CONDORCET, Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de.

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Vie de M. Turgot. One of four editions of Condorcet's life of Turgot printed in 1786, this being Gerits's edition C. All four editions have London imprints but the latter three were printed in France. Condorcet was a strong supporter of Turgot, who had attempted to implement physiocratic ideas as the French finance minister from 1774 to 1776. His biography seeks to vindicate Turgot's thought and work, and is a powerful defence of Enlightenment economic ideas. Seven editions appeared within two years, meaning that it was one of the best-selling works of economics of its day. "Contrary to what is suggested by the title, this book was not a biography but rather an exposé of Turgot's educational, political, and economic ideas" (Gerits).This work, together with Dupont de Nemours's biography, is the chief contemporary account of the renowned financial reformer and friend of the physiocrats. It contains in a footnote Condorcet's early attempt to apply mathematics to economics. On pp. 178-184 he discusses the various mathematical ways "in which indirect taxation could be replaced by direct taxation and the effects of such a change" (Theocharis, Early developments in mathematical economics, p. 65).Condorcet (1743-1794) was secretary to the Académie and was a prolific author. Although more celebrated for his studies in philosophy, literature and politics, "his mathematical treatment of probabilities, and his discussion of differential equations and finite differences, show an ability w

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