The verse was sent with a letter from Voltaire to Pierre Paul d’Ossun, marquis d’Ossun, written from Ferney and dated 16 July 1770 [D16527], and a price list for watches produced at a Ferney factory. One of the watches available was a repeating watch featuring a portrait of Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea y Jiménez de Urrea, 10th Count of Aranda. The verse mentions his triumph over the Jesuits, his suppression of superstition, and his masterful control of Spain.

This is likely the memorandum he mentions in D12326, though if this is the case then six further pages of the MS are missing. It is written as a dramatic dialogue between Boswell and Voltaire and covers topics such as language, religion, superstition, poetry, literature, and painting

The letter is interspersed with poetry. De Missy writes that after reading Voltaire’s last letter four times, he had begun to reply only to realise that Voltaire had left Brussels for three months without telling him where he could write to him. He goes on to discuss devotion and religion, which he notes Voltaire calls less human than nature, arguing that nature is intended to make us know, love, and imitate the humanity of God. He writes that he thought it was superstition that Voltaire contested, and that he was doing what the devotees do by stripping religion of superstition. De Missy goes on to say that he will make a confession of faith that would not scandalise Voltaire, but that may annoy him, and that perhaps there is more sin in annoying one’s neighbour than in scandalising them. He then discusses the books Voltaire had asked him for, saying he had found German editions of the books of Wotton and Pancirolle but not English ones as Voltaire had requested. He then asks for details about Voltaire’s new tragey (likely Mahomet) which he has been told is very beautiful. He asks if the play has been printed and, if so, where it can be found. De Missy then turns to his own health and that of Voltaire, entreating him to work without tiring himself.

De Missy writes that he luckily received Voltaire’s last letter (D2648) whilst in the company of a bookseller who has agreed to carry out Voltaire’s commission for a universal history, and, provided he obtains the consent of his Father, will also undertake a new edition of Voltaire’s works. He adds that the bookseller does not believe they should wait until then to publish Mahomet, stating that the bookseller would have printed it on the spot if he had it. De Missy promises that it would be printed correctly as he himself would read the proofs. He asks Voltaire to send him a memorandum of what he must, and what he could, say to the bookseller. The letter then turns to Voltaire’s persecution in France, with de Missy noting that superstition makes the greatest souls very small and causes them to be petty.

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 universal histoy.