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.

Reichardt begins by raising his objections to Goethe’s last note concerning the representation of Voltaire in Rameaus Neffen, a text after Diderot. He objects to the selection, sequence, and formulation of the characteristics and then questions whether Louis XIV represented the French royal character more that Henry IV. He concludes by mentioning the very active ministerial governments under Mazarin and Richelieu.

Karl August admits that he may have recommended a bad donkey to Goethe in the form of Kotzebue’s Des Esels Schatten. He says that Goether may remove the play from the repertoire of the local theatre, and makes reference to Voltaire and Piron.

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 writes that he had suspected that Goethe was translating Voltaire’s “Tancred”, which was certainly very beneficial to the theatrical purpose. Nevertheless, he adds that he sincerely hopes that “Faust” will replace it. Schiller then goes on to say that there are great difficulties to overcome with the scheme for La Pucelle d’Orleans, adding that what bothers him about the piece is that it cannot be divided into a few large sections, making it necessary to dare to reinvent the form for a new subject and always keep the concept of genre flexible. He concludes by saying that if he does not go to Lauchstädt, he will withdraw to Ettersburg for a while to work.

Falk notes that he is sending Goethe his play, Amphitruon, before writing in depth about the nature of drama, comedy, and tragedy. He discusses ways to produce dramatic material that is rich and productive enough to fill five acts, saying that the English use the trick of the double plot, whilst the French (such as Voltaire) use verbiage and rhetoric. The Greeks, he adds, use images, metaphors, and lyrical chants. He concludes by comparing modern and acient theatre.