VOLTAIRE. 97 



his young correspondents. On this remarkable occa- 

 sion he put forth all those qualities which form a party 

 chief and gain over the warm support of his followers 

 ardour, good humour, patience, courage, tolerance, 

 activity, knowledge, skill. The ' Encyclopedic,' as 

 is well known, was, after a few years, no longer suf- 

 fered to appear openly in France. In 1751, and the 

 following years, the first seven volumes appeared at Paris 

 under Diderot and D'Alembert ; in 1758 it was stopped, 

 at a time when its sale had reached no less than 3000 

 ('Cor. Gen.,' v. 127), and the remaining ten volumes 

 were published in 1765 at Neufchatel under Diderot 

 alone. The four volumes of Supplement were published 

 in 1776 and 1777 at Amsterdam. All the eleven 

 volumes of plates were published at Paris between 1762 

 and 177 '2, and the supplemental volume of plates in 

 1777. The whole of this great work thus consisted of 

 thirty-three folio volumes. Some of Voltaire's articles 

 are clever, and abound with good reflections. The 

 greater number of them are too light, having the 

 fault which he certainly imputes to many of the 

 other contributors in his ' Letters,' when he observes 

 that they are fitter for a magazine than an ency- 

 clopaedia. 



The quarrel with Frederick appears to have raised 

 in Voltaire's mind the admiration with which, while 

 in England, he had been smitten for Swift's writings, 

 especially his immortal ' Gulliver.' He had, while at 

 Cirey, written the ' Voyage de Scarmentado,' and the 

 ' Zadig.' 'Micromegas' was added soon after his 

 return to France. A careful revision of all these 

 was the fruit of this revived taste for the philosophi 



H 



