The ordering of the pages has become muddled, resulting in the pages being ordered as follows: 1-6, 12, 7-11, 13-14.

Voltaire begins by saying that he misses the court of Frederick II and adds that he is sending a copy of his tragedy Mahomet as Frederick had wanted to see the first sketches. Voltaire calls it a tribute to him, the lover of the arts, the enlightened judge, and the philosopher who is much more than just a sovereign. He goes on to say that Frederick knows what motivated him to write Mahomet: the love of the human race, and the horror of fanaticism. He claims that tragedy should touch the heart without correcting it and reveal hypocrisies. Voltaire then defends his tragedy, stating that our histories teach us of more atrocious actions than those he had invented for the play, citing various examples such as Alfonso Diaz, Antonio de Herrera, Baltasard Girard, and one James Shepherd, a sixteen-year-old boy who attempted to murder George I of England. Voltaire then discusses superstition in relation to various philosophers such as Socrates and Descartes, before exploring Muhammad in detail, discussing his history and various interpretations of him.

De Missy writes to Voltaire about his edition of Voltaire’s tragedy Mahomet. De Missy divides the letter into a series of numbered points. Point One concerns the beginning of Act Three which is in need of revision. De Missy says that he could have corrected the Act himself but did not want to taint Voltaire’s writing. Point Two concerns a few passages that De Missy notes he will not punctuate in line with Voltaire’s intentions. He notes that this is particularly relevant to the first verses of p.55 in At IV. Point Three concerns various corrections in Voltaire’s copy that are in the London edition, and some passages in this edition that have been more heavily corrected than Voltaire’s version. He draws attention to p.7, p.33, p.42, p.45, p.48, and p.50. He asks Voltaire how he would like these sections to read, and whether or not he should follow the example of the London edition. Point Four concerns p.28 where the printer had written ‘They sit’ and Voltaire had not corrected it. De Missy asks if Voltaire’s lack of correction was intentional or not. Point Five concerns a verse on p.13, about which De Missy questions Voltaire’s phrasing. There then follow two paragraphs that are left incomplete, with large gaps in the copy suggesting that De Missy intended to expand on them and complete them. The paragraphs concern the topics of gender, virtues, and vices, with De Missy noting that men and women alike have both vices and virtues, and that one gender cannot be said to be more virtuous than the other. De Missy then goes on to discuss religion, and the ways in which divides between various religious denominations are largely artificial because human action traverses them. He states that he does not want to go to America but would do so tomorrow if they were the place that hated fraud and tyranny. He says he should like to do this journey with Voltaire. De Missy makes mention of the letter to Frederick II that Voltaire had sent him [D2386], adding some further details about the people mentioned in the letter: The Dias brothers, James Shepherd, and Luther. He then turns to Muhammad himself, questioning why Christians should be offended by Voltaire’s play when it shows Islam in a bad light as it was, he writes, founded on deceit and violence, not Christianity which was established with, he suggests, the best faith, great sweetness, and patience. De Missy then turns to Pascal’s comments on inconceivable proposals, problematising Voltaire’s understanding of this notion. De Missy ends his letter with a discussion of a Warning in the English papers from a wife whose husband had left home and not returned, with the wife claiming that if he came back within three days he would be graciously received. He writes that he had discussed this with a friend who concluded that the woman perhaps beat her husband. By means of an ending, he summarises his earlier questions about his edition of Mahomet, and this copy is left unfinished at the reiteration of Point Four.

Voltaire briefly touches upon the Dias brothers and James Shephard, before mentioning a forgotten word. He then states that he defers to de Missy for the preface to Mahomet as he sees from his letters that he is far from superstitious and that he is a good editor and friend. He ends by asking about the progress of the universal histoy.