Nicolas G. Dufief to Thomas Jefferson, 4 January 1813
From Nicolas G. Dufief
A Philade ce 4 Janvier. 1813
Monsieur,
J’ai eu l’honneur de vous envoyer par la malle d’hier un Tite Live, édition rare & recherchée des Elzévirs—Si ce petit bijou ne vous plaisait pas autant qu’une autre édition, renvoyez-le moi & je ferai ensorte de vous procurer un exemplaire [de c]elle que vous désirez ou de tout autre qui remplirait [entière]ment vos vues. Je vous envoye par le Courrier de demain deux volumes de Tacite, édition de Deux-Ponts qui passe pour une des plus correctes—Les 2 autres Vol. vous seront expédiés au commencement de La semaine prochaine, afin d’obéir à vos instructions de ne point Surcharger la malle
Les livres de Mathématiques sont, en effet, plus rares que les Auteurs classiques parce que le Goût de la Nation ne s’est pas, encore, porté vers cette branche primordiale des Sciences Abstraites. Cependant l’exemple de quelques personnes distinguées & l’utilité qui en résulterait ne tarderont pas à lui donner cette impulsion—J’ai eu soin de noter les ouvrages que je n’ai pu vous procurer, afin que s’ils me tombent entre les mains, Je puisse vous en prévenir.
N. G. Dufief
His Excellency Thomas Jefferson Bot of N G Dufief
| 1 Titus Livius | $5.00 |
| Tacitus 4 vols. at 2 per vol | 8.00 |
| 13.00 |
Editors’ Translation
Philadelphia 4 January. 1813
Sir,
Yesterday I had the honor of sending you by post a Titi Livii, a rare and sought-after Elzevir edition—If this little jewel does not please you as much as another edition would, send it back to me, and I will do what it takes to find you a copy of the one that you wish for or any other that would meet with your full approval. I will send in tomorrow’s mail two volumes of Tacitus, the Deux-Ponts edition, which is regarded as one of the most correct—The other 2 volumes will be shipped at the beginning of next week, so as to obey your instructions not to overload the mail
Books on mathematics are, indeed, rarer than those of classical authors because the nation has not yet developed a taste for this primordial branch of the abstract sciences. However, the example of a few distinguished persons and the usefulness that would result from it will not be long in increasing its popularity. I took careful note of the works I have been unable to get for you, so that if they come into my hands, I will be able to tell you.
N. G. Dufief
His Excellency Thomas Jefferson Bot of N G Dufief
| 1 Titus Livius | $5.00 |
| Tacitus 4 vols. at 2 per vol | 8.00 |
| 13.00 |
RC (DLC); damaged at seal; endorsed by TJ as received 8 Jan. 1813 and so recorded in SJL. Translation by Dr. Roland H. Simon.
TJ owned a copy of the edition of Livy published in three volumes by Daniel Elzevir, Titi Livii Historiarum Libri (Amsterdam, 1678), as early as 1789, when he included it on his book list (MHi). The title was later included among the small-format volumes of classical and miscellaneous works he kept in his library at Poplar Forest (Leavitt, Poplar Forest , 38–9). At deux-ponts, or Zweibrücken, Germany (the Latin name for which is Bipontium), the Societatis Bipontinae published a series of Greek and Latin classics, including C. Cornelii Taciti opera cum varietate lectionum selecta novisque emendationibus, 4 vols. (Zweibrücken, 1779–80). The Bipont edition was much sought after by 1807 (Catalogue of Very Rare, Ancient, and Valuable Books, just received from the continent of Europe; and for sale by Benjamin B. Hopkins and Co. [Philadelphia, 1807], 8–9).
Index Entries
- books; on mathematics search
- books; sent by N. G. Dufief search
- Dufief, Nicolas Gouin; bookseller search
- Dufief, Nicolas Gouin; letters from search
- French language; letters in, from; N. G. Dufief search
- Livy (Titus Livius); Titi Livii Historiarum Libri search
- mathematics; books on search
- Tacitus; Tacitus C. Cornelii Taciti Opera quae supersunt search
- Tacitus C. Cornelii Taciti Opera quae supersunt (Tacitus) search
- Titi Livii Historiarum Libri (Livy) search