Letter from Voltaire to Tomo Medin, written from château de Ferney and dated 9 December 1774 [D19221]
Identifiers
CMV:
CMV36752
Repository:
Shelfmark:
5-240 (VII, f.149-50), ‘‘Réponse de M. de Voltaire à M. le comte de Medini’, auteur d’une excellente traduction de la Henriade en vers italiens, à Ferney, 9 décembre 1772 (M. 9427)’
Title:
Letter from Voltaire to Tomo Medin, written from château de Ferney and dated 9 December 1774 [D19221]
Collection(s):
Link to Archive Catalogue:
Link to Digital Resource:
OCLC Number:
Reproductions:
Content
People:
Incipit Diplomatic:
Monsieur, Je n’ose vous remercier dans vôtre belle langue, à laquelle vous prêtez de nouveaux charmes.
Incipit Modernised:
Monsieur, Je n’ose vous remercier dans votre belle langue, à laquelle vous prêtez de nouveaux charmes.
Language(s):
In Voltaire’s Hand:
Partly
Brief Summary:
Letter from Voltaire to Tomo Medin, written from château de Ferney and dated 9 December 1774.
Detailed Summary:
The writer expresses deep admiration for the recipient’s poetic work, praising its elegance and flexibility, which surpasses the limitations of the French language compared to Italian. Despite the difficulties posed by the French language, the recipient’s poem achieves a level of grace and artistry reminiscent of Ariosto and Tasso. The writer regrets that their own work, constrained by the seriousness of its subject, cannot match this fluidity but appreciates being enhanced by the recipient’s superior craftsmanship. They express a hope to meet the recipient in their retreat, finding solace in their achievement of elevating a French poem into Italian verse.
Genre(s):
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Physical Description
Material(s):
Extent:
2 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 manuscript carries a few autograph additions.
Marginalia Keywords:
Inclusions:
History
Date:
9 December 1774
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:
125, p. 235–236
OCV Manuscript Reference:
125, ‘MS2’, p. 236
Record created by:
Record created on: