Voltaire writes that Leibniz was known in the universe by his works and was respected in his home country. He adds that Leibniz instructed kings and enlightened the wise, concluding that he knew how to doubt. A provenance note added to the MS states that the poem was written for Pierre Soubeyran who was tasked with engraving the portrait of Leibniz that the verse would accompany. This portrait first appeared in the Mercure de France in August 1748 (p.161), but was engraved by one Gilles Edme Petit rather than Soubeyran as the note suggests.