Letter to Kazimierz Twardowski written 26.07.1925
Toruń, 26/8/1925.
At the same time I’m sending an offprint of my habilitation lecture by way of Kazik [Ajdukiewicz]
Most Honourable Professor!
During my last conversation with you, you asked me about Bergson’s Perception du changement [Perception of change]. Well, please forgive me for completely forgetting at that moment, while thinking only about the potential for publishing a translation of this kind, that you once, at my request, arranged to have a copy made of this little work, which of course must have been associated with certain costs which I obviously ought to have covered a long time ago. Over the last few years, however, I’ve been so busy with my habilitation, relocation to Lviv, and assorted problems, that it slipped my mind entirely. I’m very sorry about that, and moreover politely ask you to graciously inform me of the relevant amount; I’ll try to pay this sum back to you, with thanks, at the earliest opportunity.
As for the translation itself, it’s occurred to me recently that it might be easier to find a publisher if you’d be so gracious as to undertake the final editing of this translation, such that I’d do all the heavier work, whereas you’d graciously review and correct the result. This would be very important first of all for material reasons, because I’ve never translated from French before and I have some concerns about whether I’d manage to do it well. If you think my idea is possible to carry out, then perhaps it’d be necessary to add translations of ‘Introduction to metaphysics’ and ‘Philosophical intuition’, in which case all the most important things about intuition, which so far have been very hard to come by, would be gathered together. I’d be very grateful if you wouldn’t mind graciously considering this project and informing me, given an opportunity, of your opinion of it. Naturally, I’d be able to take up this matter only after relocating to Lviv, because I don’t have any suitable texts here.
The matter of my relocation, however, is looking more and more unfavourable, because the flat that I’d counted on obtaining via exchange (4 rooms in ul. Pańska [Pańska street]) can’t be exchanged, since its [female] owner hasn’t decided to go ahead. At the same time I learned, upon my arrival, that during her stay in Warsaw my wife consulted a doctor who found weakness in her cardiac muscle and enlargement of her right ventricle, along with general anaemia. As a result, I’m more fearful than I was about leaving her alone in Toruń with all the problems on her head. And were it not for fear of not managing to find a position in Lviv next year, perhaps I’d have decided to postpone my relocation until next year. I’m still thinking about it. It’d be very easy to stay, because the local middle school doesn’t have anybody to take over for me and there are no candidates at all. In addition, the other mathematics teacher in the local middle school is leaving this autumn to become a headmaster, so that the entire system, with its 22 branches, would be left with only one qualified mathematics teacher. For this reason, too, the local Board would be happy to see me stay in Toruń. But it’s difficult for me to decide. Over the next few days I’m going to talk to my mother-in-law about whether she’ll be able to move to our place in Toruń next year, and then I’ll decide what to do.
Thanking you cordially for having warmly welcomed me during my stay in Lviv, I enclose expressions of my true and profound respect and esteem
Roman Ingarden