Voltaire begins by saying that he is appreciative of the mark of confidence that de Graffigny has given him. He then discusses the public, depicting them as a stormy sea which sometimes delivers you to the port and other times smashes you against a reef. He adds that this judgement of the public is random, and that men should not be subjected to their judgement or make their happiness dependent upon their way of thinking, noting that he has tried this ‘abominable slavery’ before. Voltaire goes on to say that one should live amongst one’s society, for to live for the world is to live in a constant state of war. He concludes by saying that he does not dare ask de Graffigny to send him her Greek, but adds that the letters of the mother make him keen to see the daughter.