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Well my Sam, the business of the translation
is now I hope tolerably well settled. I
have just been with Schiller. He had received
my letter, but forbore to answer it, till he had
heard a second time from Leipsic. He had
proposed the whole to the Bookseller (Reich)
who had declined it, on account of the voluminousness.
& as being a book adapted to but few readers. Anxious to engage in it, though he
was in no want of other things he had renewd
his application proposing the Introd. by itself
by way of experiment. It will be about three
weeks before an answer can come. Tomorrow
he is to write two more letters: one to Reich,
insisting upon a speedy and peremptory answer,
the other to a man at Stutgard the capital
of Wirterberg ( of which Dutchy S. is himself a native)
offering it conditionally upon the event of its
not being accepted by the other: though for
obvious reasons I take for granted he does not
tell him what that event is. This man
he looks upon himself as sure of. They had formerly
had dealings; and lately the Bookseller wrote
to him solliciting the renewal of the connection
and offering him carte blanche with regard to the
choice of the books. Sensible that the subject
is far from popular, he says that he
shall lower his own demand, that the abatement
of the cost to the Bookseller may
be reckoned into the quantum of the inducement.
He says he shall not propose
the printing above a thousand copies:
it seems therefore that the pis aller would
be to offer to take as many as should
be left of 1000 copies at the end of such
a time. Next with regard to time. The
ordinary course would be for it not to
be printed before the Easter Fair: but
this period I hope to get considerably accelerated.
He reckons to translate at the rate
of 3 or 4 of my sheets in a week, & send it
off 7 or 8 sheets at a time: which is rather
faster
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faster than I have printed when I have met
with no delays. But the point was not to
lose the time between his writing and receiving
an answer, which might be 5 or 6
weeks. On this account I ventured to offer to
indemnify him if he would set about it
immediately: with which proposal he very
readily closed. Never could a man behave
with more honour than he has done: the
matter rests upon that footing that he is entirely
at my mercy. No written engagement required
on my part: although no witnesses were
present. He told me with the utmost readiness
what he was paid for Robertson's Hist. of America
£1. 10s observing at the same time
that Smith's Wealth of nations was more difficult
and (what is indubitable) that my
book is more difficult still than that. Lending
so much generosity and confidence on his
part, by way of giving him an additional
I gave him a general idea of the use that
I intended to make of it in various quarters
but without entering into particulars. He confirmed
me in my hopes by mentioning
instances of the successes that other
people have had in following that plan of
circulation. To H. of America ( I think it was)
he put the initials of his name: to mine
he intends to put his name at length. On
Thursday or Sat.y sonnight he is to bring
me two or three sheets written in French
hand that my English German friend may who
has been sitting in judgment over the original
may do the like over the translation.
He mentions that distant time he says, because
the first two or three sheets always
take up the more time on account of the
difficulty a translator is in at first in catching
the spirit of his author original. After
that I look for three or four sheets a week.
We will say three. On that basis you may form
your
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Identifier: | JB/539/104/002 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 539.
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1780-11-06 |
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539 |
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104 |
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002 |
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Correspondence |
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Jeremy Bentham |
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