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• 1 media/1742 may 15 vol-coll874-10-01~1.jpg media/1742 may 15 vol-coll874-10-01~1.jpg term 2016-12-11T15:37:43-08:00 Voltaire to Frederick the Great - 1742 May 15 85 See a translation of this letter. plain 2017-09-11T14:03:48-07:00 48.8589101,2.3125377 05/15/1742

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  To the King of Prussia
  See in the edition of 75 the 1^st vol: of
  poems page: 199
  in Paris[1] this 15 May 1742[2]
  
  1.              When you had a father[3], and a master in that father, 
  2.              You were a philosopher, and lived by your laws. 
  3.                                Today ranked among kings 
  4.                                And more worthy of this rank than any of them, 
  5.              You nevertheless serve twenty masters at the same time. 
  6.              These masters are tyrants; the first is glory, 
  7.                                A tyrant whose chains you love, 
  8.                                And who places at the end of our verses, 
  9.              As in your great achievements, Brilliant Victory[4]. 
  10.                             Politics by glory’s side, 
  11.                             Less dazzling, just as strong, 
  12.           Contemplating, writing or breaking a Treaty, 
  13.           Measures your steps, led on by this glory. 
  14.                             Interest, Loyalty, 
  15.           Sometimes together, and too often at odds; 
  16.           Dangerous friends, secret opponents; 
  17.           Every day generates plans and new dangers; 
  18.           To listen at all times, to see everything, and to do the right thing, 
  19.                             Compensate some with hope, 
  20.           Others with reasons, a few with good words,
  
  [Page break]
  
  21.           To have one’s laws cherished and one’s power feared:
  22.                             What troubles!  What burdens!
  23.           To reign is not a destiny as sweet as one may think: 
  24.                             What a price a hero must pay!
  
  25.           It costs you nothing, sire, this is all
  26.           natural to you. You are accomplishing great, wise actions with the
  27.           same ease that you write music and poetry
  28.           and that you write such letters that would give a
  29.           fine mind in France a distinguished place among the
  30.           fine minds all jealous of him.
  31.           I hold out some hope that Your Majesty will strengthen
  32.           Europe just as you have weakened it, and that my fellow men
  33.           will bless you after having admired you.
  34.           My hope is not only based on the project that
  35.           the abbot of Saint-Pierre[5] has sent to your majesty. I presume
  36.           that you see the things that the too often unheard peacemaker
  37.           is trying to guess; and that the philosopher king
  38.           does know perfectly well what the philosopher, who is not king,
  39.           strives, in vain, to guess.
  
  
  [Shelfmark: Rare  f F840, V935 d]
   
   

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  [1] For more information see Voltaire’s Paris.
   

  [2] EE Letter ID: D2605
   

  [3] Frederick William I of Prussia (14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740). For additional information see Frederick William I of Prussia.
   

  [4] This is probably a term of flattery used by Voltaire to refer to Frederick’s victory in battle.  The Battle of Mollwitz, fought by Prussia and Austria on 10 April 1741, was Frederick’s first battle, as new king of Prussia. This battle was part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748).
   

  [5] Saint-Pierre, Charles-Irénée Castel, abbé de, (18 February 1658  – 29 April 1743). French author whose novel ideas inspired Rousseau and Kant. In a letter dated 12 April 1742 (D2602), Frederick told Voltaire that the Abbé de Saint-Pierre had sent him a work concerned with establishing peace in Europe forever. It is likely that Frederick was talking about the Abbé de Saint-Pierre’s Projet pour rendre la paix perpétuelle en Europe (Project for Perpetual Peace in Europe, 1713), and that this is the work to which Voltaire here alludes as well. For more information see Saint-Pierre.
• 1 media/1742 may 15 vol-coll874-10-01~1.jpg 2016-12-11T18:41:07-08:00 Voltaire to Frederick the Great - 15 May 1742 - Transcription 19 See a transcription of this letter. plain 2017-05-27T19:42:36-07:00

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  au Roi de Prusse,                                                                                   
  voy’ dans l’edition de 75 le 1^e vol: de
  poésies pag: 199
  a paris  ce 15 may[1] 1742[2]
  
  1.              quand vous aviez vn pere, et dans ce pere vn maitre
  2.              vous etiez philosofe, et viviez sous vos loix
  3.                                aujourdhuy mis au rang des rois
  4.                                et plus qu’eux tous digne de lètre
  5.              vous servez cepand  vingt fois maitres a la fois,
  6.              ces maitres son tirans; le premier cést la gloire
  7.                                tiran dont vous aimez les fers,
  8.                                et qui met au bout de nos vers
  9.              ainsi quen vos exploits la Brillante Victoire
  10.                             la politique[3] \a/ son coté
  11.                             moins ebbouisante, aussy forte
  12.           méditant redigeant ou rompant vn traitté,
  13.           vient mesurer vos pas que cette gloire emporte,
  14.                             L’interest, La fidelité
  15.           quelque fois s'unissant, et trop souvent contraires,
  16.           des amis dangereux de secrets <adversaire,> adversaires
  17.           chaque jour des desseins, et des dangers nouvaux,
  18.           tout ecouter, tout voir, et tout faire a propos,
  19.                             payer les vns en esperance,
  20.           les autres en raisons, quelques vns en bons mots,
  
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  21.           faire cherir ses loix, et craindre sa puissance,
  22.                             que d’embarras; que de travaux!
  23.           regner n’est pas vn sort ausy doux qu’on le pense
  24.                             qu’jl en coute detre vn heros!
  
  25.           jl ne vous en coute rien a vous sire, tout cela vous est
  26.           naturel vous faites de grandes de sages actions avec cette
  27.           meme facilité que vous faittes dela [sic] musique et des vers
  28.           et que vous ecrivez de ces lettres qui donneroient a vn
  29.           bel esprit de france vne place distinguée parmy les
  30.           b aux [sic] esprits \tous/ jaloux de luy,
  31.           je concois quelque esperence que Votre majeste raffermira
  32.           l’europe comme elle l’a ebranlée, et que mes Confreres les
  33.           humains vous béniront apres vous avoir admiré
  34.           mon espoir n’est pas vniquement fondé sur le projet que
  35.           l’abbé de s^t pierre a envoyé a votre majesté je presume
  36.           qu’elle voit les Choses que veut deviner le pacificuteur [sic]
  37.           trop mal ecouté de ce monde; et que le roy philosophe
  38.           sait parfaitement ce que le philosofe qui nest pas
  39.           roy, s’efforce en vain de deviner.
  
  
  
  [Shelfmark: Rare  f F840, V935 d]

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  [1] A very faint penciled note above “may”, appears with the word, “mai”.

  [2] This manuscript (MS1), Hoose, is the only manuscript identified in both EE and OCV (Letter ID: D2605). It is described as: “Copy of original document: old transcription.” 
  EE’s note adds:  “MS1 appears to be a literal copy, and has been followed, but it extends only as far as the end of the third paragraph of prose.”
  Because only the first two pages are present in this manuscript, the rest of this letter is reproduced in EE and OC from the 1745 edition of Voltaire’s works: Œuvres de M. de Voltaire. Amsterdam & Leipzig: Arckstée et Merkus, 1745; vol. 6, pp. 384–387.
  For corresponding print instances of this letter available in our USC collection see: Kehl: vol. 65, pp. 102-105; OCV: vol. 92, pp. 186-188.

  [3] The scribe had originally written “politiques” then superimposed an “e” over the final two letters (-es).