From George Washington to Charles Thomson, 5 March 1794
To Charles Thomson
Philadelphia 5th March 1794
Dear Sir
Weeks have passed since I finished reading the first part of your translation of the Septuagent;1 but having neglected (when I had the pleasure to see you last) to ascertain the medium through which I was to return it, and being unwilling to hazard the production to an uncertain conveyance, I give this letter to the Post Office in hopes of its reaching you, & of my receiving the information above.2 ’Tis unnecessary to add that with much truth I am—Dear Sir Your Obedt Hble Servt
Go: Washington
ALS, Phi: Dreer Collection. The postal stamps on the cover read “5 MR” and “FREE.” GW addressed the cover to “Charles Thompson, Esqr. Chester County.”
1. The Septuagint is the oldest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, circa 250 B.C. Thomson later published a four-volume work entitled The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Covenant, Commonly Called the Old and New Testament: Translated from the Greek (Philadelphia, 1808).
2. Thomson currently resided near Philadelphia, at Harriton, his estate in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.