[Transcriber's note: this etext is a translation of ProjectGutenberg's #4649.]

THE WORKS
OF
VOLTAIRE.

VOLUME XXXIII

FROM THE PRINTING HOUSE OF A. FIRMIN DIDOT,
RUE JACOB, No 24.

THE WORKS
OF
VOLTAIRE

PREFACES, CAUTIONS, NOTES, ETC.

BY M. BEUCHOT.

VOLUME XXXIII.

NOVELS. VOLUME I.

IN PARIS,
LEFÈVRE, BOOKSELLER,

RUE DE L'ÉPERON, Ko 6. WERDET ET LEQUIEN FILS,
RUE DU BATTOIR, No 20.

MDCCCXXIX.

MICROMEGAS,

PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY.

Publisher's preface.

Voltaire's lengthy correspondences do not contain anything that mightindicate the period in which Micromegas was published. The engravedtitle of the edition that I believe to be the original displays nodate. Abbot Trublet, in his Biography of Fontenelle, does nothesitate to say that Micromegas is directed against Fontenelle; butdoes not speak of the date of publication. I have therefore retainedthat given by the Kehl editions: 1752. However there is an editioncarrying the date of 1700. Is this date authentic? I would not makethis claim; far from it. I have therefore followed the Kehl editions,in which Micromegas is preceded by this warning:

This novel can be seen as an imitation of Gulliver's Travels. Itcontains many allusions. The dwarf of Saturn is Mr. Fontenelle.Despite his gentleness, his carefulness, his philosophy, all ofwhich should endear him to Mr. Voltaire, he is linked with theenemies of this great man, and appears to share, if not in theirhate, at least in their preemptive censures. He was deeply hurt bythe role he played in this novel, and perhaps even more so due tothe justness, though severe, of the critique; the strong praisegiven elsewhere in the novel only lends more weight to therebukes. The words that end this work do not soften the wounds,and the good that is said of the secretary of the academy of Parisdoes not console Mr. Fontenelle for the ridicule that is permittedto befall the one at the academy of Saturn.

The notes without signature, and those indicated by letters, arewritten by Voltaire.

The notes signed with a K have been written by the Kehl publishers,Mr. Condorcet and Mr. Decroix. It is impossible to rigorouslydistinguish between the additions made by these two.

The additions that I have given to the notes of Voltaire or to thenotes of the Kehl publishers, are separated from the others by a —,and are, as they are mine, signed by the initial of my name.

BEUCHOT
October 4, 1829.

CONTENTS