Voltaire 1774 · Ferney
Carriage ride with his secretary
14:00–16:00
“Il va se promener en carrosse jusqu’à quatre, dans ses bois ou à la campagne, avec son secrétaire”
Verbatim excerpt · French original · Paul Claude Moultou
Line breaks and page markers omitted.
He takes a carriage ride until four, in his woods or the countryside, with his secretary.
Letter from Ferney, 8 December 1774
Voltaire Society of America · Whitman College transcription from the Besterman correspondence edition
8 December 1774 · opening paragraph
Passage: Sentence after the noon-to-two passage
Timing & context
The ride follows the preceding activity ending at two. Its end at four is explicit.
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.
1774 is the year of Moultou’s letter, which explicitly describes Voltaire’s usual routine. Supper depended on his health.