Voltaire thanks Guazzesi for sending him a book [Guazzesi’s translation of Alzire, published together with Racine’s Iphigenie in 1762], adding that he is too ill to thank him in his own hand, the letter instead being written by his secretary. Voltaire goes on to say that Iphigenie was worthy of being translated by Guazzesi, but that the translator does others [Voltaire] too much honour. He then turns to Guazzesi’s poetry, remarking that his compositions are instructive and agreeable, before speaking of the ancient Romans, noting that they had an unrefined sense of humour. He adds that he can see the mountains that were crossed by Hannibal through his windows.

Bolaffi asks that the booksellers, Dey and Gravier, be kind enough to give to Mr. Daninos (the deliverer of the letter) the fifty copies of La Henriade that Bolaffi had translated into Italian. He notes that these copies were sent to Dey and Gravier by Mr. Fayolle, another bookseller.

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.

The manuscript is a lettre en vers written in the hand of Jean Baptiste Nicolas Formont. It starts with a poem comprised of 27 lines, fashioned as an imitation of Virgil. The author discusses what makes a good translation of a poem, reflects upon the interplay between content and form, remarks upon the role of rhyme and epic poetry, and contrasts the poetic renditions in Latin with those in French. ED1 dates this letter October/November 1735. According to T. D. N. Besterman, D916 is almost certainly Voltaire’s reply, but the fact that Voltaire waited for Fromon’s translation for a month seems to imply that the present letter was sent separately and received earlier; hence the date proposed here.

The manuscript is an autograph letter, written in the hand of Jacques Le Brigant and headed ‘Signification des deux mots Tohu, et Bohu, à monsieur de Voltaire’. The letter delves into various translations of the term “tohu-bohu,” proposed by figures such as Aquila, Simmaque, Ovide, Buxtorf, and L’abbé Bergier, among others. Contesting the accuracy of these translations, the author forays into an etymological examination, suggesting that the words should instead be read as “Toeu and Boeu.” In Caussy’s Inventaire des manuscrits de la bibliothèque de Voltaire, the manuscript goes by an alternative name ‘Signification des deux mots Tohu et Bohu, à M. de Voltaire, par le Brigant, avocat, à Tréguier en Bretagne, le 8e mars 1778’. It is significantly likely to be the same text as the shelfmark and repository are identical, only the differing titles might raise a slight doubt.

Voltaire thanks Panckoucke for a translation of his poem titled ‘Lucretia’, and for a delivery of books which included a five-volume set of works by Buffon. Voltaire remarks upon the difficulties of transporting items to Geneva from Lyon, and reminisces about a previous visit Panckoucke paid to Ferney.

König begins with a discussion of his translation of the Figure de la Terre by Maupertuis which had recently been published, adding that he is surprised that the largest critique of the work should come from Maupertuis. He then mentions a letter that he had received from Voltaire in which Voltaire wrote that he had left King Solomon [Frederick II of Prussia] because he loved the Queen of Sheba [Émilie du Châtelet]. König ends the letter by critiquing Émilie du Châtelet’s Institutions de Physique which had been published in the preceding year.

Algarotti begins by stating that it has been two months since he last heard from Vannucchi, adding that he is waiting for more sonnets from this great philosopher and poet. He then notes that he will be going to Potsdam the following day to meet with Frederick II of Prussia and present him with some of his verses as Frederick had stated that Vannucchi’s muse was ‘quasi celeste’. Algarotti then turns to Voltaire and Samuel Formey, remarking that the both share his enthusiasm for th translations of the Iliad produced by Paolo Brazzolo, before going on to discuss Frederick’s moods and literary interests. He ends with a mention of his friend, Scipione Maffei. In a postscript appended to the letter, Algarotti sends greetings from Voltaire and thanks Vannucchi for his learned essay on dreams and appatitions.

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.

Bürden sends Goethe some of his theatrical works, which he hopes might be of use for the Weimar Theater. He notes that he was requested by Iffland to make a translation of Voltaire’s Alzire, but that he was not happy with it when it was performed in Berlin. This, he suggests, is why Goethe is receiving a new reworking from him. He then references Rousseau’s “small piece of intrigue”, which he says deserves Germanisation.