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Member: ThomasCWilliams

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Favorite authorsJoel Barlow, P. J. G. Cabanis, Antoine Louis Claude Destutt de Tracy Comte, Abraham Lincoln, J. B. Say, Volney, Constantine-Francois Volney, M. Volney, M. C-F. Volney (Shared favorites)

Favorite bookstoresLe Tiers Mythe, Marine Voyage

About me"Empires Rise if Government Allows Enlightened Self-Interest to Flourish"---Volney, Ruins of Empires, 1791

I moved from Texas to France about 20 years ago. Got married, got a job, got kids. Long about 1996, President Jacques Chirac introduced a law to regulate the use of English in France. This Orwellian initiative to control language, passed in a watered-down form and still on the books as The Toubon Law, gave me an idea for an epic novel. That novel is now nearing completion.

During my early research phase, I happened on a French philosopher who was a friend to Thomas Jefferson and an advisor to Napoleon Bonaparte. I chose Constantin-Francois Volney as my protagonist because his most famous book--Ruins of Empires--represents not only a refutation of Jean Jacques Rousseau's "Social Contract" (and hence France's broken social model), but also proposes a solution to the world's enduring religious conflicts (what topic could be more relevant in the post 9/11 world?).

As I read deeper into Volney's life and works I eventually came upon a surprising, important and yet little known fact--Thomas Jefferson liked Ruins of Empires so much, he translated it into English himself. In October 2005, I gave a speech at Monticello detailing the evidence which strongly implies Jefferson translated this book (specifically, I gave this speech at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies; see http://www.monticello.org/icjs/index.htm...).

The reaction? "Le gros nul"--a big fat zero! No one seems to care about this issue and yet, from my perspective, the fact that then-Vice President Jefferson would risk his chance of winning the presidency by translating this controversial book reveals an important aspect of his personality and beliefs.

After that somewhat disappointing experience, I put my head down and got to work writing my novel. I have already finished a screenplay version and am now using that as an outline to write the book--English-Turn, Detour-Anglois--Napoleon Bonaparte invades Louisiana, challenging Thomas Jefferson for control of North America.

About my libraryAlong the way I have become a collector of all things Volney: books, portraits, medallions, etc. Today I work as a political analyst at a large international organization in Paris. But when I first thought of the idea for my novel I was a cotton and rice trader. Hence I have some understanding of the law of supply and demand. After I realized Thomas Jefferson translated Ruins of Empires into English--and that few people appreciated this--I started buying up the book on the open market.

Since there was very little demand, I bought multiple copies of Jefferson's translation at relatively low prices. I have been doing this actively since about 2000. Prices have been rising modestly in recent years, although I don't know if this is a result of my activities or just the natural inflation of prices for books more than a century old.

I am now (quite probably) the owner of the world's largest collection of Jefferson translations. I own two first editions, plus a second and third edition, all published in Paris "under the immediate inspection of the author." I also own dozens of other editions published in the US, notably those published by Gaylord (pre-Civil War) and by Eckler (post-Civil War). Interest in Volney and his book seemed to die-off about the time of World War I, although the Truth Seeker Press put out some excellent Jefferson-editions in the 1950s, as did the Black Classic Press in the 1990s. My personal belief is, given the overall sorry state of the world (economically and morally), a renaissance in Volney and his Ruins of Empires is long overdue.

For the members of LibraryThing, here is my quasi-expert advice on which Ruins of Empires editions to buy (and which to avoid) in the marketplace.

General Rules to Purchase a Jefferson-Barlow Translation

(1) Do not buy English language translations published in the US prior to 1802: these are not the translation by Jefferson-Barlow. Examples: James Lyon, Philadelphia, 1799 and William Davies, NY, 1796. To my knowledge, there is only one British English (non-Jefferson-Barlow) translation published in the US post-1802: see tag "S. Shaw" for more details. (2) Beware of editions published in the UK. Most are not the Jefferson-Barlow translation. If you see the word "survey" in the title, that is a clear indication the book was published in the UK and is not a Jefferson-Barlow translation. To my knowledge, there is only one Jefferson-Barlow edition published in the UK: see tag "Hood & Cuthell" for more details. In general, it remains better to stick with US editions post-1802. (3) If the title page includes the phrase "translated under the immediate inspection of the author," this is the Jefferson-Barlow translation. (4) The Acid Test: turn to the Invocation: the first sentence should read: "Hail solitary ruins, holy sepulchres and silent walls! you I invoke; to you I address my prayer!" This is the Jefferson-Barlow translation. (5) If you still want confirmation, go to Gutenberg.org. They have a free electronic copy of the (unacknowledged) Jefferson-Barlow translation for your comparison (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1397).

Tags Linked to Publishers

If you think you have found a Jefferson-Barlow edition you might like to purchase, note the name of the publisher, and then click on the See All Tags button (above). I have listed all the names of the Jefferson-Barlow publishers during the years 1802-1991. Click on the Tag of the Publisher you are interested in: each Book Review contains comments about the Publisher which may be of use in making your purchase.

Questions and Answers

Will you like this book?

If you are bored by the increasingly stale left-right political debate, yes, this book might be of interest to you. But if you consider yourself a happy camper, left or right, and don't want to be exposed to ideas which might upset your current views then, no, you probably should not read this book.

How do I know Thomas Jefferson translated this book?

The discovery was made by a famous French researcher (and UVA professor) Gilbert Chinard. He published his findings in 1923 in a work called "Volney et l'Amerique" (Johns Hopkins Press/Presses Universitaires de France--see the copy in my library). As the title implies, these findings were published in French and, to my knowledge, have never been translated into English. More than any other reason, this is probably why most Jefferson specialists have never heard of, or know very little about, this issue.

More evidence:

(1) In its Coolidge Collection of Thomas Jefferson manuscripts, the Massachusetts Historical Society has on file the first 12 chapters of Jefferson's translation. Click on the link below and then Scroll Down to Section IV. Other volumes, 1766-1824, Reel 16.

http://www.masshist.org/findingaids/doc....

(2) The Special Collections section of the UVA library also has on microfilm Jefferson's translation of "the Genius of the Ruins." Click on the link below and then Search: volney ruins lego manuscript.

http://virgo.lib.virginia.edu

Why do you call it the Jefferson-Barlow Translation?

According to the evidence discovered by Chinard, Jefferson translated the Invocation plus the first 20 chapters of Ruins of Empires. These first 20 chapters represent the "political science" section of the book. Presumably, Jefferson then became over-occupied with the coming 1800 presidential campaign and didn't have time to finish the last four (very lengthy and difficult to translate) chapters. These last four chapters are the "religion" section of the book. Jefferson's translation was finished by Joel Barlow, an American trader and poet living in Paris, who was a long-time friend of Volney's (Barlow later served as Ambassador to France; this means Ruins of Empires was translated by two US ambassadors to France: Jefferson and Barlow). In a happy-accident sort of way, Barlow's name then became associated with the entire translation, thus providing an extra degree of cover to obscure Thomas Jefferson's role in the project.

Why did Jefferson insist his translation be published anonymously?

Jefferson and Volney conceived their conspiracy to translate Ruins of Empires into English during Volney's visit to Monticello in 1796. Jefferson was then-Vice-President of the United States, but since he had little work to do in an official capacity, he spent most of his time rebuilding Monticello. But even then, Jefferson knew he would be running for president in 1800 and was worried about being accused of "atheism" if he became publicly associated with Volney's book. Jefferson's worries were well-founded. During his three-year stay in the U.S., Volney was attacked as an atheist in the Federalist press and by the British scientist J.B. Priestely. In 1798, Volney fled the country and returned to France just before the infamous Alien Act went into effect.

Note: see Priestely's Legacy page here:

http://www.librarything.com/profile/Jose...

Why haven't you heard of Volney's Ruins before?

Ruins of Empires is a lost classic in Western Literature. Most educated people on both sides of the Atlantic knew of Volney and his book during the 19th century. In modern times, Leftists enjoy referencing Volney's supposed "radical and atheist" views, yet never realize Volney specifically rejected Rousseau's "Social Contract"--the very basis of modern-day Socialism.

Rightists have labeled him a heretic for suggesting that "Man created God in his own image" and yet never appreciate Volney championed "Enlightened Self Interest" and a universal code of morality based on Natural Law. As a result, Volney has detractors on both sides, but no champions, and his works have been largely forgotten.

To give but one example of Volney's influence during the 19th century, it is well documented that Abraham Lincoln read Ruins of Empires as a young man and was deeply moved by it (see refs in Herndon et al). This means, in effect, this book has been "recommended" by two of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States: Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.

Here's a link to one account by Herndon who was Lincoln's law partner in Springfield and first biographer:

http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/stei...

Here are two more links which show the close relationship between Jefferson and Volney:

http://www.monticello.org/highlights/pyr...

http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2000/00-017....

Finally, here's a link to both French and English (Jefferson-Barlow) editions of Ruins of Empires.

http://manybooks.net/authors/volneyco.ht...

So why is all this important?

Ruins of Empires is a summary of human history seen through the lens of a post-Enlightenment philosopher. Sitting alone atop a cliff overlooking the ruins of Palmyra (in modern day Syria), the philosopher asks himself: is there a General Principle which defines the rise and fall of empires?

In this moment a Genie or Phantom appears. The two begin a philosophical discussion and, with the Phantom’s help, the philosopher defines this General Principle: Empires Rise If Government Allows Enlightened Self-Interest to Flourish. This applies to all countries, all cultures, all continents, all centuries. And this is the General Principle that refutes Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Social Contract, the very basis of modern-day Socialism.

Thomas Jefferson liked this book because he saw it as an affirmation of the American experiment. What Volney wrote in theory, the United States was doing in reality—keeping government small, decentralized and restricted; thus allowing its citizens to realize their dreams without interference from a super-nanny state (in France they call it: "l’état providence").

This is the message Jefferson wanted to transmit to future generations of Americans and that’s why he translated the book—he saw it as kind of a primer on the Enlightenment principles upon which the United States was founded.

In the last third of the book, Volney recounts a “General Assembly of Nations”—a kind of fictional first meeting of the United Nations. This is the religion section translated by Joel Barlow. In this section, all the nations of the globe come together "in search of truth." And it’s here that things get really controversial.

Each nation, each religion presents “the truth” as they see it. Once each side has spoken everyone discovers, to their surprise, no one has changed their minds about anything and the divisions between them remain firmly in place—does this sound somehow familiar?

At this point, Volney begins an investigation into the origin of the world’s religions. In the beginning, as it were, Volney recounts that the very Idea of God resulted from an attempt by primitive humans to understand their physical world—the actions of the primary elements such as wind, fire, earth and water; the changing of the seasons; the interplay between the sun, moon and planets; the source of natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes and droughts. Hence, the very Idea of God did not come from a miraculous revelation of invisible beings, but was a natural offspring of the human intellect. Only later, after centuries of iterations, did God become a completely abstract idea, divorced from the physical world from which it had sprung.

I imagine you are beginning to understand why Jefferson insisted his translation be published anonymously. While he was working on the translation, sometime during 1796-1800, Jefferson was still Vice-President under John Adams. And since he’d already been attacked as an atheist during his career he didn’t want to give his opponents more ammunition. Yet he did the translation anyway, even though his presidential ambitions would have been harmed if he became publically associated with Ruins of Empires.

In the last chapter of the book, Volney proposes a solution to the world’s enduring religious conflicts. It’s here, I believe, that Volney has the most to say about the problems we have in today’s post-September 11 world.

The solution to the problem of religious contradictions, Volney says, can only be found by returning the source of morality to the physical world.

The truth is, we humans only dispute about that which is unknown or has yet to be proven. I don’t believe the sun is round, I know it is—I can see it with my own eyes, and you can too. Hence, "the sun is round" is a self-evident truth that is not a source of conflict or even debate among us.

Religious conflicts begin because no one, honestly, has ever seen, heard, touched, tasted or felt God—it’s a human concept beyond the range of our physical senses to confirm.

In a word, religious conflicts arise because every religion is based on mystical or metaphysical principles which can never be proven.

To end these conflicts, humans must, as a species, establish a system of morality based in the physical world, upon a single physical principle that can be proven.

Just exactly how we can establish this “moral system based in the physical world” is the subject of Volney’s follow-on book, “Law of Nature” (if you want to know more, please click on the link to my review of Law of Nature below).

http://www.librarything.com/work/8145209...

At this point though, I think I’ve written enough. I’ve given enough hints. Either you want to read Ruins of Empires and Law of Nature or you don’t.

There’s nothing more I can say, except perhaps this:

George Washington has Volney’s Ruins of Empires in his Legacy Library, as does Ernest Hemmingway—you folks are members of LibraryThing, go check it out if you don’t believe me.

On top of that, Jefferson translated the book and Lincoln read it when he was a young man.

Are these effective recommendations somehow insufficient? Are we modern humans incapable of reading what our ancestors read just because some leftist academic or rightist preacher doesn’t like the contents?

Have we really become that lazy as a nation, as a culture, as a species?

If so, America, watch out—our so-called empire has risen over the past two centuries because we have followed Volney’s General Principle either consciously or unconsciously.

But remember, that principle works both ways—empires rise and empires fall—and the United States is not excluded from that simple real world, physical truth.

Hope you enjoy my Library and Reviews,

All Zee Best, TCW

Photo: The New Jefferson Statue, Left Bank, Paris, Copyright (C) Thomas C. Williams 2009

Real nameThomas Christian Williams

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