Following his traumatic departure from the court of Frederick the Great, Voltaire wrote "L'Orphelin de la Chine", a play later identified as a turning point in French theatre from the point of view of costume and set design. As he settled in Switzerland, he composed the "Epitre de l'auteur, en arrivant dans sa terre pres du lac de Geneve". Yet he remained alert to goings-on in the outside world: in Italy, with the "Examen du Testament politique du cardinal Alberoni", in Portugal, with the "Poeme sur le desastre de Lisbonne", which grapples with the problem of human suffering and foreshadows "Candide", and in Austria and Hungary, with some shorter poems.

Even by the hyperactive standards of Voltaire, 1768 was to prove a remarkable year and this volume is distinguished by a multiplicity of works. His interest in eastern Europe manifested itself in the "Discours aux confederes catholiques", he was anxious to smooth over matters concerning the alleged thefts of manuscripts by La Harpe through the "Declaration", and was delighted when a ship was named after him, publicising the event by composing the "Epitre a mon vaisseau". His playful practice of attributing his works to pseudonymous authors was joyously continued ("Instruction du gardien des capucins de Raguse", "Lettre de l'archeveque de Cantorbery"), and revenge was enacted on the author of the "Compere Matthieu", a work attributed to Voltaire in 1766. The reverberations of the Belisaire affair of 1767 are reflected in a number of texts: the "Declaration", the "Lettre de l'archeveque de Cantorbery", "La Prophetie de la Sorbonne", "Les Trois empereurs en Sorbonne", "Le Sermon preche a Bale" and the "Epitre ecrite de Constantinople". Personal scores are settled with La Bletterie and with a new target in "Le Pyrrhonisme de l'histoire", Chiniac de la Bastide; the basis of the authority of Rome and the Scriptures is characteristically undermined in "Les Droits des hommes", the "Epitre ecrite de Constantinople" and the "Instruction du gardien des capucins de Raguse"; and the doctrines of Christianity are likewise ridiculed in the scathing dialogue of the "Relation du bannissement des Jesuites de la Chine". In some respects, however, 1768 can be regarded as a year of relative optimism, with Voltaire's belief, perhaps, that the philosophic cause was gaining ground.

The texts in this volume date from 1769. Voltaire, energetic despite his 75 years, continues his struggle against 'l'infame' and promotes tolerance. There is also an epitre against atheism, containing his famous line 'Si Dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer'. There are attacks on abuses by the clergy and on figures he considered the enemies of Enlightenment, including Malebranche and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, but also a celebration of the glories of French literature.

Il serait difficile d'exagerer l'importance de Turgot, controleur general des finances de Louis XVI, pour les oeuvres de Voltaire en 1775-1776. Lorsque Voltaire n'est pas en train de louer ses reformes, il s'adresse au roi et a son ministre en faveur du pays de Gex et envisage d'interceder pour les serfs de Saint-Claude. Meme apres la disgrace de Turgot, Voltaire projette une edition de ses edits en son honneur. En meme temps, Voltaire ecrit sur les civilisations chinoises et indiennes qu'il admire tant.