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Notes
See letter of Jefferson to Chastellux written on June 7, 1785, in which he gives the French author permission to translate for the Journal de Physique sections of the Notes which might be of interest to the editors, but adds: "The strictures on slavery and on the constitution of Virginia are not of that kind, and they are parts which I do not want to have made public, at least till I know whether their publication would do most harm or good. It is possible that in my own country these strictures might produce an irritation which would indispose the people towards the two great objects I have in view, that is the emancipation of their slaves & the settlement of their constitution on a firmer & more permanent basis. If I learn from thence, that they will not produce that effect, I have printed & reserved just copies enough to be able to give one to every young man at the College. It is to them I look, the rising generation, and not to the one in power, for these great reformations." The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Ford edition (New York and London, 1904), III, 318-19. Will be referred to henceforth as Ford. Chastellux's plan to translate parts of the Notes was never put into execution.
For more information on this subject, see Alice H. Lerch, "Who was the Printer of Jefferson's Notes?" in Bookmen's Holiday. Notes and Studies Written and Gathered in Tribute to Harry Miller Lydenberg (New York, 1943), 44-56.
Ford, III, 324-25; see also Jefferson's letter to Dr. Edward Bancroft, February 26, 1786, ibid., III, 325.
Morellet speaks at length of his relations with Franklin in his Mémoires sur le dix-huitième siècle et sur la révolution (Second edition, Paris, 1822), I, 295 ff.
See Gilbert Chinard, Les Amitiés américaines de Madame d'Houdetot d'après sa correspondance inédite avec Benjamin Franklin et Thomas Jefferson (Paris, 1924).
Morellet's Mémoires constitute an interesting record of his literary activities as well as a valuable source of information on French intellectual life during the eighteenth century. He was born in 1729 and died in 1819. Additional information on him will be found in Pierre Proteau's monograph, Etude sur Morellet considéré comme auxiliaire de l'école physiocratique et examen de ses principaux ouvrages économiques (Paris, 1910).
Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. Volume 46, folios 7782-7792. A letter from Jefferson to Morellet dated July 2, 1787, and dealing with their difficulties with Barrois in connection with the map prepared for the book is printed in Ford, III, 332-35.
This map was engraved by Neele of London and is also the one used in the 1787 edition of the Notes published by Stockdale.
Pages 29-40, 69-81. This is a highly enthusiastic review in which Jefferson's book is acclaimed as a notable contribution to science and philosophy.
The text of the Avertissement, found in the translation on pages i-v, is reproduced in French in Ford, III, 327-29.
See Ford, V, 367-68 for his comments in a letter written to William Carmichael on December 15, 1787.
Morellet, pp. 4-20; Jefferson, pp. 134-51. All references to the English text of the transpositions are to the 1785 edition of the Notes.
Morellet's chapter entitled "Marine militaire et Navigation," pp. 343-47, includes not only query x on the marine, found on page 165 of the original, but also the last part of query XXI on weights, measures, and money from page 317, line 25, to the end on page 322.
There is no such heading in Jefferson's text. The proposal for the emancipation of the slaves is outlined on pages 251, line 16, to 265, line 4, of "Query XIV. The administration of justice and the description of the laws?"
Morellet's chapter, "Esclaves noirs," pp. 198-217, comes from four different sections of the Notes. Pages 198, line 7, to 199, line 5; 199, line 6, to 212, line 11; 212, line 13, to 215, line 13; 215, line 14, to the end of the chapter correspond to pages 161, line 6, to 162 (end of query viii); 251, line 16, to 265, line 4; 298; line 8, to 301 (end of query xviii), and 130, line 27, to 133, line 4, of the original. The last section deals with the Albinoes.
Final gathering of the book is signed Bb and is a half-sheet octavo. The short form of the errata list occurs on signature Bb4 and was printed as an integral part of the book since it is physically conjugate with leaf Bb1. The longer form consists of a 2-leaf fold. Leaf Bb4, the original list, was cancelled, and to the stub of Bb1 was pasted this cancellans fold containing the longer form. The longer version, therefore, is a later addition, made after the original printing had been concluded and presumably after publication.
In addition to these corrections, there are in the Byrd copy six more manuscript notations in ink and in two different hand-writings. On the title page next to the letters M. J. someone wrote: "Jefferson," and under "Traduites de L'Anglois," the words "Par. M. l'abbé Morellet de L'Academie Françoise." In the translation, one finds in the same hand in the margin on page 21, "barre du Pec<heur>, the French equivalent of the place name Fishers-Bar in the text, and again in the margin on page 315 at the end of the chapter on religion: "La tolerance a été assur<ée> mais seule<ment> pour les sec<tes> chretiennes." Letters in pointed brackets were clipped off when the pages were trimmed by the binder. In a different and later hand, someone wrote the name "La Fontaine" on the title-page, and on the back of the false title the following bibliographical note: "Pour le nom de l'auteur et celui du traducteur, voir Dict. de Barbier, No. 12996."
The opinion that the long form was printed first and the short one later was expressed by John C. Wyllie in the Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, XXXV (1941), 71. Mr. Wyllie now acknowledges his error.
Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. Volume 27, Folios 4717-4723. The date, written in a different ink, is crowded in at the top and is not certainly in Jefferson's hand.
In his memorandum, Jefferson lists three errors on page 103, one on page 104, two on page 106, one on page 113, etc. The fact that none of these appears in the short errata form should constitute ample evidence that checking was not carried much beyond page 99.
Jefferson's punctuation and spelling in the memorandum are much more informal than the spelling and punctuation found in his book and Morellet's translation.
Changed in manuscript notations and in errata list to read "où sa largeur est de 5 1/5 milles entre les deux pointes avancées de terre."
Changed to paroît quelques fois in manuscript notations and to paroît quelquefois in errata list.
York-Town in Morellet's text. Indications on the letter press copy show that contact was not made between paper and press with the result that -Town was not reproduced.
The English text of this passage and its French translation were crossed out by Jefferson, who, on second thought, must have felt that the translation, although not literal, did not do violence to the original.
The English text and its French translation were crossed out by Jefferson. It is difficult to understand why he did so, unless he felt that lac, a misprint for bac, English ferry, would be obvious to the reader.
Changed to read & parmi elles celle du Pic d'Otter in manuscript notations but not in errata list.
Changed to read aussi blanc qu'il soit possible d'en trouver à la surface de la terre in manuscript notations and in errata list.
Changed in manuscript notations, but not in errata list. The writer of the manuscript notations seems to have pondered considerably over the translation of these words. He first changed Source chaude and Source brulante to Source tiede and Source chaude, then wrote crossed out tiede and chaude. He began to write bouillante, but did not get farther than bou. Not changed in errata list.
Wrote at the bottom of the page: "les vegetaux suivans qui se trouvent en Virginie y ont eté probablement apportés de climats situés plus au sud." This passage occurs in the English original, but had been overlooked by Morellet. Its translation is not to be found in the errata list.
In the manuscript notations the words "les dents ainsi configurées" are replaced by "de defenses ni la même structure"; in the errata list, the correction reads: "qui n'a point les dents ainsi configurées, lisez qui n'est point de la même structure, qui n'a point de défenses, &c."
The phrase "quoiqu'elles presentent encore des signes certains." was changed to "quoiqu'elles présentent aucuns signes certains" in manuscript notations, and to "quoiqu'elles ne présentent aucuns signes certains" in errata list.
Changed to peut donc étre in manuscript notations and in errata list. Dont in Jefferson's memorandum should read donc.
Changed to read si cet animal étoit carnivore in manuscript corrections, but not in errata list.
The words the flat horned elk are translated as l'elan a bois palmé in manuscript notations; no correction in errata list.
Jefferson may have felt that Morellet's translation of this passage on page 126 of the French text was not close enough to the original. The French context reads: "C'est-là l'animal decrit par Catesby, comme le cervus major americanus, le stag, le cerf de l'Amérique, & qui differe cependant du cerf autant que l'élan à bois palmé differe du daim."
Changed in manuscript notations to read quoiqu'aiant tant de caracteres de l'élan, de quoi le confondre . . ." Not changed in errata list.
Changed to de bonnes femelles in manuscript notations and to de bonnes nourrices in errata list.
Changed to lorsqu'on en a pris soin en Europe in manuscript notations and in errata list. Jefferson forgot to copy the word soin.
In the manuscript notation has been changed to read: "Ces faits sont suffisans pour montrer que si les Américains aborigenes n'ont point des formes de gouvernement, ils connoissent la sociabilité politique . . .;" in errata list: "que si les Américains aborigènes n'ont point de gouvernement, ils connoissent une sorte de sociabilité politique . . ."
In the manuscript notations the text is changed to read: "En passant de Norwege en Islande, de l'Islande au Groenland, du Groenland au Labrador, le 1er trajet est le plus long;" the errata reads: "après le mot Labrador; lisez le premier trajet est le plus long."
Corrections requested by Jefferson were made in errata list; in manuscript notations, the correction was made on the chart, but not on the page facing it.
Changed to deux fois pour les affaires civiles & criminelles, & deux fois pour les affaires criminelles seulement. This correction is found in the manuscript notations and the errata list.
Changed to loix &c, dont il n'étoit pas en leur pouvoir ni dans celui de la couronne de s'écarter. The correction was made in the manuscript notations and in the errata list.
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