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):
Related record(s):
No related manuscripts found.
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 poetry, praising its elegance and flexibility, which overcome the limits of French compared to Italian. Despite these constraints, the poem achieves a grace reminiscent of Ariosto and Tasso. He regrets that his own work, bound by a serious subject, cannot match this fluidity, but is grateful to be refined by the recipient’s superior craftsmanship.
Genre(s):
Status:
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:
vol.125, p.235–236
OCV Manuscript Reference:
vol.125, ‘MS2’, p.236
Record created by:
Record created on: