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D O C U M E N T S OF
C A T H E R I N E THE G R E A T

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DOCUMENTS OF
CATHERINE THE GREAT
T h e Correspondence with
Voltaire and the Instruction of 1767
in the English text of 1768

EDITED BY

W. F. R E D D A W A Y , M.A.
Fellow of King's College
Cambridge

CAMBRIDGE
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS

193 1

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To
A. P. GOUDY

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CONTENTS
Introduction page ix
T h e C o r r e s p o n d e n c e w i t h Voltaire, L e t t e r s I t o C L I X
pages 1-213

THE GRAND INSTRUCTIONS

Chap. I. T h a t Russia is an European State • • page 216
I I . Of the Extent of the Russian Empire . . . 216
I I I . O f the Safety of the Institutions of Monarchy . 217
I V . T h a t there must be a political Body, to w h o m the
Care and strict Execution of these L a w s ought
to be confided 217
V . Of the Situation of the People in general . . 219
V I . O f the L a w s in general 220
V I I . O f the L a w s in particular 222
V I I I . O f Punishments 225
I X . O f the Administration of Justice in g e n e r a l . . 228
X . O f the Forms of criminal Courts . . . . 235
X L T h a t a Society of Citizens requires a certain fixed
Order 256
X I I . Of the Propagation of the human Species in a State 257
X I I I . O f handicraft Trades and Commerce . . . 262
X I V . O f Education 271
X V . O f the Nobility 273
X V I . O f the middling Sort of People . . . . 275
X V I I . O f the Cities 276
X V I I I . O f Inheritances 278
X I X . Of the Composition of Laws 282
X X . Of the different Statutes which require Explanation 285

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viii
Chap. X X I . O f good Order, otherwise termed Police . 295
X X I I . O f the Expences, Revenues, and publick
Management of the Finances; that is, of the
Oeconomy of the State, otherwise termed
the Direction of the Exchequer . . . 300
Notes 311
Table of Events, 1762-77 330
Index 339

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INTRODUCTION

(i)
" V i v e Factorable C a t h e r i n e ! " cried V o l t a i r e .
" V o u s etes d e v e n u e m a passion d o m i n a n t e . . . .Je m e mets a
vos pieds, j e les baise b e a u c o u p plus respectueusement q u e
c e u x du p a p e . . . . J e m e mets a vos pieds avec adoration de
latrie."
" Je p r e n d s hardiment ce titre de votre f a v o r i t e " , replied the
E m p r e s s , " J e baiserai de b o n cceur cette m a i n qui a ecrit tant
de belles choses Je ne cesserai de v o u s souhaiter 1'itge de
Mathusalem."
T h u s wrote t w o creators of the eighteenth century in the
years in w h i c h that century reached and passed its height. B o t h
w e r e adventurers w i t h those cosmopolitan careers in w h i c h the
age a b o u n d e d . T h e dictator of F r e n c h learning had been safer in
Berlin than in Paris, and n o w posed as a S w i s s . T h e G e r m a n
princess, ever studiously Russian, had l o n g dreaded the Peters­
b u r g Bastille, and n o w lay in peril of deposition. I n externals,
indeed, no t w o correspondents could b e m o r e unlike. Voltaire,
w h e n the interchange b e g a n , verged on s e v e n t y , w h i l e Catherine
had not half his y e a r s . L i k e T h i e r s , h e w a s " a l l b r a i n " , w h i l e
in face and frame he formed the prototype o f the frail L e o X I I I ,
ablest and most gentle o f m o d e r n p o p e s . Catherine, b u t a few
years earlier, had c h a r m e d y o u n g Poniatowski into forgetting
that Siberia existed. W i t h her black hair and l o n g eyelashes, her
skin of dazzling whiteness, her lips m a d e for kisses, her perfect
h a n d s and arms, h e r pleasant v o i c e and active bearing, h e
adored a mistress at once captivating and noble, w h o turned
w i t h perfect ease from the gayest trifling to the most serious
calculations. I n gaiety indeed she resembled Voltaire, and like
h i m she remained g a y long after y o u t h had flown. H e r i m m e n s e
vitality p r o d u c e d w h a t he o w e d to his m o r e subtle insight and
long-practised pose.
T h e i r gaiety informs a correspondence w h i c h illuminates the

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years 1 7 6 3 - 7 7 , years w h i c h form the v e r y pith and m a r r o w of

the c e n t u r y . F o r E u r o p e , freed from the internecine strife w h i c h
b e g a n in 1740, had n o w t u r n e d hopefully to the a d v a n c e m e n t of
civilisation, and, ere Voltaire died, achieved astonishing s u c c e s s .
C o o k and others only less eminent explored the earth, w h i l e the
scientists c o m p u t e d its density and explained its structure.
W i t h i n a decade, h y d r o g e n , nitrogen and o x y g e n w e r e d i s ­
covered. Coke, Watt, Arkwright, Hargreaves, W e d g w o o d — s u c h
names w e r e pledges that w h a t the scientist might discover w o u l d
be applied to the benefit of m a n . Inoculation and steam p o w e r
w e r e introduced. M e a n w h i l e the science o f g o v e r n m e n t shared
in the a d v a n c e . A y o u n g Italian e x p o u n d e d the relations b e ­
t w e e n c r i m e and p u n i s h m e n t : a Portuguese statesman c o n ­
d e m n e d slavery. A u t o c r a t s in other lands s h o w e d themselves
eager for n e w light, b u t w h i l e t h e y turned towards M o n t e s q u i e u ,
R o u s s e a u p r o d u c e d a m i r a g e or a n e w illumination. Religious
intolerance at least w a s c o n d e m n e d b y all progressive m e n . W h i l e
W e s l e y w a s b e c o m i n g a national institution, the Jesuit h o l d w a s
b r o k e n , and the F r e n c h philosophers gained the ear of educated
E u r o p e . " S i Topinion est la reine d u m o n d e " , w r o t e Voltaire
to D ' A l e m b e r t , " l e s philosophes gouvernent cette r e i n e . "
T h e m o v e m e n t of the h u m a n m i n d in these years shook
e c o n o m i c theory n o less t h a n p h y s i c a l , political a n d religious.
W h i l e A d a m S m i t h was w o r k i n g out his system, N e c k e r and
T u r g o t stood opposed. I n this electric atmosphere, m o r e o v e r ,
art flourished. F o r the a g e , w i t h its classical dignity, proportion
and restraint, it could be claimed that in it every article that the
F r e n c h peasant saw around h i m w a s a thing of b e a u t y . W h i l e
Johnson talked w i t h Bos w e l l , and G o l d s m i t h , Sterne, S h e r i d an
and S m o l l e t t c h a r m e d m a n k i n d , L e s s i n g and G o e t h e w e r e dis­
c o v e r i n g n e w avenues to the emotions. C o n s c i o u s of its p r o ­
gressive civilisation, E u r o p e w a s at this time j u s t l y p r o u d .

I n 1 7 6 2 Voltaire had b e e n for a generation the unquestioned

patriarch o f literary E u r o p e . " F o r a p o e t " , said R a m e a u ' s
n e p h e w , " t h e r e is V o l t a i r e . " " A n d w h o e l s e ? " " V o l t a i r e . "

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xi
" A n d for a t h i r d ? " " V o l t a i r e . " " A n d a fourth ? " " V o l t a i r e . "
A century after his death, John M o r l e y could still describe h i m
as t h e v e r y e y e o f m o d e r n illumination, t h e m o s t trenchant
writer in the w o r l d . T h i s rank w a s t h e reward o f his prose, and
not least o f his 14,000 letters.
Frederick the G r e a t , the foremost contemporary m o n a r c h ,
and t h e most vindictive, forgave h i m everything rather than b e
s h u t o u t from his correspondence. T h i s , w h i c h n o mortal has
surpassed and of w h i c h Frederick saw b u t a tiny fraction, m a d e
Voltaire " t h e n e w s v e n d o r o f E u r o p e " and a really considerable
p o w e r . I n Russia, w h e r e t h e educated and fashionable aped t h e
F r e n c h , his n a m e h a d b e c o m e generic for a m a n of letters.
Russians placed their sons dans les Voltaire, as S w i s s families,
b r o u g h t u p o n C r u s o e , b e c a m e R o b i n s o n o n desert islands.
U n t i l 1 7 6 2 , h o w e v e r , w h e n " a l m o s t w i t h a saucer of cherry
b r a n d y at h e r lips " t h e daughter o f the great Peter died, Voltaire
c o u l d claim n o p u p i l o n t h e Russian throne. T h r o u g h five
campaigns, indeed, E l i z a b e t h ' s troops o n the east o f Prussia, like
those o f L o u i s X V o n t h e west, had b e e n striving to crush that
c h a m p i o n o f P h i l o s o p h y , t h e " w i c k e d m a n , w h o turned h o l y
things into ridicule a n d n e v e r w e n t to c h u r c h " .
T h e s u m m e r o f 1 7 6 2 , h o w e v e r , witnessed t h e s u d d e n rise of
a n e w planet as radiant as Voltaire himself. Startled in the
spring b y the n e w s that Peter I I I , Elizabeth's successor, h a d
c h a n g e d sides, thus saving Prussia, E u r o p e learned in t h e
s u m m e r that h e h a d b e e n assassinated and that his w i d o w h a d
seized the c r o w n . V o l t a i r e , trembling for " p h i l o s o p h y " in its
1

struggle w i t h priest-ridden m o n a r c h y , saw F r e d e r i c k restored

to p o w e r and a philosopher-empress installed i n Russia. F o r
Catherine, although perhaps " t h e m o s t political w o m a n in
h i s t o r y " , w a s also his d e v o t e d p u p i l . T h e i r m u t u a l magnetism
t r i u m p h e d over distance. N e x t year a contact w a s established
w h i c h only death could break.
T h e actual intermediary seems to have b e e n Pictet, Catherine's
1
The inverted commas, or a precautionary P, warn the reader that there
is no question of metaphysics (which D'Alembert indeed associated with
medicine and theology as the greatest absurdities produced by man) but
rather of an enthusiasm for a " fertilising medley of new notions " poured out
by literary men interested in natural science.

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xii
gigantic secretary from Geneva. Voltaire, dreading some
government onslaught which would renew his acquaintance with
the Bastille, had bought four estates near the Swiss frontier, thus
becoming a citizen of Berne and of Geneva as well as of France.
Secure at Ferney within this "sort of quadrilateral", he could
write of himself as an old Swiss loving freedom, while orthodox
French became "les Welches", the un-French W hall-marking
them as barbarians. Both to him and to his correspondents the
curiosity of the French post office was well known, and his
letters were not seldom phrased to instruct or defy or hoodwink
the ministers of Louis X V .
Voltaire was already deeply interested in Russia. Ivan
Shuvalov, a Russian Maecenas, had commissioned him to write
a history of Peter the Great, and the consummate courtier sent
one graceful compliment after another from Geneva to Peters­
burg. Now it was congratulation on taking Colberg from the
Prussians, now condolence on the death of Elizabeth, now
defence of her father's reforms against the doctrinaire strictures
of Rousseau. His admiration for Russia was no less sincere than
the investigation which evoked it. The laws of history, he de­
clared, allowed no palliative or disguise of Peter's condemnation
of his son to death. But the five great non-Greek churches of
Petersburg, monuments of the spirit of toleration, formed an
example to other nations. Poltava, where the Swedish king was
overthrown and Peter's new creation made secure, gave the
opportunity for a great spread of civilisation and was therefore
to Voltaire the only battle which has promoted the happiness of
the human race. To him Elizabeth was not the crapulous illiterate
but the clement empress who sentenced no man to death. The
rumour ran that her successor had been poisoned or strangled
by his wife, and Voltaire believed that she herself would soon be
overthrown. But he was prepared to welcome her as the fourth
woman to defend the great Peter's work and above all as the
upholder of toleration.
Within a month of Peter's murder, indeed, Pictet was vin­
dicating his mistress and the Russian nation in a letter to Voltaire.
The Tsar, wrote Catherine's secretary, had sunk into open and
incessant debauchery, and his people had naturally replaced him

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xiii
by 'the worthiest and greatest empress whom the world had
1

ever known". His letter crossed one to Shuvalov, in which

Voltaire made light of the assassination. Like the Jesuits of old,
he declared, Providence makes use of every means, and a
drunkard's death from colic at least teaches us to be sober.
Another, dated Ferney, 25 September 1762, extols Catherine
for her offer to print the menaced Encyclopaedia in Russia.
Before the year ended, Pictet reported his mistress, "qui les
sait presque toutes par cceur ", as clamouring for Voltaire's works,
and the Russian court for permission to act his latest plays. Thus
was the way prepared for empress and patriarch to correspond
direct.

(Hi)
It is much to be deplored that during its first three years the
correspondence between Catherine and Voltaire survives only in
fragments. With the aid of drafts which may never have been
copied and sent, or, if sent, may have failed to arrive, it is
possible, however, to outline their relations. The foundation of
their intercourse was their need of one another for the achieve­
ment of their purposes in life. Catherine, it is true, was sincerely
grateful to the "philosopher" whose works had formed her
mind and style, and, when she was on the verge of suicide, had
relieved the spiritual starvation and social torment of her exist­
ence. As an amateur of intellectual exchanges, she relished in
Voltaire's letters that which she derived also from other "philo­
sophers", notably from Diderot and Grimm, by word of
mouth. But with their common master, her senior by five and
thirty years, she could never chatter as artlessly as sometimes
with the disciples. To her Voltaire must be the arbiter of her
credit and of Russia's in the eyes of the enlightened world.
Whether or no the topic was political, her letters to Voltaire
were always in some degree documents of state.
Voltaire, on the other hand, found in Catherine an ally of
rising value as her hold on the Russian sceptre grew more firm.
All his most cherished projects she might attain or at least
advance. While Jesuit influence appeared to be supreme in

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xiv
F r a n c e , Voltaireans ruled or seemed likely to rule in Prussia,
Russia, D e n m a r k , S w e d e n , the E m p i r e , and p e r h a p s elsewhere.
T h i s handful of enlightened despots m i g h t defy the priests and
spread over n o n - L a t i n E u r o p e the liberty w h i c h w o n Voltaire's
enthusiastic admiration a m o n g the English, D u t c h and S w i s s .
C o m p a r e d w i t h this great h o p e , Catherine's p o w e r to subsidise
the " p h i l o s o p h e r s " and their proteges was i n Voltaire's eyes a
small t h o u g h real merit. W h i l e some English statesmen looked
v a g u e l y to the n e w n o r t h e r n star to preserve E u r o p e from
B o u r b o n domination, Voltaire formed the precise and not u n ­
f o u n d e d belief that the empress was ready to free her o w n
oppressed subjects and those of the T u r k s and P o l e s . T h e
historian of the great P e t e r was eager for fresh Poltavas.
S u c h were the realities w h i c h underlay the embroidered surface
o f their correspondence. W a l i s z e w s k i , the Polish advocatus
diaboliy sneeringly r e m i n d s us that in Voltaire's letters to
D ' A l e m b e r t Catherine b e c o m e s simply la belle Cateau, or
Cateau w i t h o u t the belle, a n d that the t w o philosophers agree
that s u c h converts give " p h i l o s o p h y " b u t little cause to boast.
C a t h e r i n e , moreover, for all h e r incense, kept h e r n e p h e w s away
f r o m the patriarch and h i m s e l f from P e t e r s b u r g . " F o r G o d ' s
s a k e " , she implored G r i m m in M a r c h 1 7 7 8 , " a d v i s e the o c t o ­
genarian to remain in P a r i s . W h a t should h e d o h e r e ? H e
w o u l d die, here or b y the w a y s i d e , of cold, weariness and bad
roads T e l l h i m that Cateau is only good to see from a dis­
tance. T h a t Cateau tickled m e not a little." A n unprejudiced
reader m a y think that neither of these letters convicts the writers
o f h y p o c r i s y in their m u t u a l c o m p l i m e n t s . I n their a g e , indeed,
epistolary courtesy had b e c o m e s o m e w h a t m e c h a n i c a l , as w h e n ,
for e x a m p l e , a y o u n g n o b l e ascribed the success o f his courtship
to t h e r e n o w n of his parents' virtues. N o t h i n g i n the Catherine-
V o l t a i r e letters was m o r e dangerous to truth than Frederick's
e x c u s e for n o t inviting " the divine E m i l y " w i t h Voltaire lest her
radiance, added to V o l t a i r e ' s , should b e too b l i n d i n g for his
m e r e l y mortal vision. A c o m p l i m e n t in a letter m e a n t neither
m o r e n o r less than a b o w o n m e e t i n g in the street.

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XV

(iv)
W h e t h e r sincere or not, the letters of Voltaire to Catherine were
unquestionably written b y Voltaire. Is the converse true?
A c c o r d i n g to the article o n Catherine in the eleventh edition of
the Encyclopaedia Britannica, " t h e letters to Voltaire attributed
to her are not hers, and w e r e p r o b a b l y c o m p o s e d for her b y
A n d r e i S h u v a l o v " . T h e writer gives neither his n a m e , nor his
authority, nor his reasons, b u t he declares that all other accounts
of Catherine have b e e n superseded b y W a l i s z e w s k i ' s . H e
appears, that is to say, to rely u p o n a Polish scholar not only to
treat dispassionately the career of the partitioner of Poland b u t
also to pronounce u p o n the genuineness of correspondence in
a foreign language. W a l i s z e w s k i ' s translator, it is interesting to
note, remarks that his Roman d'une imperatrice (z2 edition, e

o u v r a g e couronne par l'academie francaise, p r i x T h e r o u a n n e ) " is

not written in Parisian F r e n c h : it has the colloquialisms of a
foreigner, w i s h i n g to b e m o r e native than the n a t i v e s " . O n a
question of F r e n c h s t y l e , W a l i s z e w s k i ' s verdict c o u l d not c o m ­
pare in w e i g h t w i t h that of M . R a m b a u d , w h o pronounces
Catherine's memoirs (those intimate confessions w h i c h w e r e
unquestionably her o w n ) to b e written " e n tres b o n frangais".
B u t has Waliszewski p r o v e d that Catherine's letters to Voltaire
w e r e written for h e r ? T h e passage u p o n w h i c h the e n c y c l o ­
paedist m a y rely occurs i n book i n , chapter ii o f the Roman. It
is conspicuously u n c o n v i n c i n g . T h e author first quotes the
v e r d i c t of M . Q u e r a r d , w h o is certain that not one of the letters
to Voltaire was written b y an empress to w h o m " l a langue
francaise etait p e u f a m i l i e r e " . M . Querard places t h e m a m o n g
his Supercheries litteraires ddvoilees, because h e finds t h e m , as
c o m p a r e d w i t h C a t h e r i n e ' s instructions to the brother of
L o u i s X V I , so far superior in style and sense as to establish a
difference of authorship. H e makes no a c c o u n t o f t w o vital
considerations—that the letters were written in Catherine's
p r i m e , the instructions, in her old a g e ; and that in 1763 her
usual vehicle was F r e n c h , for w h i c h she gradually substituted
R u s s i a n as she g r e w older. B l i n d to the weakness of M . Q u e r a r d ' s
reasoning, W a l i s z e w s k i half adopts his conclusion, w h i c h he

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t h e n proceeds to demolish w i t h o u t realising that he is d o i n g s o .

C a t h e r i n e , he declares, certainly wrote her o w n letters to
G r i m m . T h e s e letters contain a passage from w h i c h h e quotes
at l e n g t h . It w a s written near M o s c o w on 10 M a y 1 7 7 5 .
C a t h e r i n e loved d o g s , and it w a s her order to h a v e " Sutherland "
stuffed that, according to S e g u r , the w e e p i n g C h i e f of Police
attempted to carry out o n a naturalised court banker of that
n a m e . A t this time " A n d e r s o n " w a s w i t h his mistress, w h o thus
depicts the scene and m u c h of her o w n character as w e l l .
" M a i s le m o y e n d'ecrire? ne voila-t-il pas T o m A n d e r s o n qui
d e m a n d e a etre c o u v e r t ; il s'est place vis-a-vis d e m o i sur u n
fauteuil; j ' a i le bras g a u c h e et lui la patte droite a p p u y e s sur u n e
croisee ouverte, q u ' o n pourrait prendre p o u r u n e porte d'eglise,
si elle n'etait au troisieme etage. D e cette croisee sir A n d e r s o n
c o n s i d e r e , p r i m o , la riviere de M o s c o u , qui serpente et fait a la
portee d e la v u e u n e vingtaine de c o u d e s ; il est inquiet, il aboie.
C ' e s t u n vaisseau qui remonte la r i v i e r e ; non, n o n , c'est outre le
vaisseau une vingtaine de c h e v a u x , qui passent la riviere a la
n a g e p o u r aller paitre sur les pres verts et couverts d e fleurs q u i
f o r m e n t l'autre cote d u rivage et qui s'etendent j u s q u ' a u n e
hauteur couverte de terres fraichement labourees et q u i appar-
tiennent aux trois villages qui sont la devant mes y e u x . A g a u c h e
est u n petit c o u v e n t bati en b r i q u e s , entoure d ' u n petit bois, et
puis des coudes de la riviere et des maisons de c a m p a g n e , qui
s'etendent j u s q u ' a la capitale, q u ' o n voit dans le lointain; la
droite off re a la contemplation de M . T o m des hauteurs couvertes
d e bois epais, entre lequel on voit des clochers, des eglises de
pierre et de la neige aussi dans les c r e u x des hauteurs. M . A n d e r ­
s o n est fatigue de considerer u n e aussi belle v u e a p p a r e m m e n t ,
car le voila qui s'emmaillotte dans sa couverture et qui v a d o r m i r .
S i m a description appesantit vos paupieres, v o u s p o u r r e z ,
m o n s i e u r , en faire autant. S i v o u s etes c u r i e u x , p o u r v o u s
desennuyer, de connaitre la race des A n d e r s o n dans son etat
present, la voici. A la tete se t r o u v e le chef de la race sir T o m
A n d e r s o n , son epouse duchesse A n d e r s o n , leurs enfants, la
j e u n e duchesse A n d e r s o n , monsieur A n d e r s o n . T o m T h o m s o n ,
celui-ci s'est etabli a M o s c o u sous la tutelle d u prince V o l k o n s k i ,
gouverneur-general de la v i l l e ; il y a encore, outre c e u x - c i , dont

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la reputation est faite, quatre o u cinq j e u n e s g e n s , qui p r o m e t -
tent infiniment et q u ' o n eleve dans les meilleures maisons des
villes de M o s c o u et de Petersbourg, c o m m e par exemple dans
celle d u prince Orlof, d e messieurs N a r y c h k i n e , c h e z le prince
Tufiakine. Sir T o m A n d e r s o n a epouse en secondes noces
mademoiselle M i m i , qui depuis ce temps-la a pris le n o m de
M i m i A n d e r s o n , mais j u s q u ' i c i il n ' y a pas de lignee. O u t r e ces
legitimes m a n a g e s , — p u i s q u ' i l faut dire les defauts c o m m e les
vertus des gens dans leur h i s t o i r e , — M . T o m a eu plusieurs
attachements illegitimes: la grande duchesse a plusieurs jolies
chiennes, qui lui on m i s martel en tete, mais j u s q u ' i c i a u c u n d e
ses b&tards n'a paru, et il y a apparence qu'il n ' y en a p a s ; q u o i
q u ' o n en dise, ce sont des c a l o m n i e s . "
T h e writer w h o c o u l d scribble thus in her unstudied written
chat c o u l d assuredly p r o d u c e anything w h i c h appears in the
letters to Voltaire. S o m e t w o years later, in A u g u s t 1 7 7 7 , her
spirit and her F r e n c h w e r e equal to m o c k i n g G r i m m and h e r
son's G e r m a n consort.
" S a v e z - v o u s la nouvelle d u j o u r ? T a n d i s q u e v o u s v o u s
a m u s e z a critiquer m e s adresses de lettres, qui finissent par Dieu
sait oil, E u l e r nous predit la fin d u m o n d e p o u r le mois de juillet
d e l'annee qui v i e n t ; il fait venir tout expres p o u r cela d e u x
c o m e t e s , qui feront j e ne sais quoi a Saturne, qui a son tour
viendra nous detruire; or, la grande-duchesse m ' a dit de n ' e n
rien croire, parce q u e les propheties de l ' E v a n g i l e et de l ' A p o -
calypse ne sont point encore remplies, et n o m m e m e n t l ' A n t e -
christ n'est point v e n u , ni toutes les croyances reunies. M o i ,
a tout cela j e reponds c o m m e le barbier de S e v i l l e : j e dis a l ' u n :
D i e u v o u s benisse, et a l'autre: va te c o u c h e r , et j e vais m o n
train, q u ' e n p e n s e z - v o u s ? "
N e x t year Voltaire died, and Catherine b e w a i l e d the fatal M a y
w h i c h had r o b b e d her also of C h a t h a m . I n letter after letter to
G r i m m she gave imperial c o m m a n d s for all to b e done that c o u l d
p a y h o m a g e to the m e m o r y of her master la divinite de la gaite
and m u c h m o r e . N o w it w a s a h u n d r e d c o m p l e t e editions of
his w o r k s to form citizens, desgenies, heroes and authors. N o w , o n
D e c e m b e r 1 1 , fete de St Andrd, avec une gelee de 16 a 1 7 degres,
a g a i n w i t h a d o g p l a y i n g r o u n d her, she instructs G r i m m to pay
RCG b

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for V o l t a i r e ' s library. H e r o w n letters she gives to G r i m m , b u t

they are not to b e copied or i n any w a y made p u b l i c . S h e c o n ­
tinues in a passage of s u p r e m e interest to readers o f this b o o k :
" Je crains l'impression c o m m e le f e u ; j e n'ecris pas assez bien
p o u r cela, quoi q u ' e n disent M a d . D e n i s et ses amis. Faites cela,
c o m m e n t e z mes lettres si v o u s c r o y e z qu'il en vaille la peine,
cela p e u t faire l'ouvrage le p l u s bouffon q u ' i l y eut j a m a i s . O r ,
e c o u t e z d o n e , s'il y a de la force, d e la profondeur, de la grace
dans m e s lettres ou expressions, sachez q u e j e dois t o u t cela a
V o l t a i r e , car pendant fort l o n g t e m p s nous lisions, relisions et
etudiions tout ce qui sortait d e sa p l u m e , et j ' o s e dire q u e par la
j ' a i acquis u n tact si fin q u e j e ne m e suis jamais t r o m p e e sur ce
qui etait de lui ou n ' e n etait p a s : la griffe d u lion a u n e e m -
p o i g n u r e a elle que nul h u m a i n n'imita j u s q u ' i c i , mais d o n t
1'epitre a N i n o n d u comte S c h u v a l o v [sic] a p p r o c h e . "
T h i s is the A n d r e i S h u v a l o v w h o , in the j u d g m e n t of the
British encyclopaedist, p r o b a b l y w r o t e Catherine's letters for
her. N e p h e w of Voltaire's M a e c e n a s , he was one of C a t h e r i n e ' s
titular chamberlains and her " l i t t l e o n e " . W h e n the corre­
s p o n d e n c e b e g a n he was a lad of nineteen. Voltaire, w h o k n e w
h i m w e l l , ranked his F r e n c h verse w i t h the F r e n c h prose of his
o w n constant correspondents, F r e d e r i c k the G r e a t and Catherine
herself. I f h e were a supreme artist h e m i g h t perhaps have m a d e
the letters of his mistress to V o l t a i r e w h a t they plainly are—
playful, w i t t y , caressing, irreverent, politic, the natural e x ­
pression of Catherine's personality. B u t to say that h e m a y h a v e
h a d t h e ability and the opportunity to do so is v e r y far from
p r o v i n g or e v e n suggesting that he d i d . T h e most a c c o m m o d a t i n g
c h a m b e r l a i n could hardly b e a p o c k e t dictionary available at
P e t e r s b u r g , T s a r s k o e s e l o , M o s c o w , C a s a n — w h e r e v e r and w h e n ­
soever C a t h e r i n e desired to write to Voltaire or to add to a letter
already written. W h e n the correspondence was at its brightest,
A n d r e i and his bride w e r e actually guests of V o l t a i r e . T h e
c o p i o u s letters in F r e n c h written b y Catherine to G r i m m and
others, m o r e o v e r , appear n o less conspicuous for grace and
c h a r m . E v e n M . Q u e r a r d w o u l d hardly suggest that A n d r e i
S h u v a l o v m a d e a third in c o m p a n y w h e n she wrote to G r i m m
o r that he drafted the dog-scene for her to c o p y . D i d h e c o m p o s e

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her tribute to his o w n literary p o w e r s ? A n d w a s Voltaire's keen

palate deceived w h e n h e spoke o f F r e d e r i c k , Catherine and
S h u v a l o v as three separate writers ?
T h e question is one o f far m o r e than m e r e l y literary i m ­
portance. R e g a r d i n g Catherine's w h o l e career the truth lies in
extremes. Either she w a s a c o n s u m m a t e h y p o c r i t e , as m a n y
h a v e declared, or, as she claims, and as s o m e c o n c e d e , above all
else sincere. T h e paragraph to G r i m m last q u o t e d , i f fraudulent,
w o u l d lower her place i n history.
W e m a y pertinently ask w h e t h e r any ambitious female
Philosopher w o u l d h a v e risked so h u m b l i n g an e x p o s u r e ?
H a r d l y Catherine, w h o w r o t e m a n y drafts to Voltaire w h i c h
exist in the Russian archives before transcribing the letters
themselves. I f S h u v a l o v or another had m a d e the draft it could
easily have been preserved as a c o p y . B u t , a p a r t from the labour,
it w o u l d have been a refinement of h y p o c r i s y for the empress to
write out the d o c u m e n t that was to b e kept as well as that w h i c h
was to be sent. I n m a n y cases, t o o , the d o c u m e n t that Catherine
sent, differs from that w h i c h Catherine w r o t e and k e p t .
S u c h a fraud, m o r e o v e r , w o u l d have r o b b e d the empress o f
one of her dearest pleasures—composition. A s she confessed to
G r i m m , the sight of a n e w p e n m a d e her fingers itch to w r i t e .
T a l e s , plays, j o u r n a l i s m , as well as letters and m e m o i r s , flowed
from an author w h o c o u l d only think w i t h a p e n in her hand and
w h o could not dictate. I n spite of s o m e natural tremors, for a
professional scribe to forego the tremulous delight of an inter­
c h a n g e w i t h the patriarch o f letters was a sacrifice that only
s o m e w e i g h t y personal or political necessity c o u l d impose, and
w h a t such necessity c o u l d there b e ? O n l y , it w o u l d seem, that
her c o m m a n d of F r e n c h w a s inadequate to s u c h a correspon­
dence.
T h a t Catherine n e v e r mastered F r e n c h , that t h r o u g h a half-
c e n t u r y for public utterances or for the composition o f her private
m e m o i r s she could and did always find and conceal a S h u v a l o v ,
this m a y be left for a F r e n c h m a n to assert and for a credulous
encyclopaedist to repeat. B u t it is not difficult to p r o v e that she
w a s a first-rate linguist, that she had studied F r e n c h abundantly,
and that she spoke it w i t h perfect ease. F r e n c h w a s the customary

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language of the court circle i n w h i c h she w a s b r o u g h t u p and

the indispensable stock-in-trade of all ambitious N o r t h G e r m a n
princesses. H e r mother left a n o t e w o r t h y correspondence in
that l a n g u a g e . A m o n g Catherine's F r e n c h instructors w e r e
M i l e C a r d e l and others a m o n g the m a n y H u g u e n o t s w h o h a d
fled to Prussia. A n ardent reader, she t u r n e d naturally to that
literature w h i c h w a s as y e t hardly challenged b y G e r m a n or b y
Russian.
" S h e h a d b e g u n " , wrote J o h n M o r l e y , " w i t h the b o o k s in
w h i c h m o s t of the salt of o l d F r a n c e w a s to b e f o u n d , w i t h
Rabelais, S c a r r o n , M o n t a i g n e ; she cherished M o l i e r e and
C o r n e i l l e ; and of the writers of the eighteenth century, apart
from V o l t a i r e , the author of G i l Bias w a s her favourite."
I f it w a s h e r Russian that critics i n the 'sixties praised*, it w a s
because t h e y took her F r e n c h for granted. I n 1 7 6 5 , w h e n a n e w
British minister m a d e his inaugural speech at C o u r t , C a t h e r i n e
replied e x t e m p o r e in F r e n c h , the language of her private inter­
course, 1 7 5 5 - 7 , w i t h H a n b u r y W i l l i a m s , w i t h his secretary
Poniatowski and w i t h L o r d B u c k i n g h a m , ambassador from
1762 to 1 7 6 5 . Just t w e n t y years later, w h e n a n e w F r e n c h
minister, dazzled b y w h a t he s a w , forgot his inaugural address,
Catherine adjusted hers to m e e t his improvisation.
H e r letters in F r e n c h , says G r o t , w h o edited those addressed
to G r i m m b e t w e e n 1 7 7 4 and 1 7 9 6 , " r e v e a l in the author an
u n c o m m o n practical k n o w l e d g e of a foreign t o n g u e , its spirit
and i d i o m s " .
" C o n t e m p o r a r i e s " , writes the learned G e r m a n D r B r u c k n e r ,
" w i t h one accord praised the refinement of social intercourse at
the R u s s i a n court. T h i s p r o v e d the significance o f g o i n g to
school to the Philosophers of F r a n c e O f these scholars
Catherine equalled the best in m i n d and w i t . "
G r i m m , t h o r o u g h l y Parisianised, found that no one surpassed
her in readiness and preciseness o f expression. H e r swift sallies,
the v e r v e a n d grace of h e r conversation w i t h foreign m e n o f
letters left an ineffaceable impression on his m i n d , and all w a s
done i n F r e n c h . T h u s , on the vital question, did Catherine write
these letters or merely pretend to h a v e written t h e m ? b o t h the
nature o f the case and the w e i g h t of evidence enforce the verdict

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of M . M a s s o n , w h o k n e w her well and w r o t e impartially after
she w a s d e a d :
" I f the C o d e of L a w s d r a w n u p b y Catherine bespeak a m i n d
capable of enlarged v i e w s and a sound policy, h e r letters an­
n o u n c e the w i t , graces and talents of a w o m a n of still greater
merit S h e never h a d a m a n about her capable o f w r i t i n g her
letters to Voltaire in F r e n c h . O d a r t and A u b r i , her secretaries
at the time, did not write so well as herself. S h e w a s unquestion­
a b l y the author."

(v)
T h e first of the long series w h i c h has been preserved appears to
date from m i d - O c t o b e r 1 7 6 3 . I t was written at a t i m e w h e n
Catherine's throne, t h o u g h never solid, was b e c o m i n g less in­
secure, w h e n she w a s resolving to disappoint the British, w h o m
she admired, and c o n n e c t herself w i t h the Prussians, w h o m she
distrusted, w h e n the question of the Polish succession threatened
to b e c o m e acute, and w h e n she w a s o p e n i n g w i d e the gates of
Russia to colonists f r o m other lands. H e r letter answered that o f
S e p t e m b e r 1763 to Pictet, in w h i c h Voltaire plays over almost
every L e i t m o t i v of his share of the c o m i n g correspondence.
" M o n cher geant, vraiment votre lettre est d ' u n vrai p h i l o ­
sopher v o u s etes u n A n a c h a r s i s , et d ' A l e m b e r t n ' a pas v o u l u
l'etre. Je ne sais p o u r q u o i le philosophe d e Paris n'a pas ose
aller c h e z la M i n e r v e d e R u s s i e : il a craint peut-etre le sort
d'lxion.
" P o u r votre Jean-Jacques, ci-devant c i t o y e n d e G e n e v e , j e
crois q u e la tete lui a tourne q u a n d il a prophetis6 contre les
etablissements de Pierre le G r a n d . J'ai peut-etre m i e u x ren­
contre quand j ' a i dit q u e si jamais l'empire des T u r c s etait
detruit, ce serait par la R u s s i e ; et sans l'aventure d u P r u t h , j e
tiendrais m a prophetie plus sure q u e toutes celles d ' l s a i e .
" V o t r e auguste C a t h e r i n e seconde est assurement Catherine
u n i q u e ; la premiere ne fut q u ' h e u r e u s e . J'ai pris la liberte de
lui e n v o y e r quelques exemplaires d u second t o m e d e Pierre le
Grand, par M . de Balk. Je m e flatte qu'elle y trouvera des
verites. J'ai eu de tres-bons m e m o i r e s ; j e n'ai songe q u ' a u v r a i :
j e sais heureusement c o m b i e n elle l'aime.

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" C e q u ' e l l e a daigne dieter a son geant m e parait d ' u n esprit

bien superieur. O qu'elle a raison, q u a n d elle fait sentir cette
fastidieuse prolixite d'ecrits p o u r et contre les jesuites, et q u a n d
elle parle de ces quatre-vingts pages d'extraits sur des choses
q u ' o n doit dire en dix l i g n e s ! q u e j ' a i de vanite de penser c o m m e
elle! M a i s o n ne doit jamais rendre public ce q u ' o n admire, a
moins d ' u n e permission e x p r e s s e ; sans quoi il faudrait, j e pense,
i m p r i m e r toutes ses lettres.
" S a v e z - v o u s bien que m a d a m e la princesse sa m e r e m ' h o n o -
rait d e b e a u c o u p de bonte, et q u e j e pleure sa perte ? S i j e n'avais
q u e soixante ans, j e viendrais m e consoler en contemplant sa
divine fille.
" M o n c h e r geant, mettez a ses p i e d s , j e vous prie, ce petit
papier p o m p o n n e . S i v o u s etes bigle, v o u s verrez q u e j e deviens
aveugle et s o u r d . Elle daigne done proteger la petite-fille de
C o r n e i l l e ? E h b i e n ! n'est-il pas vrai q u e toutes les grandes
choses n o u s viennent d u N o r d ? A i - j e tort ?
" M a d a m e votre mere v o u s m a n d e r a les nouvelles d e G e n e v e .
P o u r m o i , j e suis si penetre d u billet q u e j ' a i lu de votre auguste
imperatrice, q u e j ' e n oublie j u s q u ' a votre grande r e p u b l i q u e .
J'ai baise ce billet: n'allez pas le lui dire au m o i n s ; cela n'est pas
respectueux."

(vi)
B e t w e e n the brilliant initial e x c h a n g e of the a u t u m n o f 1763 and
L e t t e r I I from the early s u m m e r o f 1 7 6 5 , the relative positions
of C a t h e r i n e and Voltaire h a d greatly c h a n g e d . V o l t a i r e , n o w
over s e v e n t y , lived on at F e r n e y , p l a y i n g at s q u i r e d o m , b u t
w o r k i n g as hard in his w a y as C a t h e r i n e in hers. T h e frequent
bouts o f illness, the honourable preoccupation w i t h the v i c t i m s
of injustice, the thousand d e m a n d s u p o n the time of the best-
k n o w n figure of the d a y — n o n e of these could sterilise the tireless
author. H e r letter is an a c k n o w l e d g m e n t of the first edition of
his Philosophie de Vhistoire. A l m o s t one letter for every day that
passed has b e e n enshrined in his published correspondence.
B u t w h i l e in these t w e n t y m o n t h s Voltaire had steadily e n ­
larged his fame, Catherine had vaulted to the head of E u r o p e .

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D e s p i t e rumours and s o m e h u s h e d - u p tumults, despite, too, the
fundamental illegality of her title, Russia n o w s e e m e d more firmly
hers. I n Panin she possessed an honest and able statesman. H e r
great Prussian n e i g h b o u r had p l e d g e d himself to her alliance,
and that pledge at least, for his o w n safety's sake, he meant to
k e e p . I n 1764 he had h e l p e d her to force on P o l a n d a k i n g " w h o
had b u t one title to reign—that he had been her lover " . A l r e a d y
statesmen saw that the t w e n t y million Poles m u s t either b e c o m e
her vassals or cede provinces to her empire. I n D e n m a r k , and
e v e n in S w e d e n , she h a d supplanted L o u i s X V . Britain was
hotly courting her alliance. W h a t p o w e r , save the T u r k , w o u l d
v e n t u r e to attack her ? p r o u d l y asked Panin, and T u r k i s h attack
m u s t open the fairest prospect for Russian c o n q u e s t s . A t the
same time Catherine w a s s h o w i n g an untiring zeal to i m p r o v e
the lot of her subjects. O n e provincial g o v e r n o r received from
her in a single m o n t h nearly t w e n t y lessons in the duties of his
office, each of several h o u r s ' duration. " M e t t e z le R u s s e dans
le b o n c h e m i n , il est capable de t o u t " , w r o t e the outgoing
British ambassador in 1 7 6 5 , w h i l e the i n c o m i n g F r e n c h m a n
noted that she had already raised the revenue b y fifteen million
livres.

(vii)
T h e correspondence h a d b e e n carried o n n o further than to
July 1765 before it t o u c h e d on w h a t had t h e n b e c o m e Catherine's
chief ambition. T h i s w a s no less than to r e m o d e l the laws of
Russia in accordance w i t h the n e w principles proclaimed in
F r a n c e . T o this great design she devoted a fifth part of the
fifteen hours w h i c h m a d e u p her w o r k i n g d a y . T h e results
appeared in 1767 w h e n her so-called Instruction saw the light.
T h i s Instruction or Nakaz has b e c o m e inseparably linked w i t h
Catherine's name. I t embodies that liberal p o l i c y w h i c h in 1 7 6 7
w o n her the title of " t h e G r e a t " in Russia, and for a time m a d e
her the cynosure of E u r o p e . Voltaire p r o n o u n c e d it the finest
m o n u m e n t of the c e n t u r y . I n K l u c h e v s k y ' s phrase, it w a s her
" p o l i t i c a l c o n f e s s i o n " , comprising, as she herself declared, all
that she had to say. First promulgated in Russian, w i t h i n four

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xxiv

years it appeared in twenty-three versions, i n c l u d i n g one or

m o r e in almost every E u r o p e a n language. I n 1 7 7 1 t w o thousand
copies w e r e prevented b y a timid government from entering
F r a n c e . Catherine's son forbade it to be read in Russia. Its
influence is b y no means to b e measured b y the facts that it did
not create a lasting Russian parliament nor achieve a Russian
c o d e . B u t a parliament and a c o d e w e r e w h a t the c o n t e m p o r a r y
w o r l d expected, and without t h e m interest in the Instruction fell
a w a y . T h e v e r y text b e c a m e rare. T h e version here reprinted,
bearing, in an age of literary p s e u d o n y m s , an untraced Russian
n a m e , remains until to-day the only one in E n g l i s h . T e n years
ago, a F r e n c h writer declared that since 1769 the Instruction had
not b e e n reproduced. Its rarity, h o w e v e r , has not prevented a
host o f historians from criticising it in general terms. Catherine,
a c c o r d i n g to m a n y of t h e m , w a s a plagiarist and a h y p o c r i t e .
W i t h the sole design of self-advertisement she passed oflf the
w o r k o f others as her o w n .
T h o s e w h o indict Catherine for plagiarism see in the Instruc­
tion an i l l - c o m p o u n d e d hash o f M o n t e s q u i e u w i t h a spice of
Beccaria. " E v e r y s e n t e n c e " , says the writer in the Cambridge
Historical Series, " i s directly inspired b y Beccaria's Dei delitti
e delle pene, or b y M o n t e s q u i e u ' s U Esprit des Lois." A c c o r d i n g
to C h e c h u l i n ' s analysis, not less than four-fifths o f the w h o l e
was d e r i v e d from the works of others. Fifteen of the first t w e n t y
chapters are based on M o n t e s q u i e u , and in these only 62 sections
out o f 340 c o m e from another s o u r c e .
C a t h e r i n e herself m a d e not the smallest attempt to minimise
her indebtedness to her teachers. Beccaria received a cordial
invitation to make his h o m e in Russia. S h e termed M o n ­
t e s q u i e u ' s book her breviary, and uttered the h o p e that i f the
a u t h o r observed her w o r k from the next w o r l d he w o u l d forgive
the pillage for the sake of the t w e n t y million Russians w h o s e
condition it w o u l d i m p r o v e . T o Frederick the G r e a t she
m o c k e d at herself as a c r o w in p e a c o c k ' s feathers, claiming as her
o w n n o m o r e than the arrangement and here and there a w o r d
or line. P o k r o v s k y , h o w e v e r , finds her not only a plagiarist b u t
a stupid plagiarist, w h o summarised M o n t e s q u i e u w i t h o u t the
w i t to understand h i m . T o h o o d w i n k the F r e n c h censors,

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M o n t e s q u i e u had created an imaginary F r a n c e w h i c h was really

E n g l a n d , translating E n g l i s h liberties into terms of antiquated
F r e n c h institutions w h i c h he could safely praise. His sophis­
ticated c o u n t r y m e n perfectly c o m p r e h e n d e d the device, and
gleefully read b e t w e e n the lines. Catherine, on the other hand,
copied m a x i m s w h i c h in Panin's phrase w o u l d " r e n v e r s e r les
m u r a i l l e s " , such m a x i m s as those w h i c h m a d e the Senate the
custodian of the laws and thus the guardian of the people
against the sovereign's caprice and greed. H e r ineptitude was
m o s t clearly displayed on the question of capital punishment.
First, following M o n t e s q u i e u , she holds in § 79 that a citizen
merits death w h e n h e has taken life or offered so to d o . B u t
w h e n in §§ 2 0 9 - 2 1 2 she quotes Beccaria it is to declare that in
normal times to deprive a citizen of life m u s t b e unnecessary.
T o m u c h of this indictment the reply seems o b v i o u s . N o
sovereign is called u p o n to be an original jurist. T o c o m b i n e in
one person a disposition to invent laws w i t h autocratic p o w e r
w o u l d b e most dangerous to a state. W h a t Russia required
from Catherine was the ability to perceive that the existing laws
w e r e bad and the g o o d w i l l and energy to seek out better. S o m e ­
o n e , b y her c o m m a n d , m u s t determine the principles of a better
c o d e , and someone, again b y her c o m m a n d , m u s t invent m a ­
chinery for carrying those principles into effect. T h a t Catherine
s a w the evil and that she s h o w e d apparent g o o d w i l l and energy,
not even Pokrovsky c a n d e n y . B y herself drafting the principles
and decreeing the f o r m of the legislative assembly she shortened
the inevitable delay before achievement. Instead of wasting half
her reign on attempting to think out the basis of a c o d e , she
t u r n e d to w h a t has b e e n acclaimed b y enlightened m e n as the
greatest book of the c e n t u r y in w h i c h she l i v e d . UEsprit des Lois
had cost M o n t e s q u i e u t w e n t y if not forty years of toil. F o r t w o
decades past all educated E u r o p e had rejoiced in his w i t and
w i s d o m . T o sneer at Catherine for passing off his m a x i m s as her
o w n is as senseless as to d e n o u n c e G e o r g e V for the composition
of the king's s p e e c h . S u c h a plagiarist w o u l d b e capable of
p u b l i s h i n g the T e n C o m m a n d m e n t s as his o w n hints on h o w to
b e h a v e . A s D i d e r o t w r o t e , " L e s 19 v i n g t i e m e s d ' u n e nation
sont condamnes a 1'ignorance par leur etat et leur imbecillite.

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L'autre vingtieme est a present meme tres eclaire, et Test sans
effet". Catherine purposed to benefit both sections; the larger,
which in Russia comprised far more than nineteen-twentieths,
by the substance of her decrees; the smaller, which knew its
Montesquieu, also by the programme which so open a homage
to his principles implied. She brought Russia nearer to freedom
in 1767 than did Alexander I after overthrowing Napoleon, or
Alexander I I after the defeat of Russian absolutism by the West,
or Nicholas I I after the unprecedented humiliations of 1905.
This she did by proclaiming as her own so many of the principles
of Montesquieu as she judged advantageous to Russia. Some
of his maxims and illustrations she adapted, and once at least
she proclaimed the direct opposite of what he wrote. Where she
found the young Italian Beccaria more convincing she turned by
preference to him. Bielefeld and Justi were also drawn upon, and
the supplements contain undisguised sections from the Encyclo­
paedia. In all her compilation Catherine was nothing that is
ordinarily meant by plagiarist, nor a hypocrite in any sense at all.
The obvious path towards a true appreciation of the Instruction
is indicated by its author in words which she chose long after­
wards for her tombstone. " In the year 1744 she went to Russia
to marry Peter I I I . . . . Eighteen years of tediousness and solitude
caused her to read many books. When she had ascended tjie
throne of Russia, she wished to do good, and tried to bring
happiness, freedom and prosperity to her subjects." As she
herself declared, her mind was not creative. But she claimed to
have found work easy and took credit for her power of distin­
guishing the salutary from the pernicious, a ruler's most priceless
gift. In drawing up projects based on first principles she faith­
fully represented her age, and she surpassed most "projectors"
in her power to begin to put these in execution. " I am a great
beginner", she confessed, and the confession at least proves
her sincerity. If we add that, as her whole life shows, she had
unlimited ambition, unfailing courage, together with both the
will and the power to conciliate, the Instruction appears as the
natural product of the first years in which she sat firmly upon
the throne.
Of this epoch (1765-6) she wrote shortly before her death an

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account which is indispensable to a just judgment of the In­
struction and of herself. " For two years I read and wrote, and for
eighteen months consulted no one, but was guided solely by my
own heart and reason When I thought that I had reached my
goal, I began to show parts of my results to divers persons...
including Prince Orlov and Count Nikita Panin. The latter said,
'These are principles to throw down walls'. Prince Orlov
1

rated my work very high and often wished to show it to others,

but I never showed more than a sheet or two at once. Finally
I composed the manifesto summoning delegates from the whole
empire, the better to learn the conditions of every section. These
assembled in Moscow in 1767. I summoned several persons of
different ways of thinking.. .to hear the Instruction. Every part
of it evoked division. I let them erase what they pleased, and
they struck out more than half of what I had written... I bade
them take [the remainder] as rules upon which an opinion can
be based, not as a law."
These rules, described by our ambassador as not much bigger
than the Standing Orders of the House of Lords, were to be read
monthly as a guide to the deputies in their law-making. They
were neither a code nor a decree establishing a parliament.
Foreigners, however, persisted in believing them to be both, and
the reputation both of Catherine and of the Instruction suffered.
To French diplomatists and statesmen, Catherine was the
enemy who made Russia the tool of Britain. For more than ten
months they had been discussing the report that she was working
at a code of laws which, with the aid of an assembly, was de­
signed to emancipate the slaves. Then, in October 1767, their
consul at Moscow decried the whole proceeding. The meetings,
he wrote, were reputed to be a comedy staged by despotism
masquerading as humanity, and the Instruction, for all its
casket of gold, " a compilation of the works of Montesquieu and
of a book entitled Du delit et des peines".
England at the same time was suffering from a lack of
intelligent representation in Russia. Macartney, an able com­
moner interpolated between two duller peers, had at last been
1
A renverser des murailles—quoted in French by the empress, who on
this occasion wrote in Russian.

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suffered to return h o m e , and his successor had not y e t arrived.

H e h a d praised Catherine's design, b u t the task of reporting o n
the Instruction itself d e v o l v e d o n the acid and uninitiated
secretary of legation, Shirley. " I t is scarce possible " , h e w r o t e ,
" to b e m o r e active than she is, better acquainted w i t h the genius
of her subjects, or m o r e attentive to i m p r o v e this great ad­
v a n t a g e " , b u t as, in his j u d g m e n t , these intentions did not
proceed from principles of the purest nature, her actions, like
false pearls, had more eclat b u t less value than the genuine o n e s .
T h i n k i n g thus, he penned the famous lines w h i c h h a v e b e e n
taken for the verdict of his c o u n t r y . " K n o w i n g the restless
dispositions of her subjects, the great object of her p o l i c y is to
o c c u p y t h e m at h o m e and abroad as m u c h as possible. T h i s
m o t i v e . . .sharpened b y her vanity, has m a d e her undertake to
be the legislator of this e m p i r e ; b u t in order to do it w i t h safety
she has taken care to have in the commission such people o n l y
w h o will follow her dictates and w h o will form p o m p o u s repre­
sentation of her generosity, j u s t i c e and moderation."
Shirley k n e w the Russians better than he k n e w the e m p r e s s .
T h e fulfilment of his p r o p h e c y o f the fate of her project has
given a false lustre to his estimate of herself. " W e r e e v e n these
laws to b e b r o u g h t to a certain degree of p e r f e c t i o n " , he a r g u e d ,
" t h e extreme w a n t o f respected and disinterested magistrates
w o u l d still prevent her feeling the g o o d effects." T h e d i l e m m a
w h i c h Peter the G r e a t had striven to will away b y harsh decrees
kept fast hold o n Russia. G o o d laws postulate g o o d officials,
but w i t h o u t g o o d laws officials cannot b e m a d e g o o d . C a t h e r i n e
avoided Peter's absurdities. S h e issued no s u c h decree as " L e t
it be done e v e r y w h e r e as at R i g a and R e v a l " , nor did she i m p o r t
foreign laws w i t h foreign prisoners to w o r k t h e m . B u t she w a s
an optimist in an optimistic age, an age prone to believe all m e n
e n d o w e d w i t h like capacity, and at least capable of b e i n g trans­
figured b y precepts based o n reason. Catherine had sacrificed
m u c h of the w i s d o m of the Philosophers to the prejudices o f her
Russian critics. T h o u g h she stood firm in c o n d e m n i n g torture,
she had consented to strike out m a n y of her aphorisms in favour
of peasant freedom. T h e deputies w e r e not to be told, as she had
w i s h e d , that food and clothing m u s t b e m a d e the legal right of

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e v e r y o n e . B u t s u c h slanders as that the w h o l e p r o c e e d i n g was
a c o m e d y staged b y despotism w e r e refuted b y all her c o n d u c t .
H o w could her prestige b e advanced b y the calculated failure of
an enterprise w h i c h w a s conspicuously her o w n ?
T h a t enterprise—the composition, discussion and p r o m u l g a ­
tion o f the Instruction, the election of the 564 deputies and their
provision w i t h cahiers designed to formulate the grievances of
Russia, the solemn assembling at M o s c o w ( 1 1 A u g u s t 1 7 6 7 ) , the
seventy-seven plenary sessions and the nineteen special c o m ­
mittees, the transplantation to Petersburg ( F e b r u a r y 1768); the
struggle, seventy sessions l o n g , w i t h L a w ; in m i d - D e c e m b e r ,
the call to the colours against the T u r k s ; the evaporation of the
project in a w a r of five campaigns and a terrible rebellion—that
enterprise, w h i c h for four years absorbed Catherine's attention
w a s neither a calculated nor an unqualified failure. A few
m o n t h s before the tragic interruption, the British ambassador
visited the assembly. H e b e h e l d w i t h surprise " n o t a black
g o w n or anything that looked like a lawyer in the H o u s e " , and
w a s astonished that a m o t i o n to declare all field officers noble
w a s carried only b y 242 votes to 2 1 3 . H e regarded the institu­
tion as a scaffolding, to b e r e m o v e d w h e n Catherine's " n o b l e
e d i f i c e " , the novel c o d e , s h o u l d b e complete. A l t h o u g h c o m ­
mittees functioned for six years m o r e , posterity can point only
to a collection of isolated points in w h i c h the Instruction and the
debates influenced specific statutes. H a l f a century later, ac­
c o r d i n g to Speranski, there w e r e m o r e than 30,000 decrees since
the c o d e of Alexis and no fresh c o d e . B u t the Instruction and
t h e assembly did not therefore fail w h o l l y to benefit Russia.
A national parliament w h i c h had b e e n active for seventeen
m o n t h s could not vanish w i t h o u t a trace. I t h a d taught the
empress w h a t her p e o p l e desired, and in s o m e degree w h a t they
w e r e . T h e deputies, like the later D u m a , something of " a n
anthropological m u s e u m " , had individually received an in­
tensive training in p u b l i c life. A b o v e all, t h e c r o w n had c o m ­
mitted itself to ideas and principles w h i c h m u s t stir u p the
stagnant Russia of tradition. M a x i m s w h i c h , to the rulers of a
nation claiming to m a r c h at the head of civilisation, appeared
subversive of authority and order had been proclaimed from the

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Russian throne. " T h e g o v e r n m e n t d e c l a r e d Catherine,

" w h i c h shackles natural freedom the l e a s t . . .best accords w i t h
the design of m e n in forming civil societies " , and her subjects
enshrined her aphorisms in a g o l d e n casket. O n c e saluted b y
their empress as fellow-beings b o r n to the benefits o f natural
law, they m i g h t indeed be re-enslaved b u t hardly w i t h o u t h o p e .
Voltaire m i g h t justly utter the Nunc dimittis of S i m e o n .

(viii)
W i t h the outbreak o f the T u r k i s h w a r , foreign policy once again
b e c a m e Catherine's foremost care. Voltaire, m o r e t h a n any
other m a n , could influence a section of European opinion and
thereby p r o m o t e the success of Russia. T h i s success h e ardently
desired, as a victory of the freest thought in E u r o p e o v e r the
most barbarous repression. T h e Poles, in his eyes, w e r e the
accomplices of the T u r k s and their rivals in persecution. T h e
Catherine-Voltaire correspondence therefore b l o s s o m e d w i t h
n e w life. F r o m the first year of the w a r m o r e letters s u r v i v e than
from the five preceding, and until 1 7 7 4 a brisker tempo is m a i n ­
tained. T h e n , w h e n the T u r k s lie prostrate, w h e n P o l a n d has
u n d e r g o n e partition, w h e n P u g a c h e v ' s rebellion has b e e n
crushed, and w h e n Voltaire has passed his eightieth birthday,
the exchanges b e c o m e less frequent. T h e y cease o n l y w i t h
Voltaire's death on the morrow of his apotheosis in Paris. H i s
w i t , his grace and his zeal for justice survived his p o w e r s o f
b o d y . T h e last of the twelve thousand letters w h i c h remain w e r e
a card to his d o c t o r : " N o n in solo pane vivit h o m o sed in o m n i
v e r b o q u o d oritur ex ore T r o n c h i n " , and three lines of c o n ­
gratulation to L a l l y on his father's vindication. " L e m o u r a n t
ressuscite en apprenant cette grande n o u v e l l e . . , i l m o u r r a
content."

(ix)
T h i s b o o k has b e e n compiled to meet an e m e r g e n c y , w i t h little
b e y o n d local resources. It has not b e e n possible to v e n t u r e far
into " t h e vast labyrinth of V o l t a i r e " or to c o m p l e t e s o m e

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