The sentiments of a member of the Jacobins, in France, upon the religion of reason and nature, carefully translated from the original manuscript, communicated by the author
Contributions
- Anonymous (257)
- author
Related resources
- is paratext of
- The sentiments of a member of the Jacobins, in France, upon the religion of reason and nature, carefully translated from the original manuscript, communicated by the author translation has paratext
Summary (extracted citations)
p. ix: 'He [the translator] hopes there is nothing contained in it which can give offense to any pious well-disposed mind; and with respect to those who make a pretense of religion, to mislead and domineer over men, he has long held their opinion in the most sovereign contempt'. p. xi: 'Some readers may possibly suspect, that the work was fabricated in England, as it has not yet appeared in the French language. This circumstance is not material in itself, and the translator would rather think himself flattered by it; but he is afraid that those who are well acquainted with the French language, will discover too many gallicisms in it, which have escaped him, to put it in his power to suppress the circumstance of its being a translation: besides, several Englishmen were at Paris when the manuscript was communicated to him, who were acquainted with the author, and to his knowledge have read the manuscript in its original dress'.
Notes
Translator's preface. The translator explains that the author has not dared to publish the text in French. The political situation is too tense and many people are not ready for the antireligious message of the tract. The translator (who spent some time in France the previous summer) and other friends of the author have read it and advised him to publish it in a foreign language first to monitor the reaction of the public. If its positive, the author (who is a revolutionary and a member of the Jacobins) will reveal his name. The preface contains strong anticlerical comments.