Draft of Chapter CXLI from l’Essai sur les mœurs
Identifiers
CMV:
CMV36044
Repository:
Shelfmark:
5-240 (VIII, f.4), ‘Minute autographe du chapitre CXLI de l’Essai sur les mœurs’
Title:
Draft of Chapter CXLI from l’Essai sur les mœurs
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Reproductions:
Content
People:
Incipit Diplomatic:
Jusqu’ici nous n’avons guère vu que des hommes dont l’ambition se disputait la terre, ou troublait la terre connue.
Incipit Modernised:
Jusqu’ici nous n’avons guère vu que des hommes dont l’ambition se disputait la terre ou troublait la terre connue.
Language(s):
In Own Hand:
Yes
Brief Summary:
The manuscript is a draft of Chapter CXLI from l’Essai sur les mœurs, written in Voltaire’s hand.
Detailed Summary:
In this chapter, Voltaire explores human ambition for exploration and discovery, focusing on expeditions related to the compass and featuring notable figures such as Flavio Gioja and Nicholas of Lynn, among others. Voltaire also examines the discoveries of Prince Henry the Navigator, including Madeira Island and reflects on Africa, addressing differences between white individuals and people of colour. Additionally, the author considers figurative rather than scientistic portrayal of astral poles in Dante’s Divine Comedy, as well as the expeditions of Vasco da Gama and other Portuguese explorers.
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Physical Description
Material(s):
Extent:
1 f.
Format:
Dimensions:
Hands:
1
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Countermark:
Binding:
The manuscript is bound with other documents in contemporary red morocco.
Additional Comments:
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History
Date:
c.1756
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):
[Geneva]
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), p.37.
OCV Reference:
26A, p.141-155
OCV Manuscript Reference:
26A, ‘MSL’, p.xxv-xxvi