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1991
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Roland Desné et al., « Une lettre oubliée de Voltaire sur le Messie. Entre Pollier de Bottens et l'Encyclopédie. », Dix-Huitième Siècle, ID : 10.3406/dhs.1991.1808
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Voltaire : Between Polier de Bottens and the Encyclopédie, A forgotten letter on the Messiah, presented by Roland Desné & Anna Man-dich. A copy of a letter by Voltaire, dated 21 October 1758, concerning the Jews' belief in the Messiah, has come to light in the Parma historical archives. The holograph version, in Leningrad, was published by Wade and Torrey in the Romanic Review in 1940, but ignored in Bestermann's edition of the Correspon¬ dence. The Parma version is reproduced here, together with the Leningrad variants. It is shown to be a commentary, in the form of a letter with a fictitious addressee, on the 14th Remark on Pascal and, contrary to the opinion of Wade and Torrey, to be based on Polier de Bottens's Encyclopédie article Messie. The reasons for the letter's preservation in Parma are discussed, as is its place in Voltaire's works.