© 2024 Gaétan G. Charland
© 2024 Urantia Association of Quebec
Gaetan Charland
Boucherville
Editor’s note: The beginning of this text was published in issue 376 of the February 2024 issue of the Réflectivité newspaper, here is finally the sequel! Our apologies for this oversight!
UBH MARIAN ROWLEY to JACQUES WEISS
Chicago, Illinois, May 11, 1958
Dear Mr. Weiss,
We are delighted to receive your very interesting letter of April 30th concerning the translation of The Urantia Book which you are currently making. You have apparently made a great deal of progress in a very short time.
The task of translation requires not only technical knowledge of both languages, but also a sympathetic understanding of the concepts expressed in The Urantia Book, and I can well understand that in the process of translation you will probably build up a study group of people who will become genuinely interested in the teachings of the Book.
As you say, the question of publishing a French edition is several years away and as I have already told you, the matter is in the hands of the copyright holder, Urantia Foundation. However, I doubt whether they will ever allow the parts to be printed separately, for none of them is a complete whole in itself. Each is dependent on the others and, taken out of context, each would be misleading and misunderstood. However, that question is for the future.
You mention that we have sold only about 3,000 books in two and a half years. We think that is a very good result. It was not the price of the book that held back sales. It was the fact that we did not advertise or promote the book. Almost all the books were sold by personal contact. When the book was published in October 1955, only a small group of two or three hundred people knew about it, and it was from this small core that the 3,000 sales or donations were born. We expect that for several years we will not advertise or promote this book.
We want it to spread slowly, from person to person, and to build a very solid foundation before we begin any promotion that might create antagonism toward the teachings. It is not an easy book to read or understand in depth and we want to form many study groups and have it translated into several languages before it begins to gain momentum. We are convinced that the world is not ready for this at present and we probably shall not live to see that day. But for now we can continue to work quietly and help all who are really interested.
We were very pleased to hear from you and hope you will write to us again from time to time to let us know how things are going for you.
Sincerely,
Marian Rowley
UBH WILLIAM M. HALES to JACQUES WEISS
Chicago, June 9, 1958
Dear Mr. Weiss,
In Miss Christensen’s letter to you dated November 5, 1957, she indicated that the question of translating The Urantia Book into French was being carefully considered. She further stated certain policies which the Trustees of the Foundation have with respect to any translations which might be made into French or other languages.
We had hoped, shortly afterwards, to arrive at a more precise programming of the translations, but as we do not believe that the time has yet come for such procedures, I did not want to delay sending this letter any further.
I repeat what Miss Christensen and others have stated in their correspondence with you, that we are very interested and grateful for the interest of your group.
I can see from your letter of November 13 that your group is positive and anxious in its desire to disseminate the teachings of The Urantia Book in your country and, of course, to make a translation available for this purpose. We are not in a position at this time to be definite about a program in connection with translations of The Urantia Book, and therefore we can make no promises or inferences as to how this will ultimately be handled.
If you or a member of your group is in Chicago, I hope you will contact me or other members of Urantia Foundation or Urantia Brotherhood.
Sincerely
Urantia Foundation
William M. Hales, President
BH JACQUES WEISS to CAROLINE BROWN
Paris, France, October 7, 1958
Dear Caroline,
I was delighted to receive your letter, while regretting that your accident may have been the occasion to delete your mail.
Yes, I have seriously undertaken the gigantic work of giving a valid translation of Urantia. I work on it an average of four hours a day, two of them early in the morning, and the others when I can.
The plan is as follows: I divided the work into 28 booklets of about 75 pages each, all to be translated by hand, revised by two different people, finally corrected by me, and then typed in four copies by my secretary. The current situation is as follows:
Part I-5 booklets. All handwritten exclusively by me. All typewritten.
Part II-4 booklets. All handwritten, the first being typewritten.
Part III-9 booklets. One handwritten by a professional translator, revised by my wife and myself. A booklet currently being written by the same translator. A brochure started by myself.
Part IV-10 booklets. Two already handwritten by a friend and partially corrected by me.
I think it will take another two years to complete the work. If I want it to be completed in this incarnation, I must push it forward relentlessly. A very interesting working group is spontaneously forming around the teaching, which seems to be related to the most secret doctrine of Masonry dating from the 9th century. Of course, Urantia is larger.
When the time for printing comes, I think an outlay of some $25,000 will be necessary. The Book is to be published in three volumes: Volume One will contain Parts I and II; Volume Two, Part III; and Volume Three, Part IV; the index in a separate booklet.
