Frederick to Voltaire - 1766 August 7
Letter from the king
of Prusia to
Mr. de Voltaire
E/
1. My nephew[2] wrote to me that he proposed to visit,
2. in passing, the philosopher of Ferney. I envy him the
3. pleasure that he has had listening to you. My name was
4. superfluous in your conversations, and you had so many matters
5. to cover that the abundance of topics did not oblige you
6. to have recourse to the philosopher of Sans-Souci
7. to add content to your discussions.
8. You mention a colony of philosophers who
9. propose set themselves up in Clèves; I am not averse to it,
10. I can grant them all they ask, except wood,
11. which their compatriots’ sojourn has almost
12. entirely destroyed in those forests, but on condition
13. that they show deference to those who must be respected, and that
14. they observe decency in their published writings.
15. The scene that occurred in Amiens[3] is tragic,
16. but was there not some guilt on the part of those who were
17. punished? Must we directly attack the prejudices that
18. time has consecrated in the minds of peoples? and if
19. we wish to enjoy freedom of thought, must we
20. insult established belief? He who does not wish
21. to stir things up is rarely persecuted. Remember
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22. Fontenelle’s words: “If my hand were full
23. of truths,” he would say, “I would think more than once before
24. opening it.” The common people do not deserve
25. to be enlightened, and if your Parlements have severely punished
26. the unfortunate young man who struck the sign[4]
27. that Christians revere as the symbol of their
28. salvation, you must blame the laws of the kingdom. It is according
29. to these laws that each magistrate takes an oath to judge. He
30. can only pronounce sentence in accordance with them,
31. and there is no resource for the accused except that of
32. proving that the law does not apply to his case.
33. If you ask me whether I would have imposed such a harsh sentence,
34. I would say no, and that following my own way of reasoning
35. I would have proportioned the punishment to the crime.
36. You have broken a statue, I sentence you
37. to replace it; you did not doff your cap to
38. the parish priest who carried you know what[5],
39. well, I condemn you to go to church for
40. fifteen consecutive days without a hat; you have read
41. Voltaire’s works; ah! young man,
42. it is proper to cultivate your own judgment and, to that end,
43. you are enjoined to study the Summum of Saint Thomas
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44. and the rule book[6] of the parish priest. The scatter-brain would
45. perhaps have been more severely punished in this way
46. than he has been by the judges, because boredom feels like a
47. century and death is but a moment[7]. May heaven or destiny
48. chase this death from you, and may you
49. gently and peaceably enlighten this century that
50. you render illustrious! If you come to Clèves, I shall
51. again have the pleasure of seeing you, and of assuring you
52. of the admiration that your genius has always
53. inspired in me. Whereupon I pray God that he keep you in
54. his holy and august protection.
Fr
[Shelfmark: Rare fF840 V935 d]
[1] The city of Potsdam is the capital and largest city of the German federal state of Brandenburg. It directly borders the German capital, Berlin, and is situated on the River Havel, 24 kilometres (15 miles) southwest of Berlin's city center. For more information see Potsdam.
[2] Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1735-November 1806). He was a statesman and military leader. His mother, Philippine Charlotte, was one of Frederick II’s sisters. She was the fourth child and third daughter of Frederick William I of Prussia and his spouse Sophia Dorothea of Hanover.
[3] More precisely: Abbeville, rather than Amiens, is where took place the trial and execution of the Chevalier de La Barre. “Amiens” refers to the bishop of Amiens who called for witnesses of the crimes allegedly committed by La Barre. For information see François Jean Lefebvre de La Barre.
[4] La Barre was accused of mutilating (with a knife) a wooden crucifix that was attached on the Pont Neuf in Abbeville.
[5] Frederick alludes to the host (communion bread)
[6] The literal translation of “Guide’âne” is “donkey’s guide”. In Frederick’s letter this is a pun meaning “rule book”.
[7] As indicated in an editorial note in EE (D13479) Frederick misquoted a line (line 92) appearing in Jean Baptiste Louis Gresset’s, “Épitre à ma sœur”: “ La douleur est un siècle, et la mort un moment” (“To suffer feels like a century, and death is but a moment.”)
