Letter from Voltaire to Pierre Fulcrand de Rosset, written from Ferney and dated 22 April 1774 [D18903]
Identifiers
CMV:
CMV36763
Repository:
Shelfmark:
5-240 (VII, f.166-7), ‘A M. Rosset, à Ferney, 22 avril 1774 (M. 9085)’
Title:
Letter from Voltaire to Pierre Fulcrand de Rosset, written from Ferney and dated 22 April 1774 [D18903]
Collection(s):
Link to Archive Catalogue:
Link to Digital Resource:
OCLC Number:
Reproductions:
The Besterman Collection, Geneva
Content
People:
Incipit Diplomatic:
Monsieur, Vous pardonnerez sans doute à mon grand âge et à mes maladies continuelles, si je ne vous ai pas remercié plutôt du beau présent dont vous m’avez honoré.
Incipit Modernised:
Monsieur, Vous pardonnerez sans doute à mon grand âge et à mes maladies continuelles, si je ne vous ai pas remercié plutôt du beau présent dont vous m’avez honoré.
Language(s):
In Voltaire’s Hand:
Partly
Brief Summary:
Letter from Voltaire to Pierre Fulcrand de Rosset, written from château de Ferney and dated 22 April 1774.
Detailed Summary:
The writer apologises for their delayed response, attributing it to prolonged illness. They express admiration for the recipient’s poem on agriculture, acknowledging its blend of usefulness and pleasure but critique the adoption of certain agricultural methods discussed in the poem. They also address misconceptions about their previous statements on French Georgics and defend the value of poetry, while praising both the recipient’s and Mr De St Lambert’s contributions to literature. The writer asserts that literature should celebrate different forms of excellence and concludes with deep respect.
Keyword(s):
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:
Wagnière endorsed MS1 ‘Mr’, to which Voltaire added ‘Rosset’.
Marginalia Keywords:
Inclusions:
History
Date:
22 April 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:
124, p. 392–394
OCV Manuscript Reference:
124, ‘MS1’, p. 394
Record created by:
Record created on: