Von Knebel thanks Goethe for his gift and praises his writing, noting that in both Mahomet and Tancred, the poetic gait and expression if much stronger than in Voltaire’s originals. He then discusses their mutual friends before returning to Goethe’s literary works.

Karl August says that he will send him his manuscript of Mahomet that day, along with the French original which belongs to the Duchess Luise. He then concludes the letter with a discussion of experiments performed unsuccessfully with coal.

Schiller begins by speaking of the baptism of his daughter, Karoline, before turning to Goethe’s adaptation of Voltaire’s Mahomet. He notes that of the French pieces, Mahomet is the best suited for a German translation, and that whilst he believes in the project he is hesitant to attempt the same with other French pieces due to their content and the formal difficulties that arise.

Robert opens by praising Goethe’s translations of Voltaire’s Tancrède and Mahomet, and sends his own translation of a recent French tragedy, Etienne Méhul’s Joseph en Égypte (1807) which he hopes to see performed under Goethe’s direction at the Weimar Theatre.

Schiller begins by saying that Körner will not come to Lauchstädt and that he will not travel their either because of his poor health. He then addresses Goethe’s translation of Voltaire’s Tancrède, stating that the freedom Goethe has demonstrated suggests that he will go a step further than he did with Mahomet. He notes that Goethe’s intention to use choirs in the theatre will be an important experiment, and adds that he hopes to present his finished version of La Pucelle d’Orleans upon Goethe’s return. He concludes by discussing his collection of poems and suggests that Goethe could get finished printed sheets of them.

Prince August thanks Goethe for sending him two letters and a copy of Mahomet. He notes that he has been as sick as last Spring and 1796 since 28th November, adding that he feels so weak that it is as if he helped Napoleon to settle and unpack the Egyptian pyramids in St Claud. He claims that this is why he can’t compare Mahomet wit the original, instead looking at it as a German masterpiece; Voltaire made Muhammad too evil a companion.

The copy also features notes pertaining to performances of the play made at the Comédie Française between 9 and 15 August 1742.

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.

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 l’Histoire universelle.