I cut a copy of the book into thirds and had the three parts bound separately. This proved very useful, because the book can be lent in parts, and you know books spread through lending.
I have not yet concluded a formal agreement with them for publication. I am not in a particular hurry, but the sooner the matter is settled, the more surely I will be able to plan the financing. Any suggestions from you would be most welcome.
Welcome. Where is the index? I need all the help you can get in the area of relations with Urantia Brotherhood.
While waiting for news, I remain as always,
Yours faithfully,
J. Weiss
BF JACQUES WEISS at the URANTIA FOUNDATION
Paris, France, January 21, 1959
Dear Gentlemen,
At the start of this year, I would like to send you my best regards and keep you informed of the French translation of the Urantia Book.
The first part has been typed and corrected for several months.
The second part is entirely handwritten and half has already been typed and corrected.
A third of the third part is handwritten and revised, but not yet typed. I have reconsidered my method and decided to do the whole first version myself, if it is too difficult for outsiders, but they can help me polish the translation afterwards and make it as perfect as possible.
In this part I stumbled over a word I did not understand—an almost unique exception, as you see. Page 1255, paragraph, The Guardians of Religion: “They are the wombs of the angels of progress.” What does that mean? Do they play chess on the chessboard of the universe? Do they hinder the work of one and the other? Do the latter check the work of the former? Or what else? Would you be so kind as to give me your interpretation?
As for the fourth part, it has also been started, but the work is still in its embryonic stage. I am now beginning to think that the end of the whole work will be in sight next year. It is not at all too early to continue an exchange of views on the publication. How are you doing with the consultations with your lawyers? And with the index? Have you established a glossary, even a very brief one? Has a responsible member of your group planned to come to Europe, and when? Have you understood the imperative of dividing the French translation into three volumes, which will not be sold separately?
Any news from you will be welcome. For my part, you can now feel that I meant what I said when I undertook this work.
Sincerely yours,
J. Weiss
UBF MARIAN ROWLEY to JACQUES WEISS
Chicago, January 24, 1959
Dear Mr. Weiss,
Your letter of January 21st being addressed to the Fraternity, it arrived on my desk first. I am forwarding it to Miss Christensen, secretary of the Foundation, so that she may answer your questions. But I wanted to tell you personally how interested we are in your work and the translation of the Book. From time to time I report to our group your progress and they are very interested.
I send you my best wishes for the coming year and wish you much success in your work.
Sincerely,
Marian Rowley
UBH MARIAN ROWLEY to JACQUES WEISS
Chicago, October 3, 1960
Dear Mr. Weiss,
I finally have the pictures I took at the airport on the day you arrived, Sunday, August 21, 1960. We think they are all very good, except one which is a little blurry, and I hope you like them too. They will serve as a little souvenir of your trip. I have also included a picture of the Sadler house, as I thought you might like it.
I am also sending you, under separate cover, a copy of a presentation I prepared last year, called “The Lives We Live.” The Glenview Society asked me to speak at their meeting one evening, so I presented it. It was so well received that I was asked to do it again on Sunday, before the Chicago group met. And I received so many requests for copies that I had it reproduced. I hope you enjoy it.
I am very sorry that I did not have the opportunity to get to know you better. But I have a full-time job downtown during the day, evenings and weekends when I was here at Sadlers’ you were either away or otherwise occupied. Next time you come, perhaps we can spend more time together.
Sincerely,
Marian Rowley
UBH JACQUES WEISS to MARIAN ROWLEY
Paris, October 11, 1960
Dear Mrs. Rowley,
I was delighted to receive your beautiful color photographs. Many around me who followed my efforts for The Urantia Book wanted to know about Dr. Sadler and those who were drawn to him by spiritual gravitation. So I was able to satisfy their curiosity.
Now I am waiting for the sea mail with a copy of “The Lives We Live” and thank you in advance.
I would have been happy to spend more time with you, but I was stuck between dates and was forced to return a little prematurely for Gelsey’s corrections in Paris.
Moreover, Urantia’s hospitality and kindness exceeded my expectations and I had not anticipated an adequate response before leaving Europe. But next time I will come with experience.
Only, I would have come with the French book, and the main delay comes from the lawyers. In France, we sign contracts without a lawyer, or after a quick consultation with them, except for special cases where they are necessary. The American way of wasting a crazy amount of time with them seems so strange to us. What is your feeling about this?
Sincerely yours,
J. Weiss