CMV: CMV32958

Voltaire’s undated letter to “R” who is going to Berlin on an amorous mission, teasing him

Love is in the air this February as Valentine’s Day, Galentines Day, and Pal-entines Day see many celebrating love in all its forms. Love was certainly on the mind of the recipient of this signed letter from Voltaire, identified only as ‘R’, who is teased mercilessly for going on an amorous mission to Berlin.

The letter, D4652a-N, is a curious mix of Latin, Italian, and English and reads:

R

quae tibi tanta fuit berlinum causa vivendi?

non juno aut pallas, sed venus ipsa fuit.

la gran’ lite delle tre dee vi condusse a berlino e l’amor vi ritiene.

Fortunate puer I pray you to send this letter to the Lady of benting. I

am yr admirer and yr friend for ever.

V

Translated, it reads:

R

What was your reason for living in Berlin?

Not Juno or Pallas, but Venus herself.

The great quarrel of the three goddesses led you to Berlin and love holds you back.

Lucky boy I pray you send this letter to the Lady of Benting, I

am your admirer and your friend forever.

V

R had, then, clearly become besotted by his Venus in Berlin, and Voltaire does not hold back in teasing him about his romantic feelings. Written in 1750, Voltaire would have been in Berlin to witness this triste. His request that the letter be passed to ‘the Lady of benting’ is perhaps a reference to the Countess of Bentinck with whom Voltaire made an acquaintance in Berlin in the 1750s. Separated from her husband, and already with two illegitimate children, it is not impossible that this request was an extension of Voltaire’s teasing, a jibe at R to reveal his secrets to his love, the Countess.

CMV: CMV32958