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 his contributions to the academy and his efforts against fanatical oppression. He reflects on enduring issues in church and legal systems, lamenting the slow pace of reform. He commends the recipient’s rising prominence and hopes he will receive further recognition.
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:
vol.118, p.362–363
OCV Manuscript Reference:
vol.118, ‘MS2’, p.363
Record created by:
Record created on: