science

Letters on the English

Letters on the English is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Letters on the English rather than just read about it. In short: Letters on the English (or Letters Concerning the English Nation; French: Lettres philosophiques) are a series of essays written by Voltaire based on his experiences living in Great Britain between 1726 and 1729. The book was published first in English in 1733 and then in French the following year, where it was seen as an attack on the French system of government and was rapidly suppressed.

Key takeaways

Letters on the English belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Letters on the English to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Letters on the English from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Letters on the English (or Letters Concerning the English Nation; French: Lettres philosophiques) are a series of essays written by Voltaire based on his experiences living in Great Britain between 1726 and 1729. The book was published first in English in 1733 and then in French the following year, where it was seen as an attack on the French system of government and was rapidly suppressed. A revised edition appeared in English in 1778 as Lettres philosophiques sur les Anglais (Philosophical Letters on the English). Most modern English editions are based on the one from 1734 and typically use the title Philosophical Letters, a direct translation of that version's title. In some ways, the book can be compared with Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville, in how it flatteringly explains a nation to itself from the perspective of an outsider, as Voltaire's depictions of aspects of English culture, society and government are often given favourable treatment in comparison to their French equivalents.

Summary Lettres anglaises consists of twenty-four letters:

Letter I: On The Quakers Letter II: On The Quakers Letter III: On The Quakers Letter IV: On The Quakers Letter V: On The Church of England Letter VI: On The Presbyterians Letter VII: On The Socinians, or Arians, or Antitrinitarians Letter VIII: On The Parliament Letter IX: On The Government Letter X: On Trade Letter XI: On Inoculation Letter XII: On The Lord Bacon Letter XIII: On Mr. Locke Letter XIV: On Descartes and Sir Isaac Newton Letter XV: On Attraction Letter XVI: On Sir Isaac Newton's Optics Letter XVII: On Infinites in Geometry, and Sir Isaac Newton's Chronology Letter XVIII: On Tragedy Letter XIX: On Comedy Letter XX: On Such of The Nobility as Cultivate The Belles Lettres Letter XXI: On The Earl of Rochester and Mr. Waller Letter XXII: On Mr. Pope and Some Other Famous Poets Letter XXIII: On The Regard That Ought to Be Shown to Men of Letters Letter XXIV: On The Royal Society and Other Academies

Religion Voltaire first addresses religion in Letters 1–7. He specifically talks about Quakers (1–4), Anglicans (5), Presbyterians (6) and Socinians (7). In the Letters 1–4, Voltaire describes the Quakers, their customs, their beliefs, and their history. He appreciates the simplicity of their rituals. In particular, he praises their lack of baptism ("we are not of opinion that the sprinkling water on a child's head makes him a Christian"), the lack of communion ("'How! no communion?' said I. 'Only that spiritual one', replied he, 'of hearts'"), and the lack of priests ("'You have, then, no priests?', said I to him. 'No, no, friend', replies the Quaker, 'to our great happiness'"), but still expresses concern regarding the manipulative nature of organized religion. Letter 5 is devoted to the Anglican religion, which Voltaire compares favourably to Catholicism ("With regard to the morals of the English clergy, they are more regular than those of France"), but he criticizes the ways in which it has stayed true to the Catholic rituals, in particular ("The English clergy have retained a great number of the Romish ceremonies, and especially that of receiving, with a most scrupulous attention, their tithes"). In Letter 6, Voltaire attacks the Presbyterians, whom he sees as intolerant ("[The Presbyterian] affects a serious gait, puts on a sour look, wears a vastly broad-brimmed hat and a long cloak over a very short coat, preaches through the nose, and gives the name of the whore of Babylon to all churches where the ministers are so fortunate as to enjoy an annual revenue of five or six thousand pounds, and where the people are weak enough to suffer this, and to give them the titles of my lord, your lordship, or your eminence") and overly strict ("No operas, plays, or concerts are allowed in London on Sundays, and even cards are so expressly forbidden that none but persons of quality, and those we call the genteel, play on that day; the rest of the nation go either to church, to the tavern, or to see their mistresses"). Finally, in the Letter 7, he talks about the "Socinians", whose belief system is somewhat related to Voltaire's own deist viewpoint. Voltaire argues that while this sect includes some of the day's most important thinkers (including Newton and Locke), this is not enough to persuade the common man that it is logical. According to Voltaire, men prefer to follow the teachings of "wretched authors" such as Martin Luther, John Calvin or Huldrych Zwingli.

Politics In Letters 8 and 9, Voltaire discusses the English political system. Letter 8 talks about the British parliament, which he compares to both Rome and France. In terms of Rome, Voltaire deprecates the fact that England has entered wars on account of religion (whereas Rome did not), but he praises England for serving liberty rather than tyranny (as in Rome). In terms of France, Voltaire responds to French criticism concerning the regicide of Charles I by highlighting the British judicial process as opposed to the outright murders of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII or Henry III of France, or the multiple attempts on the life of Henry IV of France. In Letter 9, Voltaire gives a brief history of the Magna Carta, talks about the equal dispensing of justice, and the levying of taxes.

Trade and commerce In Letter 10, Voltaire praises the English trade system, its benefits, and what it brings to the English (from 1707, British) nation. According to Voltaire, trade greatly contributed to the liberty of the English people, and this liberty in turn contributed to the expansion of commerce. It is trade as well that gave England its naval riches and power. In addition, Voltaire takes the opportunity to satirize the German and French nobles who ignore this type of enterprise. For Voltaire, nobles are less important than the businessman who "contributes to the felicity of the world".

Medicine In Letter 11, Voltaire argues in favour for the English practice of inoculation, which was widely mistrusted and condemned in continental Europe. This letter is probably in response to a 1723 small pox epidemic in Paris that killed 20,000 people.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Letters on the English

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Letters on the English claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Letters on the English before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Letters on the English ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Letters on the English

In research: Letters on the English appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Letters on the English in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Letters on the English is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1733 essays, 1733 non-fiction books, 1734 essays, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Letters on the English outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Letters on the English in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Letters on the English means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Letters on the English out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Letters on the English in simple terms?

Why does Letters on the English matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Letters on the English?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Letters on the English.