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Talk:Letter to M. d'Alembert on Spectacles

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English translation

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Is there a published English translation of the letter published under the title "Letter to M. d'Alembert on Spectacles"? The only translations I could find are:

  • "Letter to M. d'Alembert on the Theatre", by Allan Bloom (this translation was reprinted several times, including with the spelling theater).
  • "A letter from M. Rousseau, of Geneva, to M. D’Alembert, of Paris, concerning the effects of theatrical entertainments on the manners of mankind", by J. Nourse (?)

I could find references to the letter in the specialized literature under many names, including "Letter to M. d'Alembert on Spectacles"; but no translation under that title.

It should be noted that "Lettre à M. d'Alembert sur les spectacles" is just one of the titles under which the letter is known in French, and probably not the most common one (which might be "Lettre sur les spectacles"). However this is not the original title (which is quite long: "À M. D'Alembert, de l'Académie française, de l'Académie des Sciences de Paris, de celle de Prusse, de la Société Royale de Londres, de l'Académie Royale des Belles-Lettres de Suède et de l'Institut de Bologne sur son article Genève dans le VIIme volume de l'Encyclopédie, et particulièrement sur le projet d'établir un théâtre de comédie en cette ville.").

This makes me think that maybe the name of this Wikipedia article is not the best (disclaimer: I dislike that translation because it makes it look the letter might be about glasses, whereas in French the meaning of "spectacle" is unambiguous). Malparti (talk) 16:31, 19 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]