01 The letter
| Shelfmark | BnF NAF 28227(9) |
|---|---|
| Sender | Bossuet correspondence |
| Recipient | Includes letters to the abbé Bossuet |
| Date | Selected letters from1697–1698 |
| Language | French |
| Report status | 3/32 pages transcribed; 28 more in part; 12/28 cipher pages deciphered; 16 more in part |
| Ciphertext | Transcribed passages: 642 elements, 626 identified |
02 The key
41 numerical codes; 1 symbol; 1 pseudonym
- Key in the same volume
- Original cipher key in the same volume, PDF 345-346.
03 The decipherment
PDF199 — three complete body lines
Je ne vois que faire pour ce qui est icy une querele particuliere.
Translation. I do not see what to do about what is a private quarrel here.
04 Plaintext and other sources
Where a decipherment or clear copy already existed, as George Lasry gives it:
- Interlinear plaintext
- Historical interlinear plaintext survives on the selected letter pages.
05 Our check
This result is George Lasry’s. This project did not re-solve the cipher: it checked one sample against the Gallica image and recorded what it found.
- Batch A. Image checked: none (no Gallica link in entry; NAF 28227(9) checked only via his crops)
- Folio matches the report: unclear; cipher present: yes
- What we checked: his PDF199 crop "80.50.5, 29.80.5.36.5.97.5, 41.9.38.71.99.7.80.97.99.5.36.5" with the original key sheet he images (u=80 n=50 e=5 q=29 r=36 l=97 p=41 a=9 t=71 i=99 c=7) = "une querele particuliere", agreeing with interlinear and his excerpt
- Verdict: partly confirmed (method read with known key, extent partial). The check is a sample, not a re-solution.
- Notes: Could not check folio identity against Gallica (no link). Original key is in the same volume and interlinear plaintext survives, so this is reading with the contemporary key. Only 12/28 cipher pages deciphered.
06 Sources
- George Lasry, with ChatGPT Astra 6 and Anthropic Opus 5.5, BnF cipher research, 10 October 2026 (sent to Daniel Bourdeau on 13 October 2026 for publication here), p. 58; his other items are listed on his contributor card.
- The working folder:
targets/bossuet/(his entry as extracted from the report, our spot-check,profile.json).