This page is referenced by:

• 1 media/letter_thumbnail_generic.jpeg term 2016-12-16T22:20:41-08:00 Frederick to Voltaire - 1766 August 7 12 See a translation of this letter. plain 2017-08-14T19:38:49-07:00 52.4284455,12.9573734 1766 August 7

  ---

  Potsdam, this August 7, 1766[1]
  
  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
  
  [Page break]
  
  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
  
  [Page Break]
  
  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.”)
• 1 media/letter_thumbnail_generic.jpeg 2017-08-12T21:41:53-07:00 Frederick to Voltaire - 1766 August 7 - Transcription 4 See a transcription of this letter. plain 2017-08-13T18:05:17-07:00

  ---

  À Potsdam, ce 7 août 1766[1].
  
  Lettre du Roy   
  de Prusse à
  Mr. de Voltaire.[2]
    E/
  
  1.         Mon Neveu m'a écrit qu'il se proposoit de visiter
  2.         en passant le Philosophe de Ferney ; je lui envie le
  3.         plaisir qu'il a eu de vous entendre ; mon nom étoit de
  4.         trop dans vos conversations, et vous aviez tant de matières
  5.         à traiter, que leur abondance ne vous imposoit pas la
  6.         nécessité d'avoir recours au philosophe de Sans-Souci,
  7.         pour fournir à vos entretiens.
  8.                     Vous me parlez d'une Colonie de Philosophes qui
  9.         se proposent de s'établir à Clèves, je ne m'y oppose
  10.       point, je puis leur accorder ce qu'ils demandent, aux bois
  11.       près que le séjour de leurs compatriotes a presque
  12.       entièrement détruits dans ces forêts, toutefois à condition
  13.       qu'ils ménagent ceux qui doivent être ménagés, et qu'en
  14.       imprimant ils observent de la décence dans leurs écrits.
  15.                   La scène qui s'est passée à Amiens est tragique,
  16.       mais n'y a-t-il pas de la faute de ceux qui ont été
  17.       punis ? faut-il heurter de front des préjugés que le
  18.       tems a consacré dans l'esprit des Peuples ? et si
  19.       l'on veut jouir de la liberté de penser, faut-il
  20.       insulter à la croyance établie ? Quiconque ne veut
  21.       point remuer est rarement persécuté, souvenez-vous
                                                                                      de
  
  [Page break]
  
  22.       de ce mot de Fontenelle. Si j'avois la main pleine
  23.       de vérités, disoit-il, je penserois plus d'une fois
  24.       avant de l'ouvrir. Le Vulgaire ne mérite pas
  25.       d'être éclairé, et si vos Parlemens ont sévi contre
  26.       ce malheureux jeune homme, qui a frappé ce signe
  27.       que les chrétiens révèrent comme le symbole de leur
  28.       salut, accusez-en les loix du Royaume, c'est selon
  29.       ces loix que tout magistrat fait serment de Juges. Il
  30.       ne peut prononcer la sentence que selon ce qu'elles
  31.       contiennent, et il n'y a de ressource pour l'accusé qu'en
  32.       prouvant qu'il n'est pas dans le cas de la Loy.
  33.                   Si vous me demandez si j'aurais prononcé un arrêt
  34.       aussi dur, je vous dirai que non, et que selon mes lumières
  35.       naturelles, j'aurois proportionné la punition au délit.
  36.       Vous avez brisé une statue, je vous condamne à la
  37.       rétablir ; vous n'avez pas ôté le chapeau devant
  38.       le Curé de la Paroisse, qui portoit ce que vous savez,
  39.       Eh bien, je vous condamne à vous présenter qu’inze jours
  40.       consécutifs sans chapeau à l'Eglise. Vous avez lu
  41.       les[3] ouvrages de Voltaire, oh çà, Monsieur le jeune homme,
  42.       il est bon de vous former le jugement, pour cet effet
  43.       on vous enjoint d'étudier la somme de St. Thomas
                                                                                                  et
  
  [Page Break]
  
  44.       le Guide’âne de Monsieur le Curé, L'Etourdi auroit
  45.       peut-être été puni plus sèvèrement de cette manière
  46.       qu'il ne l’a été par les Juges, car l'ennui est un
  47.       siècle et la mort un moment. Que le ciel ou la
  48.       destinée écarte cette mort de votre tête, et que vous
  49.       éclairiez doucement et paisiblement ce siècle que
  50.       vous illustrez ! Si vous venez à Clèves, j'aurai
  51.       encore le plaisir de vous revoir et de vous assurer
  52.       de l'admiration que votre génie m'a toujours
  53.       inspiré ; sur ce je prie Dieu qu'il vous ait en
  54.       sa sainte garde et digne garde. / .
                                                              Fr
  
  [Shelfmark: rare fF840 V935 d][4]
   

  ---

  [1] This manuscript (Hoose) is the second of two manuscripts identified in EE (Letter ID: D13479).  It is described as a “copy of original document: contemporary transcription.” (In OCV this Hoose manuscript is the only one noted in the footnotes).
                    In EE’s “Manuscript Instances”, the first manuscript is described as the “original” and located at the Prussian Secret State Archives / Preussisches Geheimes Staatsarchiv, Berlin, state of Berlin, Germany.
                    For corresponding print instances available in our USC collection, see:  Kehl: vol. 65, pp. 340-342; OCV: vol. 114, pp. 369-370.
   

  [2] This is written in a different hand and ink than the body of the letter
   

  [3] Here the letter “l” is written over what appears to be the start of the letter “d”.
   

  [4] This notation appears at the bottom of the 4^th page which is blank (except for the University Library’s seal).