Monsieur et cher amy, quoiquil y ait beaucoup de livres, croyez moi, peu de gens lisent et parmi ceux que lisent, il y en a beaucoup qui ne se servent que de leurs yeux.
Incipit Modernised:
Monsieur et cher ami, quoi qu’il y ait beaucoup de livres, croyez moi, peu de gens lisent et parmi ceux que lisent, il y en a beaucoup qui ne se servent que de leurs yeux.
A fictional letter recounting a meeting between Voltaire, Mr. Paff, and Mr. Crokius Dubius.
Detailed Summary:
Voltaire recounts a meeting he had with Mr. Paff, an illustrious professor at Tubingen, and Mr. Crokius Dubius, whom Voltaire describes as one of the finest men of our time. Voltaire claims that he showed Mr. Paff and Mr. Crokius Dubius passages from Chapter XXXIX of Ezekiel which he believed provided proof of Jewish people eating human flesh. Mr. Paff replied that the passage was only relevant to the birds whilst Mr Crokius Dubius conducted a long examination of the passage and concluded that it was merely figurative and not proof at all. Voltaire begs the men to consider that Ezekiel lived at the time of Cambyse who had in his army many Scythians and Tartars who commonly ate both men and horses, and to remember various tales about Jewish people cooking and eating their children. Again, Voltaire recounts that Mr. Paff and Mr. Crokius Dubius rejected his claims. He went on to tell them that the most polite of nations had been canibals, including the Egyptians, Chinese, Indians, and Greeks and added that when Samuel cut King Agag into pieces it was in order to cook him in a stew. Mr. Paff and Mr. Crokius Dubius returned that the Jews do not eat stew and Voltaire then countered this by suggesting that the Jews stewed goats, leading to a debate about the superiority of human flesh over the flesh of other animals. Voltaire then claims that the discussion was interrupted by a soldier who informed them that he had eaten Cossacks during the Siege of Kolberg (1760) and that the meat was not superior but rather tough.
P.1-2 and p.7-8 are watermarked with a circle containing two griffins topped with a crown. P.3-6 are watermarked with text reading: ‘I [HEART] MARE DUVEMALAS CAVUER[?]NE’.
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Additional Comments:
The paper also features a horizontal fold line. The pages are bound together with blue ribbon in a fashion similar to that of Voltaire Foundation MS 1, and of a shade similar to Voltaire Foundation MS 31. Some tape has been added to the left-hand edge of p.1 and there is a stain to the right-hand side of the same page.
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Undecorated
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History
Date:
Ownership:
Origin (transcript):
Origin:
Provenance:
Bought at auction by Theodore Besterman (1904-1976) at Sotheby’s, London on 11th June 1968.