Translations:CP 02993/12/en

Passing on now to the part of my letter which almost made you doubt the purity of my feelings towards you, you must understand that it is very difficult for me to have a clear idea of your exact physical state. Which is why, after a major in the French army has examined you and declared you fit for military service, I am required, until proven otherwise, to bow to his diagnosis. I hoped therefore that it was he who was correct and you who were wrong, but your new communication disabuses me of all hope in that regard. It remains for me then to hope that following the example of your erstwhile confrère, Voltaire, you succeed in spite of your wavering health, to outlive all of your generation.