The manuscript is a transcription of an original letter, where Voltaire dismisses accusations of slander against Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis and complains about the unfair treatment by Frederick II, regarding employment and royal pensions. The letter ends with the author fulminating against unsupported accusations about Voltaire’s alleged secularist influence over Frederick II, which spread in the court of Versailles and beyond. Additionally, MS2 may be a second draft, for MS1 is so heavily corrected that Voltaire may well have had Wagnière transcribe it before making a fair copy.