Voltaire’s Typical Tuesday

1774 is the year of Moultou’s letter, which explicitly describes Voltaire’s usual routine. Supper depended on his health. Moultou describes a late-life routine with changing health. Remaining in bed until noon does not establish when Voltaire woke or whether he was working there. Calendars draw on accounts of daily life, recurring habits and intended schedules. Dates identify the documented period or the source’s context, not necessarily one precisely dated day. Inferred times are shown with diagonal stripes and explained in the activity details; gaps mean no documented activity is shown. 12:00–14:00 — Rise, receive visitors or work. Visitors and work are alternatives. Noon is his rising time, not a documented waking time. 14:00–16:00 — Carriage ride with his secretary. The ride follows the preceding activity ending at two. Its end at four is explicit. 16:00–20:00 — Return to work. The sequence places this work after the ride ending at four. No invented morning work or sleep block is added. 20:00 · Conditional start — Supper, health permitting. The source explicitly makes attendance conditional on his health. The meal’s duration is unknown.

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