To Benjamin Franklin from René-Georges Gastellier, 26 March 1778: résumé
From René-Georges Gastellier9
ALS: American Philosophical Society
<Montargis in the Gâtinois, March 26, 1778, in French: You will be surprised by a letter from one who knows you only by your virtues. My reason for importunity is the pure joy I feel that you have finally triumphed over your enemies; I felicitate each and every one of you for your intrepid defense of the rights of man. My heart churns with feelings I cannot express. Please recognize, despite that tumult, the purity of my motive in sending you my respect and veneration.>
9. Gastellier (1741–1821) was trained as both a lawyer and doctor; by this time he was physician to the duc d’Orléans and a fellow member with BF of the Société royale de médecine, and had published in 1773 his Avis à mes concitoyens, ou Essai sur la fièvre miliaire essentielle . . .; some years later he began a considerable correspondence with BF, and dedicated to him in 1783 his Traité des spécifiques en medicine . . .: Quérard, France littéraire. He eventually became a member of the APS.