Voltaire apologises to Joseph de Menoux for an unfortunate case of false letters in which both are involved because of a Jesuit that Voltaire had previosuly complained about to Father Menoux. He writes that not only Paris but the whole of Europe are inundated with the false letters and adds that the said Jesuit lacked the same discretion, widsom, and goodness as Father Menoux. Voltaire writes that he has received a large number of anonymous letters and mémoires about the affair and that he throws these into the fire without answering them. He notes then that he confines himself to ‘the care that my illnesses require, to solitude and to the work that is my consolation.’ He adds that Father Menoux’s conversation and friendship would do him more good than all the mineral waters in the world. Voltaire concludes by saying that he intends to bring Father Menoux a copy of Les annales de l’Empire but that he fears that the work is a little dry and far removed from the eloquence with which Father Menoux has written history.