Papers of John Adams, volume 7
I have the Honour to send you some Particulars relative to the establishment of a general Correspondence upon Sciences and Arts 361which I have prepared, four years since, and particularly directed since the Beginning of the last year. The Consistency which it has acquired firstly by the Recommendation of the Academy of Sciences, and since by many Proofs of the Protection of their Majesty's, make me hope, Sir, that you will be so good as to contribute to the success of this enterprize by all the Means in your Power, and particularly, in honouring with your Presence, the Assembly of the Learned, the Artists, and the distinguished Strangers who are a Part of it; and above all, that of Wednesday next, the first after the Vacancies
I take the Liberty of begging this favour, in the name of the Learned and Artists, who desire to have you a Judge of their Labours, and protector of their Talents. I Will not be Less flatter'd, Sir, than they, to be able to pay you the Hommage of my Glory and of my Successes.
I am with an infinite Respect, Sir &c.
There is no indication that JA responded to this invitation from Pahin Champlain de La Blancherie, who, between 1778 and 1788, sought to create an international center for the promotion of relations between learned men. In pursuit of this goal he established a “Salon de correspondance,” where meetings could be held at no charge, and a periodical, Nouvettes de la République des Lettres et des Arts, to which JA subscribed in 1782 (Hoefer, Nouv. biog. générale
; Jefferson, Papers
, 12:99, 317).