Jean BOUHIER (1673-1746). L.A., Dijon May 21, 1735, to Abbé - Lot 61

Jean BOUHIER (1673-1746). L.A., Dijon May 21, 1735, to Abbé d'Olivet; 2pages in-4, addressed with black wax seal of arms. He reproaches the Abbé for his silence and misanthropy, which he himself has not won over: "My taste for the dead of my cabinet does not prevent me from mixing with the living, & I am upset that you are letting yourself go to a contrary inclination. It is true that we live in a century, where worldly commerce is unattractive, being turned less to friendship than to satire". He mentions an impertinent letter criticizing them both: "All honest people read it with contempt. The judgment of others should embarrass us little", and he quotes Martial on the subject. He comes to a "passage by Cicero, which is at the end of his Academics, which bears the name of Lucullus, I have been no more content than you with the way in which the commentators have explained the Tollendum of Hortensius". He attempts to give his interpretation of this word, referring to various readings. On the third page, an autograph note by Abbé d'Olivet, in Latin, commenting on Bouhier's remarks.