The manuscript is a poem comprised of fifteen lines, with a rhyme scheme ABBA CDDC EEC FGFG. Alluding to an archetypical tension between nature and nurture, the lyrical subject suggests that nature claims victory over its rival. For more contextual information on the content of the manuscript, see Voltaire’s friendly letter to Marquise d’Ussé in December 1734 (D810). The poem is also known by its alternative title ‘L’Art et la nature’.