BIB_ID
308431
Accession number
MA 986.2
Creator
Voltaire, 1694-1778.
Display Date
[ca. 1737 Apr. 25].
Credit line
Purchased by J.P. Morgan Jr., 1923.
Description
1 item (4 p.) ; 19.4 cm
Notes
A retained draft of the final third of a letter written ca. 25 April 1737 to Frederick the Great, headed "au ce P ... de Prusse, fragment." The first part of the letter (pages 1-8) was acquired by the Morgan from Theodore Besterman in 1957 and cataloged as MA 1893. MA 1893 appears to have been inserted into MA 986.1-42 after its acquisition. It was later removed and it is housed separately.
Dating from Besterman.
Part of a large collection of letters from Voltaire to Frederick the Great. Letters have been cataloged individually; see collection-level record for more information.
Dating from Besterman.
Part of a large collection of letters from Voltaire to Frederick the Great. Letters have been cataloged individually; see collection-level record for more information.
Provenance
Morrison Collection. Purchased from the London dealer J. Pearson & Co. in 1923.
Summary
Discussing, at length, metaphysics; praising his moral sense in reference to the late Czar [Peter I]; saying that he was a great but cruel man; telling him that one great good he will do for humanity will be to ride roughshod over superstition and fanaticism.
Catalog link
Department