Samuel König begins by denyng that he has had any role in inciting attacks against Maupertuis, adding that Maupertuis has only himself to blame for them. He states that he has seen almost nothing in Germany which attacks Maupertuis, and has not requested that anyone produce anything to that effect. König then turns to Voltaire and Émilie Du Châtelet, saying that he did not know that they were on poor terms with Maupertuis before the publication of Voltaire’s Diatribe du docteur Akakia. He concludes with reference to Leonhard Euler and mocks his writings in defence of Maupertuis.

Prince August expresses his joy at learning of Goethe’s improved health and thanks Goethe for the fragments of Rameaus Neffen that he sent. He suggests that Goethe translate Voltaire’s Le pauvre diable as there are no poems of this genre in Germany.

Voltaire begins by saying that d’ Alembert has reassured him about the article for the Encyclopédie titled ‘Femme’. He then discusses the processes of creating such articles, questioning if there should be guidelines with regards length as d’ Alembert has complained of vague and methodless dissertations that several individuals have submitted to him. He asks why d’ Alembert did not issue authors with protocols regarding etymology, definitions, examples, reasons, clarity, and brevity stating that though he saw only a dozen articles, he could not find any of the above in them. Voltaire concludes, however, that such questioning wrongs d’ Alembert as there are bad soldiers in the army of a great general.

Voltaire then states that if he were in Paris, he would spend all his time in the king’s library so as to aid d’ Alembert in his Encyclopédie. He adds that he is interested in the work as it honours his homeland and is useful for the human race, but that he does not have access to any of the necessary books.

He then turns to the civil unrest in France and the civil wars of Germany, which he dubs sad and awful respectively. He notes that the next campaign will likely be a bloody one. Voltaire then mentions La Pucelle, noting that the ‘infamous’ edition afflicts him. He sends his and Madame Denis’ love, before concluding that the has received the entry for ‘Histoire’ and will return it in five days time.

The notebook contains notes from “Baretti’s remarks on Italy”, notes on Voltaire, and notes on various towns in Europe taken from Moores’ Travels (vols. I and II) and Mr. Millars’ Travels in Italy 1770-1771. Also included is a memorandum on the house of Brandenburg.

In this letter, Frederick wishes that the “hot fever” of Europe would recover soon. He tells Voltaire that he himself is no longer sick in body or mind. The end of the letter turns political as Frederick addresses the Austrians directly, telling them that their ambition and their desire to dominate everything actually created more enemies for them, and that there will always be defenders of German and European liberties. This is probably a reference to the Seven Years War, which was fought from 1754-1763.

The margrave talks of Voltaire’s pennance, noting that will be forgiven and that he will be welcome in Bayreuth where friends are eager to oblige him. She questions the fulfilment of his promises, asking if the ‘German climate’ was able to reform the ‘French Lightness’ in such a short space of time. She notes that she hopes to see Voltaire again soon before recounting a visit to see his ‘feaux Profête’, remarking on the actors and the reception of Voltaire’s work. She concludes by discussing her correspondence with Mr de Folard, and begging Voltaire to complete his work soon.

Voltaire writes that he received Walther’s message immediately after reproaching him for his silence. He says that he would like to repair the wrong they both suffered by not seeing one another when Voltaire was in Saxe. Voltaire then turns to the possible publication of one of his manuscripts, likely La Pucelle d’Orleans. He notes that he would like to send Walther his manuscript but that he has heard about a learned young man who has worked on the same subject and who may have done so more successfully than Voltaire. He also notes that he is hesitant about sending the book to a German publisher because of how this may be perceived in France, adding that it might be best to suppress his work as the work of the young man may make his work useless. He concludes that they should wait to publish his work.

De Crousaz replies to the two queries that Achard sent to his wife, noting that they have not visited Geneva and that they have not seen Voltaire in the theatre. Through a military analogy, he remarks that according to his friends Voltaire is a better playwright than actor and was not good in the role of Lusignan in the play Zaïre. He goes on to note that the Duke of Randau’s politics mean that he and his Lord [Weymouth?] are to remain in Besançon for three weeks, adding that his Lord wants to go to Italy via Germany but that he [De Crousaz] is against the idea as he does not like Italy. He adds that his wife told him that Achard is angry at him for stopping in Besançon but replies that they were forced to stop by the Lord’s illness in Dijon. He discusses his relationship with his Lord, stating that he is not paid by the Lord (whose money is transferred through Mr Foley in Paris) and has little power, though he listens to Achard’s advice. De Crousaz then turns to health matters, noting that his gout has passed; and that he is sending Achard bottles of virtuous water for his health.