12                                Diana Guiragossian

Since he had one of the clearest and most lucid minds of all
time, he possessed in no small degree the gift of presenting ideas
with ease and simplicity. Still, these rare qualities have led many
to question his profundity and the seriousness of his documenta¬
tion. We now know, however, that he collected information
with the utmost care and patience. Nothing escaped his attention.
Throughout his life, he kept notebooks in which he recorded
such facts and ideas as struck him and might be utilized in the
future. Thus we possess a wealth of notes on literature, history,
philosophy, religion, customs, and institutions, together with
liberal samplings of obscene anecdotes and verses more bawdy
than not. These notes constituted important storehouses from
which he would draw the materials for a philosophical tale, a
dictionary article, or a chapter in some history on which he had
been working for months.

Several such notebooks as well as scattered pages of manu¬
script jottings have been published from time to time. The most
complete and scholarly edition was offered by Theodore Bester-
man some ten years ago (Voltaire's Notebooks, ed. by Theodore
Besterman, histitut et Musee Voltaire, Geneva, 1952. 2 volumes).
There are many notebooks and fragments, however, which have
yet to come to light.

Precisely one such fragment can be found, along with other
Voltaire manuscripts, in the Special Collections Department of
the Columbia University Libraries. The piece was presented to
the library in 1931 by the late David Eugene Smith, professor
of mathematics at Teachers College, together with an important
collection of mathematical works, medieval and renaissance docu¬
ments and manuscripts, as well as letters and portraits of
prominent mathematicians.

This manuscript consists of one sheet of paper, measuring
21 cm. by 32cm. All the jottings are in Voltaire's hand, except
for five lines on the back which are in that of Wagniere, his secre¬
tary. The majority of the notes have reference to religion. There