Mallet du Pan writes that Mr. Chirol has informed him about Thoruneysen’s Voltaire prospectus, something he strongly encourages. He adds that such an edition would be do the Swiss press a great honour and that he is delighted that it has ended the ‘villainy’ of those from Lausanne. Mallet du Pan offers his services wherever he might be useful, adding that he spoke to Wagnière a few months ago, and that Wagnière was in possession of several short works that were not included in the Beaumarchais edition. He recommends Thoruneysen contacts Wagnière about his edition, as well as Gabriel Cramer whom he claims also has ‘valuable pieces’.

The recueil was compiled between 1770 and July 1777. It is titled ‘Divers chosses detachee’ and contains c.20 texts by or relating to Voltaire. The recueil includes, amongst others, the following works by Voltaire:

• Balance égale
• Le Sermon du Rabin Akib
• L’aigle, le renard et le serpent
• Épitre à un homme (Turgot)
• Épitre à Horace
• Les Systèmes
• Épitre de M. de Voltaire au Pape Clement XIV au sujet de l’Ordonnance de sa sainteté qui deffend la castration
• Paralèlle de la mythologie et de la légende
• Épitre à Monsieur Marmontel
• Réponse de M. de Voltaire à l’épitre de M. de Pezay
• Le dimanche ou les filles de Minée
• La religion naturelle

The variant appears in marginal notes on p.85 of a 1742 edition of the Œuvres melées published by Bousquet. The variant concerns verse 91.

The note reads:

L’empereur 100
l’impératrice 100.
mr de caunits 6
mr de voronsof 10
mr de la balle 4

There are variants at lines a, b, 2, 4, 11, 14, 19, 26, 30, 35-36.

The complete text is written on one side of the sheet. It contains all but one of the corrections stipulated by Voltaire in D9587 and D9597. There are variants at lines a, b, 2, 4, 11, 14, 19, 26, 30, and 35-36.

This MS presents the unauthorised changes proposed by Étienne Noël Damilaville and Nicolas-Claude Thiriot, as well as the corresponding deletions to Voltaire’s original text.

The play was first performed at the Comédie française on 17 March 1764. Lekain was to perform in the production 10 times between that year.