<p>In Freud's essay "Psychical (Or Mental) Treatment (1890)". I found the quote below with Google's help:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Foremost among such measures is the use of words; and words are the essential tool of mental treatment. A layman will no
      doubt find it hard to understand how pathological disorders of the body and mind can be eliminated by ‘mere’ words. He will
      feel that he is being asked to believe in magic. And he will not be so very wrong, for the words which we use in our everyday
      speech are nothing other than watered-down magic. </p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-14T06:56:46.113Z
2017-12-14T06:56:46.113Z
YChi Lu
<p>this is really bad translation into Chinese. it seems to me the paragraph was translated by a machine. words --> 词，but should be translated to 对话 in this context I think.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-16T10:16:43.150Z
Good comment, but it is not an answer.
Daniel Yang
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-16T13:24:26.547Z
2017-07-16T13:24:26.547Z
dan
<p>The works of Freud are done in German as far as I know. If there are English versions, they are the works of translation but not original.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-16T14:21:59.490Z
2017-07-16T14:21:59.490Z
NanningYouth
<p>I have this quote that I’m looking for the original English of (although it may very well have not originally been in English even)</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>词构成了精神治疗的本质性的工具。外行人很难理解精神与身体上的病理性躁动怎样能被简单的词所消解。他有一种被要求去相信巫术的感觉，如果真的如此，则他离真理不太远，因为我们日常所使用的词并非其它的东西、仅仅是弱化了的巫术。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Freud has a famous quote about words and magic and this is certainly part of it, but I’m having trouble locating the matiching beginning part.</p>

<p>Any ideas?</p>

<translation>
Original English Freud quote, “words and magic”
# Original English Freud quote, “words and magic”

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-07-16)

I have this quote that I’m looking for the original English of (although it may very well have not originally been in English even)

> 词构成了精神治疗的本质性的工具。外行人很难理解精神与身体上的病理性躁动怎样能被简单的词所消解。他有一种被要求去相信巫术的感觉，如果真的如此，则他离真理不太远，因为我们日常所使用的词并非其它的东西、仅仅是弱化了的巫术。

Freud has a famous quote about words and magic and this is certainly part of it, but I’m having trouble locating the matiching beginning part.

Any ideas?

**Tags:** translation


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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-12-14. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

In Freud's essay "Psychical (Or Mental) Treatment (1890)". I found the quote below with Google's help:

> Foremost among such measures is the use of words; and words are the essential tool of mental treatment. A layman will no
> doubt find it hard to understand how pathological disorders of the body and mind can be eliminated by ‘mere’ words. He will
> feel that he is being asked to believe in magic. And he will not be so very wrong, for the words which we use in our everyday
> speech are nothing other than watered-down magic.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2017-07-16. Score: 0

this is really bad translation into Chinese. it seems to me the paragraph was translated by a machine. words --> 词，but should be translated to 对话 in this context I think.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Good comment, but it is not an answer.  

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### Answer by username_4 on 2017-07-16. Score: 0

The works of Freud are done in German as far as I know. If there are English versions, they are the works of translation but not original.


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