Charles Le Brun to Thomas Jefferson, 31 December 1821
From Charles Le Brun
Philadelphia, le 31 Decbre, 1821.
Monsieur,
Il s’est déjà ecoulé vingt ans, depuis que j’ai eu l’honneur de vous remettre une lettre de recommandation que m’avait donné pour vous, notre immortel ami le Général Kossiuzko. Ce laps de tems n’a pu me faire oublier les civilités que vous me fites alors, & ce jour, qui m’offre l’occasion de vous en témoigner ma gratitude, est un des plus beaux de ma vie. Je présente donc à votre indulgence & à vos bontés, ma Liberté des mers, en Espagnol, dont le Succès a été prodigieux parmi les descendans des Montézumas & des Incas. J’ai, aussi, traduit cet ouvrage en Anglais, & mon intention est de le présenter à mes concitoyens, aussitôt que j’aurai fait imprimer ma traduction of Pope’s Essay on Man. J’ai cinq ouvrages prêts pour la presse; & j’en ai deux autres en contemplation: c’est ainsi, Monsieur, que je file des jours heureux au Sein de la liberté, & au milieu d’une famille que j’adore, & des Muses que j’ai toujours aimées.
J’ai l’honneur d’être avec le plus profond respect;
Charles Le Brun
P.S.
Si j’ecris en Français, c’est parceque je n’ai point oublié que c’est la langue dans la quelle, il y a 20. ans, le Président des Etats Unis, voulut bien S’entretenir avec l’ami du Général Kossiuzko.
Editors’ Translation
Philadelphia, 31 December, 1821.
Sir,
Twenty years have elapsed since I had the honor of delivering to you a letter of recommendation given to me by our immortal friend General Kosciuszko. The passage of time has not made me forget the compliments you then paid me, and this day, when I am able to express my gratitude to you, is one of the best of my life. I present, therefore, to your indulgence and kindness my Libertád de los Mares, in Spanish, which has been tremendously successful among the descendants of the Aztecs and Incas. I have also translated this book into English, and I intend to offer it to my fellow citizens as soon as my translation of Pope’s Essay on Man is published. I have five works ready for the press and two others in contemplation. This, Sir, is how I spend my happy days in the bosom of liberty, among a family I adore and the muses I have always loved.
I have the honor to be with the most profound respect;
Charles Le Brun
P.S.
If I write in French, it is because I have not forgotten that this is the language in which the president of the United States was so kind as to converse with General Kosciuszko’s friend twenty years ago.
RC (MoSHi: TJC-BC); dateline adjacent to signature; endorsed by TJ as received 6 Jan. 1822 and so recorded in SJL; with Dft of TJ to Le Brun, 13 Jan. 1822, beneath endorsement. Translation by Dr. Genevieve Moene. Enclosure: Bertrand Barère, La Libertád de los Mares, ó el Gobiérno Inglés descubiérto, trans. Le Brun (Philadelphia, 1820; , 10 [no. 610]; TJ’s copy in ViU, with printed dedication on front cover “to the Philosopher of Monticello Thomas Jefferson, Ex-President of the United States”).
Charles Le Brun (ca. 1765–1844), translator and educator, was in Philadelphia late in 1801. Early the following year he wrote to TJ from New York City about his imminent plans to go to Curaçao, where he had established a commercial house based on his fifteen years of mercantile experience in Europe, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. In Philadelphia in 1811 Le Brun published a French textbook for children and there called himself the translator of several Spanish and English works. He later described himself as the former “interpreter to the French government in the island of St. Domingo.” Le Brun prepared a new edition of a century-old work by François de Salignac de La Mothe Fénelon, Les Aventures de Télémaque, fils d’Ulysse (Philadelphia, 1812), which went through several printings, and a translation into French of Alexander Pope’s Essay on Man (Philadelphia, 1823). He advertised his “English, French and Spanish Evening School” in Philadelphia in 1813 and continued teaching languages until 1843. Le Brun’s wife also operated a ladies’ seminary beginning in around 1816. In 1818 the governor of Pennsylvania appointed him the state’s interpreter of foreign languages, a position he held until about 1837. Le Brun authored two works in Spanish in 1826 on the recent political history of Spain. He died in Philadelphia ( , 36:235, 37:47–50; Le Brun, Le Directeur des Enfans [Philadelphia, 1811]; Philadelphia Voice of the Nation, 28 Oct. 1813; Washington Daily National Intelligencer, 31 July 1815; James Robinson, Philadelphia Directory, for 1816 [(Philadelphia, 1816)]; Franklin Gazette, 8 June 1818; John Adems Paxton, Paxton’s Annual Philadelphia Directory and Register—1819 [Philadelphia, 1819]; Desilver’s Philadelphia Directory and Stranger’s Guide, for 1837 [1837], 142; McElroy’s Philadelphia Directory for 1843 [1843], 157; Le Brun, Retratos Politicos de la Revolucion de España [Philadelphia, 1826]; Le Brun, Vida de Fernando Septimo, rey de España [Philadelphia, 1826]; Philadelphia North American and Daily Advertiser, 9 Sept. 1844).
The missing lettre de recommandation from Tadeusz Kosciuszko is accounted for in , 37:47–9.
Index Entries
- An Essay on Man (A. Pope; French translation by C. Le Brun) search
- Aztec Indians search
- Barère, Bertrand; La Libertád de los Mares, ó el Gobiérno Inglés descubiérto (trans. C. Le Brun) search
- books; dedicated to TJ search
- French language; letters in, from; C. Le Brun search
- Inca Indians search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Books & Library; works sent to search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Public Service; as president search
- La Libertád de los Mares, ó el Gobiérno Inglés descubiérto (B. Barère; trans. C. Le Brun) search
- Le Brun, Charles; identified search
- Le Brun, Charles; letter from search
- Le Brun, Charles; recommended by T. Kosciuszko search
- Le Brun, Charles; translates A. Pope’sEssay on Man search
- Le Brun, Charles; translates B. Barère’sLa Libertád de los Mares, ó el Gobiérno Inglés descubiérto search
- Pope, Alexander; An Essay on Man (French translation by C. Le Brun) search
- Spanish language; works in search