Voltaire writes on an anecdote of a dispute between one Brother Triboulet (a satirical representative of the Catholic Church) and Jean-François Marmontel, author of Bélisaire. In a heated dispute, Triboulet said that he knows Marmontel as a villain because he wanted all men to love a God who is the father of all men. He said that Marmontel imagined on the word of St Ambrose that a young Valentinian who had not been baptised had nevertheless been saved and that they had the insolence to believe with St Jerome that several pagans lived holy lives, though he conceded that Marmontel had not gone so far as St John in one of his homilies. Triboulet noted that Marmontel even drew upon St Augustine without considering how many times he retracted his own opinions, suggesting that Marmontel and St Augustine thought that all humans who believed in God and lived piously according to his precepts would be saved by him. What was worse, Triboulet said, was that Marmontel had copied St Paul word for word in his Epistle to the Romans, and instructed him to learn his catechism. Triboulet then reasoned that there were 2 billion people on earth, and three generations per century, which equates to about 6 billion. Over 4000 years, that results in 240 billion damned people, from which only a few elected officials can be deducted. He counted Henry IV as one of the damned, whilst Ravaillac, purged by the sacrament of penance, enjoys eternal glory. Triboulet remarked that when the time came, he would have Marmontel cooked with Jean Hus, Jerome of Prague, Arnaud de Bresse, the counsellor of Bourg, and with all infamous people across the centuries who were not common sensical.

Voltaire then reflects on Triboulet’s words, stating that Triboulet was a monk just out of license, and Marmontel was an academic of the first Academy of France. The words, Voltaire claims, were spoken in the home of a magistrate whom the licensee had come to in order to solicit for a trial in which he was accused of simony. Voltaire suggests that the words were spoken after both Triboulet and Marmontel had dined and drunk alcohol. In response to Triboulet, Marmontel asked forgiveness, stating that he was a man of the world that had not read the works of Triboulet’s doctors. He stated that the mistakes of the men of the world were corrected by Triboulet and his graduates, but that he had not received the benefits of such correction and so asks that Triboulet be calm and forgive a poor ignorant man who had done evil without malice.Triboulet responded, calling all others in the room a band of rascals who do not stop preaching benevolence, gentleness, indulgence, and pushing wickedness to the point of wanting God to be good. He talks of Erasmus and claims that Le Vayer, tutor to Louis XIV, collected these blasphemies into a book. Triboulet lamented that they could burn neither Le Vayer nor the book as he was a councillor of state but argued that Marmontel could instead meet that fate as he was just an academic. The magistrate then intervened and asked for mercy for the culprit. Triboulet refused, saying that scripture forbade it. Marmontel hen asked for a pardon, and it was claimed that the whole Academy should be punished with him as they all thought alike. The magistrate again intervened and said that the Academy at large should not be punished, imploring Triboulet to respect the Academy and enable Marmontel to speak like a brave soldier and a good citizen. Triboulet left defeated. The magistrate then asked Marmontel if he did not admire Triboulet because a few days before Triboulet had entirely agreed with Marmontel, arguing that the monk had changed his mind because he was hurt by Marmontel’s reputation. Marmontel spoke admirably of the tolerance established by the Empress of Russia.

Also transcribed in the MS is a copy of Voltaire’s ‘Au Roy de Dannemarck’, a verse discussing conquerors and conquests. Beneath the verse is written the number 888 and an additional 4-line stanza discussing Bélisaire and Marmontel has been included.