The Bollingen Foundation is a shining beacon in the darkness of the atomic age.
Letters of C. G. Jung: Volume 2, 1951-1961
To John D. Barrett
Dear Barrett, 11 February 1954
Many thanks for kindly sending me my royalty statements.
Recently I saw Kurt Wolff and his wife; we talked about many things although not exactly about the things I want to mention in this letter.
From a number of mutually independent American reactions to the general purpose and activity of the Bollingen Foundation, I concluded that the said Foundation must be an unusual exception in the United States.
I got the impression of a small island in an infinite sea of misunderstanding and flatness.
I didn’t realize what it means for the level of education when there is an almost complete absence of the humanities, and now can more appreciate the genius of Mrs. Mellon who planned the Bollingen Foundation with Paul Mellon’s generous aid.
I just wanted to let you know that it is difficult for a European to size up such a mental condition which he does not know from his own country.
When I hear of the difficulties of my pupils in the States whose main task is teaching, I am profoundly impressed by the effects of a one-sided education in natural sciences; all the more I know how to appreciate the cultural importance of your Foundation.
It is a shining beacon in the darkness of the atomic age.
I heard that my books are well on the way, and I am quite overwhelmed by the speed with which they are turned out from the press.
Thank you personally for all the trouble you have had in getting the things on the way, and your patience with my impatience.
Hoping you have begun this new year with an optimistic outlook, I remain,
Yours cordially,
C.G. Jung ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Pages 150-151.
