[VOLTAIRE - Autograph] First draft, dated September 10, (1772), of...

[VOLTAIRE - Autograph]
First draft, dated September 10, (1772), of the letter sent by Voltaire to Louis-François-Armand de Vignerot du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (1693–1788), from Ferney on December 21, 1772, the text of which first appeared in 1781 in the collection titled "Curious and Interesting Letters from Monsieur de Voltaire, and from Several Other Persons Distinguished by Their Rank and Merit, with Reflections and Notes," by Anthony Desca, published in Dublin by Hallhead.
Our letter can be considered a draft of the one dated December 21 and contains a few variations, such as: the first line, following the poem, which does not include “because he wants to be educated” or the name “Mme de Ménage” on the second line of the second page; “un” cat instead of “le” cat in line 9; “tremble in all ‘my’ limbs” instead of “in ‘the’ limbs” in line 11; Silla for Sylla, “as I see” for “as I believe” in line 3 of the third page, as well as a few other differences, including the last one at the end of the letter, where Voltaire expresses his “greatest” respect to Richelieu, whereas the December version uses “most tender.”
All these differences demonstrate that our letter was indeed written a few months earlier, in September, certainly by Wagnière. He revised it in December, at Voltaire’s request, with Voltaire correcting it and altering the few passages cited above.
This famous letter, which Voltaire intended to send to Richelieu, was never sent; he kept it among his papers, as does the one we possess. It is now preserved in the 7th volume of Voltaire’s Manuscripts at the Saltykov-Shchedrin State Public Library in Leningrad.
It is likely that our four-page letter in-4, signed
“The Old Sick Man of Ferney
To whom too much honor is given”
is the first version of the letter preserved in Leningrad.
Provenance: Héron de Villefosse Collection.