I know that compared to today, a lot of 18c writing seems romantic/sexual when it was just how friends would write each other. But I'm sorry, Voltaire takes Being Gay with the Homies to a new level. He even writes the suggestive parts in Italian like he did in actually erotic letters to Madame Denis...
"Je joins les sentiments de la plus tendre reconnaissance à un attachement d'environ quarante années, mais j'ay des passions malheureuses et la jouissance de l'objet aimé m'est interditte par ordre du médecin. Si votre belle imagination trouve quelque tournure pour que je puisse bacciar vi la mano quand vous irez à Montpellier ce serait pour moy l'heure du berger. E perche no? Un gran Re m'ha bacciato la mano, a me, si, la brutta mano, per incitar mi a rimanere nel suo palazzo d'Alcina, ed io bacciero la vostra bella mano con un piu grande e saporito piacere. Ah! signore amabile, signore cortese e bravo, la vita si perde, si consuma et la speranza ancora si distrugge."
— 7 September 1753, Voltaire to le Duc de Richelieu
[TR: "I combine the feelings of the most tender gratitude to an attachment of about forty years, but I have unfortunate passions and the pleasures of the beloved object is forbidden to me by order of the doctor. If your beautiful imagination finds some twist so that I can kiss your hand when you go to Montpellier, that would be the hour of lovers for me. Why not? A great King has kissed my hand, me, yes, this ugly hand, to incite me to remain in his palace in Alcina, and I kissed your beautiful hand with a more grand and tasty pleasure. Ah! amiable lord, courteous and good lord, life is lost, is consumed and hope is still destroyed."]
I italicized that parts that were in Italian
And here's what "l'heure du berger" meant....
Voltaire, do you want us to think you blew Richelieu? Cuz you're making it sound like you blew Richelieu. My guy, whyyy did you write kiss your hand in Italian
42 notes
·
View notes