneath it: deletion cancelled (stet). ↩

  6. «besieged by the [ilegible] in his own capital by socialists, would only be able» written in small letters above the deleted words. ↩

  7. «that» written above «the»; «in» above the deletion at the end of the line. The sentence is left without a main verb in the draft. ↩

  8. «still less» written above «little thought» and deleted with it. Page 1 ends here. ↩

  9. «On the other hand,» added at the top of page 2, above the deleted opening. ↩

  10. «would embrace» and «not only» written above the line. ↩

  11. «the common struggle for» written above the deletion. ↩

  12. Written vertically in the left margin of page 2. After «enemy,» there is a cross-shaped mark (‡), followed by a short deleted word, perhaps «the»; the marginal addition has no corresponding mark, so its place here follows that mark and the sense («outgrowing more & more all … external forms of association»). «spontaneous» is written above «& greater». ↩

  13. These four lines («form a greater … ever had been»), already crossed out line by line, are further cancelled as a block by a vertical stroke drawn down through all of them. ↩

  14. «believed to be exterminated» written above the deletion; «be» is uncertain (it looks like «by», over a correction of «to»). ↩

  15. Below the text, written diagonally in pencil in German script, a docket: «M. & E. / an Slav[?] / Meeting zur[?] / Kommune 81». ↩