Frederick begins by describing himself as ‘The Damned Philosopher’ who is compelled to send Voltaire his thoughts, despite them being nonsense. He asks Voltaire not to accuse him if indiscretion, but rather to put his letter into the category of Bluebeard and the thousand and one (Perrault’s famous fairytale) if it bores him. He then enters a philosophical discussion in the form of an allegory in which the leading writers of the Enlightenment, led by Voltaire, fight against the “infamous”. Frederick writes that he does not believe that Mustafa III, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1757 to 1774, or many others are concerned about this, with only those aware of the Greek saying: ‘Know thyself’ wanting to what they are, and who they are, and indeed what they must forget about themselves in order to advance knowledge. Frederick ends the letter by noting that the Grand Cordelier of Saint-Pierre knows what to expect but has been paid not to reveal the secrets of the Church, adding that he reckons the Grand Cordelier will be more concerned about Avignon than Jerusalem. In a humorous tone, he concludes that he wants to be discreet and not steal a moment from a man whose moments are so well spent that Frederick wishes that he may last as long as his statue.

The MS includes a number of pre-1739 variants, along with a new reading of l.82 as ‘artistement orné’.

This text discusses America, Egypt, Ancient Greece, and India, as well as topics such as idolatry, miracles, temples, magic, Jews, and Ancient Romans. In the preface, it is said that the MS was offered by the author’s nephew to Catherine II of Russia. The manuscript is either unfinished or incomplete.

A corrected manuscript copy of De la nouvelle Philosophie de Newton. The text presents variations on the versions printed in 1738 at Ledet in Amsterdam. The text seeks to introduce Newtonian ideas into France. This is bound with a manuscript copy of Essay sur la nature de feu et sur sa propagation published in 1738 by l’Académie des sciences de Paris.

The volume contains the handwritten English translation of the Princes of Babylon (90 leaves), with numerous pasted-in leaves and notes containing household recipes, written in other hands.