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Recherches sur la nature et les causes de la richesse des nations, traduites de l'anglois de M. Smith, sur la quatrième edition, par M. Roucher, et suivies d'un volume de notes, par M. le Marquis de Condorcet

1790 Subjects: Economics, Philosophy, Politics and government, Forms: Essays Translation Status: Extended, Retranslation French Paris URL

Authors of source text

Adam Smith

Contributions

Jean-Antoine Roucher
translator
François Buisson
publisher

Related resources

is translation of
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations has translation
has paratext
Recherches sur la nature et les causes de la richesse des nations, traduites de l'anglois de M. Smith, sur la quatrième edition, par M. Roucher, et suivies d'un volume de notes, par M. le Marquis de Condorcet paratext

Notes

Roucher's new translation from the corrected, fourth English edition (1786, Strahan & T. Cadell) was supposed to be followed by a volume of notes by Condorcet, but these never materialized. Smith's thinking contained many radical elements that were popular with the French radical movement (see paratext). The Englishness celebrated in the Blavet translation is now "replaced by efforts to make Richesse des nations a French work" (p.xlvii)

A summary of Smith's book appeared in 'Bibliotheque de l'homme public', vols 3-4 (1790, Buisson). It was based on the Roucher translation up to Book IV, after which the Blavet edition was used.

Pirate editions appeared in 1791 (Avignon: J.J. Niel) with some additional notes, and 1792 (Neuchatel: L. Fauche-Borel).

Announcement of a revised, second edition (1794, Buisson, reissued 1806, Arthur Bertrand), in La Décade philosophique (An III, no.3), with extract in no.4. Roucher is reported to have completed his revisions during the ten months that he was awaiting the guillotine.

See Kenneth E. Carpenter, The Dissemination of the Wealth of Nations in French and in France, 1776–1843 (NY: The Bibliographical Society of America, 2002); Hiroshi Mizuta, A Critical Bibliography of Adam Smith (Routledge, 2002), pp.234 & 236; and Catriona Seth, Adam Smith retraduit par Sophie de Condorcet.