Letter from Voltaire to Charles-Marguerite-Jean-Baptiste Mercier Dupaty, written from château de Ferney and dated 27 March 1769 [D15538]
Identifiers
CMV:
CMV36746
Repository:
Shelfmark:
5-240 (VII, f.141), ’27 mars 1779, à M. du Paty, avocat général (M. 7514)’
Title:
Letter from Voltaire to Charles-Marguerite-Jean-Baptiste Mercier Dupaty, written from château de Ferney and dated 27 March 1769 [D15538]
Collection(s):
Related record(s):
No related manuscripts found.
Link to Archive Catalogue:
Link to Digital Resource:
OCLC Number:
Reproductions:
The Besterman Collection, Geneva, photocopy
Content
People:
Incipit Diplomatic:
Monsieur, Vous me traittez comme un Rochelois, vous m’honorez de vos bontés et vous m’enchantez.
Incipit Modernised:
Monsieur, Vous me traitez comme un Rochelois, vous m’honorez de vos bontés et vous m’enchantez.
Language(s):
In Voltaire’s Hand:
No
Brief Summary:
Letter from Voltaire to Charles-Marguerite-Jean-Baptiste Mercier Dupaty, written from château de Ferney and dated 27 March 1769.
Detailed Summary:
The writer expresses profound gratitude and admiration for the recipient’s eloquence and patriotism, praising their contributions to the academy and their efforts against fanatical oppression. They reflect on historical and contemporary issues within the church and legal systems, lamenting contradictions and the slow progress of reform. The writer commends the recipient’s emerging prominence and expresses hope for future recognition in the form of a medal. They conclude with deep respect and acknowledgment of their own nearing end.
Keyword(s):
Genre(s):
Physical Description
Material(s):
Extent:
1 f.
Format:
Dimensions:
Hands:
1
Watermark:
Countermark:
Binding:
The manuscript is bound with other documents in contemporary red morocco.
Additional Comments:
Materiality Keywords:
Decorations:
Additions:
The manuscript carries a few autograph additions, while the letter’s envelope is endorsed with ‘à Monsieur Monsieur Diderot etca à Paris’.
Marginalia Keywords:
Inclusions:
History
Date:
27 March 1769
Ownership:
After Voltaire’s death, the MS passed into the ownership of Catherine II and remained in the imperial and then national collection thereafter.
Origin (transcript):
Origin:
Provenance:
This MS was probably taken to St Petersburg by Wagnière in the summer of 1779 along with the rest of Voltaire’s library.
Bibliography
Bibliography:
Fernand Caussy, Inventaire des manuscrits de la bibliothèque de Voltaire conservée à la bibliothèque impériale publique de Saint-Pétersbourg (Geneva, Slatkine reprints, 1970)
OCV Reference:
118, p. 362–363
OCV Manuscript Reference:
118, ‘MS2’, p. 363
Record created by:
Record created on: