VOLTAIRE. 125 



which his nephew was abbot. The bishop of the 

 diocese (Troyes) hearing of the abbe's intention, dis- 

 patched a positive prohibition ; but it arrived the day 

 after the ceremony had taken place. 



The notion which some have taken that Voltaire 

 was ignorant of, or at least imperfectly acquainted with 

 the English language, and into which an accomplished 

 though somewhat prejudiced critic has among others 

 been betrayed, is purely fanciful : he had as thorough 

 a knowledge of it as could be acquired by a foreigner ; 

 perhaps a greater familiarity and easier use of it than 

 any other ever had. He wrote it with ease, and with 

 perfect correctness, in the earlier part of his life, hardly 

 making any mistakes certainly none which a little care 

 would not have prevented. I have lately seen a letter 

 of his, thanking an author for the present of his book, 

 probably Sir H. Sloane ; and there is but one word, 

 lectors for readers, wrong ; nor is there the very least 

 restraint in the style, which is also quite idiomatic, as 

 when he speaks of his " crazy constitution." Ills for 

 maujc, meaning complaints, has the authority of Shak- 

 speare, if indeed any authority were required to justify 

 this use of the word. The Gallicism or mistake of lectors 

 proves that he himself wrote this letter, and sent it with- 

 out any one revising it. While visiting England, in 1727, 

 he published an essay on the ' Civil Wars of France,' 

 with remarks on the * Epic Poetry of all Ages,' a small 

 octavo, or large duodecimo volume, intended to illus- 

 trate the ' Henriade,' of which, as has been observed, 

 an edition was published at that time by subscription. 

 The English is perfectly correct, and the diction quite 

 easy and natural. There is a copy in the British Mu- 

 seum, with these words on the title-page, in his own 



