Included in the collection is: XLVII, 88. Voltaire, 1694-1778. to Madame Duboccage, 1777 November 2. L. 2p. Ferney. Reply about his tragedy “Alzire.” Says he is not a genius but a man of 84 weighed down with infirmities, half poet and of philosopher. Will soon rejoin his old masters, Socrates and Sophos. Compliments Mme. Duboccage. If he desired anything now, would be to return to Paris to enjoy her agreeable society. His niece has been very ill also. (In French. Copy) [D20876].

Included in the collection is: XLII, 119., an autograph letter signed from Devellenne, to Benjamin Franklin, written from Paris and undated. In the letter, Devellenne discusses a statement in Bacon’s Philosophical Works that the claims that the Greeks condemned to death the first physicists who presumed to explain the natural causes of thunder. Devellenne then applies to Franklin to aid in verifying this claim, before turning to the question of belief in God, using Voltaire and Socrates in an attempt to find a resolution.

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.