ORIGINS OF MODERNITY

literature

Voltaire (1694-1778)
Letters concerning the English nation.
London : Printed for C. Davis, and A. Lyon, 1733.

This marvellous collection of letters by the French philosopher Voltaire was originally written in English and published in London in 1733. Two French editions soon followed, but its impact in France was stymied by the condemnation of the work by the French Parliament in 1734. Meanwhile the Letters became a bestseller in Britain and another 14 editions were published in the eighteenth century. Perhaps the most famous passage in the volume is the opening of Letter XIV On Descartes and Sir Isaac Newton which is displayed here.