Letter from Voltaire to Frederick II of Prussia, written from Ferney and dated 22 April 1773 [D18331]
Identifiers
CMV:
CMV36688
Repository:
Shelfmark:
5-240 (VII, f.40-2), ‘Au roi de Prusse, à Ferney, 22 avril 1773 (M. 5820)’
Title:
Letter from Voltaire to Frederick II of Prussia, written from Ferney and dated 22 April 1773 [D18331]
Collection(s):
Link to Archive Catalogue:
Link to Digital Resource:
OCLC Number:
Reproductions:
Content
People:
Incipit Diplomatic:
J’allais passer les trois rivières
Incipit Modernised:
J’allais passer les trois rivières
Language(s):
In Voltaire’s Hand:
No
Brief Summary:
Letter from Voltaire to Frederick II of Prussia, written from château de Ferney and dated 22 April 1773.
Detailed Summary:
The manuscript is a lettre en vers, opening with a poem of twenty lines that explores themes of Greek mythology, spirituality, religion, and Christianity. The author references the La Barre affair, involving François-Jean Lefebvre de La Barre and Sir Morival, as well as the violence inflicted by Christians in the name of the Virgin Mary. The text also critiques the political system of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, specifically the use of the liberum veto. According to T. D. N. Besterman, the folios are numbered 40–41.
Status:
Physical Description
Material(s):
Extent:
3 ff.
Format:
Dimensions:
Hands:
2
Watermark:
Countermark:
Binding:
The manuscript is bound with other documents in contemporary red morocco.
Additional Comments:
Materiality Keywords:
Decorations:
Additions:
The MS is a copy of original document: transcription, with a few autograph additions.
Marginalia Keywords:
Inclusions:
History
Date:
22 April 1773
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:
123, p. 397–398
OCV Manuscript Reference:
123, p. 398
Record created by:
Record created on: