This is a copy of the letter mentioned in D8832. It was sent to Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov.

Voltaire states that he asked for nothing more than an explanation and that the recipient was good enough to give him that. He thanks them for doing so.

This copy is lacking the commentaries on the plays, ending at l.346. It includes variants not found in other manuscript copies or the 1739 editions of the text at ll.73-75, 98, 115-116, 166-167, 170-172, 210-211, 243-245, 251-257, 278-279, 287, 307-308, and 312-319.

The MS forms part of a collection of Voltaire texts prepared by Cideville under the instructions of Voltaire. A note in Cideville’s hand states that: ‘Ce recueil charmant m’a été envoyé par l’autheur au commenement de mars 1735’.

This MS copy of Samson is the first item in a recueil, entitled ‘Supplément aux œuvres de théâtre de M. de Voltaire’ that also contains manuscript copies of Eriphile and Adélaïde Du Guesclin. This is presumably the recueil that Voltaire sent to the marquis d’Argenson around June 1739.

The MS consists of five folios: the first four are in a secretarial hand (possibly that of Longchamp), and the final folio is in Voltaire’s hand. It is corrected throughout but does not correspond exactly with the printed edition of the work.

This is the first known draft of the majority of the first part of Doutes nouveaux. The present whereabouts of the MS is unknown, but Theodore Besterman owned a photocopy of it.