Letter from Voltaire to Jean-Jacques Paulet, written from château de Ferney and dated 23 April 1768 [D14977]
Identifiers
CMV:
CMV36756
Repository:
Shelfmark:
5-240 (VII, f.156-7), ‘‘A M. Paulet, médecin de la Faculté de Montpellier’ 22 avril 1768 (M. 7245.)’
Title:
Letter from Voltaire to Jean-Jacques Paulet, written from château de Ferney and dated 23 April 1768 [D14977]
Collection(s):
Related record(s):
No related manuscripts found.
Link to Archive Catalogue:
Link to Digital Resource:
OCLC Number:
Reproductions:
The Besterman Collection, Geneva
Content
People:
Incipit Diplomatic:
Je crois, Monsieur, que Don Quichote n’avait pas lu plus de livres de chevalerie que j’en ai lu de médecine.
Incipit Modernised:
Je crois, Monsieur, que Don Quichotte n’avait pas lu plus de livres de chevalerie que j’en ai lu de médecine.
Language(s):
In Voltaire’s Hand:
Partly
Brief Summary:
Letter from Voltaire to Jean-Jacques Paulet, written from château de Ferney and dated 23 April 1768.
Detailed Summary:
The writer reflects on his struggles with ill health, likening his battle with nature to Don Quixote’s quest. He expresses deep appreciation for the recipient’s work, which offers valuable insights, especially on the origins of smallpox and its comparison to leprosy. While acknowledging the superiority of eradication over inoculation, he doubts Europe’s ability to address these health crises collectively. He laments Paris’s poor sanitation and the widespread indifference to meaningful public health reform.
Keyword(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:
Voltaire headed MS1 ‘à Mr Paulet médecin de la faculté de Montpelier 22 avril 1768’.
Marginalia Keywords:
Inclusions:
History
Date:
23 April 1768
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.117, p.304–306
OCV Manuscript Reference:
vol.117, ‘MS1’, p.305
Record created by:
Record created on: