The manuscript is an exordium to Voltaire’s poem La Religion naturelle, comprised of four parts. It is a variant of the poem more commonly known as Poème sur la loi naturelle, with the incipit reading ‘Oh vous! Dont les exploits…’. In a letter of 22 March 1756 to the Duchess of Saxe-Gotha, Voltaire recalls having completed the poem while staying at her château in Gotha in 1753. The poem explores themes of happiness, morality, and natural law. It was most likely dedicated to the Duchess of Saxe-Gotha. The work was condemned by the Parlement de Paris in early 1759, along with Helvétius’s De l’esprit and four other works (D8086, D8137, D8159). Voltaire’s reaction was bitter (D15618).