In July 1789 there was discovered, among the papers of the Bastille, the letter which Casanova wrote from Augsburg in May 1767 to Prince Charles of Courlande on the subject of fabricating gold.  Carrel published this letter at once in the third volume of his ’Memoirs authentiques et historiques sur la Bastille’.  Casanova kept a copy of this letter and includes it in the Memoirs.

In October 1789, Casanova wrote M. Opiz that he was writing to a professor of mathematics [M.  Lagrange] at Paris, a long letter in Italian, on the duplication of the cube, which he wished to publish.  In August 1790, Casanova published his ’Solution du Probleme Deliaque demontree and Deux corollaires a la duplication de hexadre’.  On the subject of his pretended solution of this problem in speculative mathematics, Casanova engaged with M. Opiz in a heated technical discussion between the 16th September and 1st November 1790.  Casanova sought vainly to convince Opiz of the correctness of his solution.  Finally, M. Opiz, tired of the polemics, announced that he was leaving on a six-weeks tour of inspection and that he would not be able to occupy himself with the duplication of the cube for some time to come.  On the 1st November, Casanova wished him a pleasant journey and advised him to guard against the cold because “health is the soul of life.”

In 1797, appeared the last book published during Casanova’s lifetime, a small work entitled:  ’A Leonard Snetlage, docteur en droit de l’Universite de Goettingue, Jacques Casanova, docteur en droit de l’Universite de Padoue’.  This was a careful criticism of the neologisms introduced into French by the Revolution.  In reference to Casanova’s title of “Doctor,” researches by M. Favoro at the University of Padua had failed to establish this claim, although, in the Memoirs Casanova had written: 

“I remained at Padua long enough to prepare myself for the Doctor’s degree, which I intended to take the following year.”  With this devil of a man, it is always prudent to look twice before peremptorily questioning the truth of his statement.  And in fact, the record of Casanova’s matriculation was discovered by Signor Bruno Brunelli.

VI

Summary of my life

The 2nd November, 1797, Cecilia Roggendorff wrote to Casanova:  “By the way, how do you call yourself, by your baptismal name?  On what day and in what year were you born?  You may laugh, if you wish, at my questions, but I command you to satisfy me . . .”  To this request, Casanova responded with: 

“Summary of My Life:—­my mother brought me into the world at Venice on the 2nd April, Easter day of the year 1725.  She had, the night before, a strong desire for crawfish.  I am very fond of them.

“At baptism, I was named Jacques-Jerome.  I was an idiot until I was eight-and-a-half years old.  After having had a hemorrhage for three months, I was taken to Padua, where, cured of my imbecility, I applied myself to study and, at the age of sixteen years I was made a doctor and given the habit of a priest so that I might go seek my fortune at Rome.