Voltaire begins by saying that his greatest pain is to receive no news from Thiériot, adding that several of his friends are talking to the Chancellor and everyone serves him [Voltaire] except for Thiériot. Voltaire adds that he does not even know whether or not Thiériot sent a copy of the libel, which Voltaire claims is more against Thiériot than himself, to the prince.

Voltaire notes that he does not know why Mr. Marquis du Châtelet wanted to write to Thiériot (a reference to D1762) and Mr. de la Popliniere. He adds that such a letter was not necessary, but Monsieur and Madame du Châtelet are such lively and respectable friends, that they prefer to do too much than too little. He also makes reference to a letter from Madame de Berniere (D1759), noting that everyone did their duty. He argues that his friendship with Thiériot assures him that Thiériot’s letter will supersede all of the aforementioned correspondence, but concedes that it is 15 January and he is yet to hear from him.

Voltaire then provides Thiériot with the opening lines of a letter he received from Charles Porée on 4 January 1739 [D1741]. In these lines, Porée remarks that he would not forgive himself if he had been cowardly enough and treacherous enough to ever betray in public or in particular the feelings of respect, esteem and friendship that he has for Voltaire.

Voltaire ends the letter by saying that this is how friends behave, adding that he is sure Thiériot’s heart does not need an example and that he looks forward to hearing from him.

This is the earliest example of a signed Voltaire letter. Voltaire writes that he has postponed his response by two or three days so that he can tell La Marche about the tragedy that Father Lejay [Gabriel-François Lejay, professor of rhetoric at Louis-le-Grand] has just represented. He writes that a heavy rain caused the show to be divided into two after dinner, which gave the schoolchildren as much pleasure as it did Father Lejay. Voltaire then describes the play, remarking that two monks broke their neckes one after another so skilfully that they seemed to fall over only for the audience’s entertainment, that the nuncio of His Holiness gave them eight days of leave, that Monsieur Theuenart sang, and Fathe Lejay got hoarse, and that Father Porée prayed to God for better weather but at the height of his prayers the sky only gave an abundance of rain. He ends the letter by saying that he desires to see La Marche in Paris but that that is not a possibility, concluding that he cannot write a longer letter because the post office is leaving and forces him to write in haste.