Autograph letter from Voltaire to Frederick William II, written from château de Ferney and dated 28 November 1770 [D16792].
Identifiers
CMV:
CMV33985
Repository:
Shelfmark:
5-240 (VII, f.28-9), ‘Au roi de Prusse, 13 novembre 1770 (M. 8679)’
Title:
Autograph letter from Voltaire to Frederick William II, written from château de Ferney and dated 28 November 1770 [D16792].
Collection(s):
Link to Archive Catalogue:
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OCLC Number:
Reproductions:
Content
People:
Incipit Diplomatic:
Monseignr, La famille roiale de Prusse a grande raison de ne pas vouloir que son âme soit anéantie.
Incipit Modernised:
Monseigneur, La famille royale de Prusse a grande raison de ne pas vouloir que son âme soit anéantie.
Language(s):
In Voltaire’s Hand:
No
Brief Summary:
Autograph letter from Voltaire to Frederick William II, written from château de Ferney and dated 28 November 1770.
Detailed Summary:
The manuscript is a copy of a letter discussing the mysteries of mortality, death, soul and transience, dismissing the atheistic worldview featured in Baron d’Holbach’s System of Nature, and featuring a famous phrase by Voltaire, reading ‘Si Dieu n’existait pas, il faudrait l’inventer.’
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Physical Description
Material(s):
Extent:
1 f.
Format:
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Watermark:
Countermark:
Binding:
The manuscript is bound with other documents in contemporary red morocco.
Additional Comments:
Materiality Keywords:
Decorations:
Additions:
The MS is a transcription of the original, with a few autograph additions by Voltaire.
Marginalia Keywords:
Inclusions:
History
Date:
28 November 1770
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:
121, p. 104–105
OCV Manuscript Reference:
121, p. 105
Record created by:
Record created on: