Letter from Voltaire to Alexandre-Frédéric-Jacques Masson de Pezay, written from château de Ferney and dated 5 January 1767 [D13808]
Identifiers
CMV:
CMV36758
Repository:
Shelfmark:
5-240 (VII, f.159-60), ‘Copie de la lettre de M. de Voltaire à M. le chevalier de Pesay, du 5 janvier 1767 (M. 6653)’
Title:
Letter from Voltaire to Alexandre-Frédéric-Jacques Masson de Pezay, written from château de Ferney and dated 5 January 1767 [D13808]
Collection(s):
Related record(s):
No related manuscripts found.
Link to Archive Catalogue:
Link to Digital Resource:
OCLC Number:
Reproductions:
The Besterman Collection, Geneva, photocopy
Content
People:
Incipit Diplomatic:
Je vous fais juge des procédés de Rousseau avec moi.
Incipit Modernised:
Je vous fais juge des procédés de Rousseau avec moi.
Language(s):
In Voltaire’s Hand:
Partly
Brief Summary:
Letter from Voltaire to Alexandre-Frédéric-Jacques Masson de Pezay, dated 5 January 1767.
Detailed Summary:
The writer expresses profound gratitude for the comforting letter and verses he received. He recounts a painful encounter with Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who, through manipulation and deceit, stirred public opposition against him in Geneva, resulting in both financial loss and personal distress. The writer highlights Rousseau’s hypocrisy and ingratitude, contrasting it with his own steadfast commitment to literary and personal integrity. He concludes by affirming his admiration for the recipient’s military and literary achievements, pledging enduring esteem and unwavering support.
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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 manuscritp carries a few autograph additions. MS1 is headed in Voltaire’s holograph ‘extrait d’une lettre à m. le chevalier de Pesay du 5 janvier 1767’, and all the manuscripts (including MS3) and printed texts except MS4 derive from it.
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History
Date:
5 January 1767
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.115, p.215–218
OCV Manuscript Reference:
vol.115, ‘MS3’, p.218
Record created by:
Record created on: