AMPÈRE ANDRÉ (1775-1836) PHYSICIEN ET MATHÉMATICIEN

Inventor of electromagnetism. L.A.S. "A. Ampère", Paris 17 March 1811, to a "colleague" [Joseph de JOUVANCY]; 3 pages in-4. Beautiful letter on the study of Latin. He thanks Jouvancy for his "edition of the appendix [Epitome de diis et heroibus poeticis, seu Appendix ad Ovidium (Lyon, Perisse, 1811)]. I took it for the text of the small work which the commission of the classical books agreed to entrust to me. With regard to the notes, I do not see why you would think of suppressing a part of them, indispensable for a beginner who would study alone, they should not be considered as useless to the students of the various establishments of public instruction. I have noticed that they are much closer to the meaning of the Latin than those found in the ordinary editions, several of which give two translations, one literal, and one in correct French, which seems to me the best way to make the difficult places understood. The only disadvantage they might have is the impossibility of examining the students on a copy where they see what they have to say at the bottom of the page"... He proposes to remedy this by rejecting the notes at the end of each article relating to a god or a hero, and then apologizes: "it is on my part to be a complete fool, I who would be too happy if you were willing to enlighten me with your own ideas"...