60 VOLTAIRE, 



Cartes. The Chancellor IT Aguesseau, as I have already 

 remarked, could never be prevailed upon to grant a 

 licence for printing Voltaire's work; he kept the 

 manuscript in his possession for eight months, and 

 ended by refusing his permission a piece of folly and 

 bigotry worthy of that eminent and virtuous, but 

 feeble character, which had made him also refuse the 

 licence to print a novel, unless the hero was made to 

 change his religion and become a Catholic. Even 

 the * Letters on England' had suffered persecution, 

 partly from their opposing Des Cartes, but chiefly be- 

 cause, with Locke, they denied innate ideas, which 

 the bigoted clergy deemed an approach to material- 

 ism, or at any rate, a doctrine tending to level the 

 human mind with that of the lower animals a doc- 

 trine, however, it must be observed, for that very reason 

 somewhat favourable to themselves. The result of their 

 efforts was a lettre de cachet, and Voltaire's sudden flight 

 from Paris. Another consequence very discreditable 

 to him was his positive and public denial of the author- 

 ship, and affirming that the letters had been written 

 by his early patron, the Abbe Chaulieu, now no more. 

 These letters were first published in London by his 

 friend M. Theiriot, who caused them to be translated 

 into English, in which language they first appeared. 

 He was allowed to reap the whole profits of the work. 

 Afterwards Voltaire gave a bookseller at Rouen leave 

 to publish the original French; but withdrew his 

 consent as soon as he perceived the trouble into which 

 the work would bring him. His countermand, how- 

 ever, arrived too late, and he suffered great annoyance 

 in consequence. It is usually represented that this 



