To Thomas Jefferson from Nicolas Gouin Dufief, 22 April 1802
From Nicolas Gouin Dufief
22. Avril. 1802
Monsieur,
Je profite avec empressement de l’occasion de Mr Petit de Villers pour vous envoyer les deux traductions de l’elève de Diderot. J’aurais bien voulu y joindre l’ouvrage sur la Russie, mais je n’ai pas été Jusqu’ici heureux dans mes recherches—Si je réussis à le trouver soyez assuré de ma diligence à vous l’adresser
Voici la liste de quelques ouvrages nouveaux que je viens de recevoir
| De l’Esprit des choses, ou coup-d’Œil philosophique sur la Nature des êtres & sur l’objet de leur existence; Ouvrage, dans lequel on considère l’homme comme étant le mot de toutes Les Enigmes, par le Philosophe inconnu—2 vol 8o | 3. |
| L’Aurore Naissante, ou la Racine de la philosophie, de l’Astrologie & de la Théologie, &ca. par le même. 2 vol 8o— | 3 |
| Cours de Littérature, par la Harpe. 11 vol 8o de hazard | 12 |
Agréez l’hommage de mon respect.
N. G. Dufief
Editors’ Translation
22 Apr. 1802
Sir,
I hasten to take advantage of the occasion offered by Mr. Petit de Villers to send you the two translations of Diderot’s The Pupil. I should have liked to join thereto the work on Russia, but until now, I have not been successful in my searches. If I succeed in finding it, be assured of my diligence in sending it to you.
Here is the list of some new works I have just received:
| On the Spirit of Things, or, a Quick Philosophical Look at the Nature of Beings and the Object of their Existence; a Work in which Man is Considered as the Key of all Enigmas, by the Unknown Philosopher. 2 vols. in 8o | 3 |
| The Dawning of the Day, or the Root of Philosophy, Astrology, and Theology, etc., by the same. 2 vols. in 8o | 3 |
| Course of Literature, by La Harpe. 11 vols. in 8o by chance | 12 |
Accept the offer of my respect,
N. G. Dufief
RC (DLC); at foot of text: “Thos Jefferson, Esqre.”; endorsed by TJ as received 24 Apr. and so recorded in SJL.
TRADUCTIONS DE L’ELÈVE DE DIDEROT: it is not clear what book Dufief meant by this reference. TJ’s requests for that work and the one relating to Russia have not been found.
Louis Claude de Saint-Martin used the pseudonym LE PHILOSOPHE INCONNU (the Unknown Philosopher). De l’esprit des choses was one of his treatises. Saint-Martin translated L’Aurore naissante into French, but Jakob Boehme, a Lutheran mystic, was the author of that work, which first appeared in German in 1612 (André Jacob, ed., Encyclopédie philosophique universelle, 4 vols. [Paris, 1989–1998], v. 3, pt. 1:1444–5; De l’esprit des choses, in Louis Claude de Saint Martin, Œuvres Majeures, ed. Robert Amadou, 9 vols. [Hildesheim, Germany, 1975–2008], v. 5, pts. 1–2; Donald M. Borchert, ed., Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2d ed., 10 vols. [Detroit, 2006], 1:624–5; Edward Craig, ed., Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 10 vols. [London, 1998], 1:799–801).
Jean François de LA HARPE wrote Lycée, ou Cours de littérature ancienne et moderne, the first installment of which was published in Paris in 1798.