Berlin, 18 mars [1752]

En arrivant à Berlin pour quelques affaires….
[Rome sauvée has achieved a prodigious success. Nevertheless there are two scenes still to be corrected, for his aim is to please the most severe judges as well as to be applauded by the multitude. He finds nothing so shameful as a passing success, like that of Crébillon's Catilina. He refers to an edition of his works in seven volumes, and to a separate one of Rome sauvée. All the copies of the Siècle de Louis XIV have been disposed of, and it will be the same with Rome sauvée. He urges Walther to publish a second édition of the Siècle de Louis XIV; it will be bigger and more interesting. He is finishing the war of 1741. He mentions his portrait with the Latin inscription]. Mettez seulement E.D.B.D.C. qui signifie que ce vers Latin a été fait par Emilie de Breteuil, marquise du Chastellet. Voylà ce qui me rend cette inscription si précieuse….

V.