Letter from Voltaire to Frederick II, written in the hand of Wagnière and dated [c. 15 October 1757] [D7419].
Identifiers
CMV:
CMV33975
Repository:
Shelfmark:
5-240 (VII, f.11-12), ‘Au roi de Prusse; cette lettre fut écrite les premiers jours d’octobre 1757. J’ai pensé attendre (M. 3426)’
Title:
Letter from Voltaire to Frederick II, written in the hand of Wagnière and dated [c. 15 October 1757] [D7419].
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Reproductions:
Content
People:
Incipit Diplomatic:
Sire, votre lettre d’Erfurt est pleine de morceaux admirables
Incipit Modernised:
Seigneur, votre lettre d’Erfurt est pleine de morceaux admirables
Language(s):
In Voltaire’s Hand:
No
Brief Summary:
Letter from Voltaire to Frederick II, written in the hand of Wagnière and dated [c. 15 October 1757] [D7419].
Detailed Summary:
The manuscript is a copy of a letter in Wagnière’s hand. Voltaire reflects upon Epître, composed by Frederick II at Erfurt on 23 September. Addressed to Argens (Œuvres de Frédéric, xii.60), it distinctly portrays his contemplation of suicide; on the 28th the king sent a copy to Wilhelmina for Voltaire, having in the meanwhile sent him one direct (‘je vous l’envoie en vous suppliant d’en envoyer une copie à Voltaire, c’est ce que j’ai fait de même’); see Politische Correspondenz, xv.383; the hc sent to Voltaire passed at the R[ather]y sale, Charavay (Paris 30 novembre 1863), p.32, no.228; Voltaire had endorsed it ‘testament en vers du roi de Prusse, lorsqu’il voulait mourir, en 1757, quelques mois avant Rosbac, écrit de sa main’. Additionally, Voltaire remarks on his addresse’s interest in Antiquity that eclipses prevailing trends and ideas as well as stipulating the caveats of contemplating suicide.
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Physical Description
Material(s):
Extent:
2 ff.
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Binding:
The manuscript is bound with other documents in contemporary red morocco.
Additional Comments:
Materiality Keywords:
Decorations:
Additions:
In the top right-hand corner of MS1 Voltaire wrote ‘j’ay pensé attendre’; this is reproduced on MS3; it is difficult to know to what this refers, unless it simply means that Voltaire had wondered whether it was the right moment to send off this letter. In the top left-hand corner is the sign Cx (see the Notebooks i.19); it seems to mean here also that the letter has been copied.
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History
Date:
c.15 October 1757
Ownership:
After Voltaire’s death, the MS passed into the ownership of Catherine II and remained in the imperial and then national collection thereafter.
Origin (transcript):
Origin:
Provenance:
This MS was probably taken to St Petersburg by Wagnière in the summer of 1779 along with the rest of Voltaire’s library.
Bibliography
Bibliography:
Fernand Caussy, Inventaire des manuscrits de la bibliothèque de Voltaire conservée à la bibliothèque impériale publique de Saint-Pétersbourg (Geneva, Slatkine reprints, 1970)
OCV Reference:
102, p. 205–207
OCV Manuscript Reference:
102, ‘MS3’, p. 205–207
Record created by:
Record created on: