Reading:Toward the end of his life, the Chevalier de Seingalt (1725−1798) wrote a long memoir recounting hislife and adventures. The Chevalier was a somewhat controversial figure, but since he met many famouspeople, including kings and writers, his memo

Reading:

Toward the end of his life, the Chevalier de Seingalt (1725−1798) wrote a long memoir recounting his

life and adventures. The Chevalier was a somewhat controversial figure, but since he met many famous

people, including kings and writers, his memoir has become a valuable historical source about European

society in the eighteenth century. However, some critics have raised doubts about the accuracy of the

memoir. They claim that the Chevalier distorted or invented many events in the memoir to make his life

seem more exciting and glamorous than it really was.

For example, in his memoir the Chevalier claims that while living in Switzerland, he was very wealthy, and

it is known that he spent a great deal of money there on parties and gambling. However, evidence has

recently surfaced that the Chevalier borrowed considerable sums of money from a Swiss merchant. Critics

thus argue that if the Chevalier had really been very rich, he would not have needed to borrow money.

Critics are also skeptical about the accuracy of the conversations that the Chevalier records in the memoir

between himself and the famous writer Voltaire. No one doubts that the Chevalier and Voltaire met and

conversed. However, critics complain that the memoir cannot possibly capture these conversations

accurately, because it was written many years after the conversations occurred. Critics point out that it is

impossible to remember exact phrases from extended conversations held many years earlier.

Critics have also questioned the memoir’s account of the Chevalier’s escape from a notorious prison in

Venice, Italy. He claims to have escaped the Venetian prison by using a piece of metal to make a hole in

the ceiling and climbing through the roof. Critics claim that while such a daring escape makes for enjoyable

reading, it is more likely that the Chevalier’s jailers were bribed to free him. They point out that the Chevalier

had a number of politically well-connected friends in Venice who could have offered a bribe.

Listening:

No memoir can possibly be correct in every

detail, but still, the Chevalier’s memoir

is pretty accurate overall and is, by and

large, a reliable historical source. Let’s look at the accuracy of the three episodes

mentioned in the reading.

First, the loan from the merchant: Well, that doesn’t mean that the Chevalier was

poor. Let me explain. We know that in Switzerland, the Chevalier spent huge

amounts of money on parties and on gambling. And he had wealth, but it was the

kind of property you have to sell first to get money. So it usually took a few days to

convert his assets into actual money. So when he ran out of cash, he had to borrow

some while he was waiting for his money to arrive—but that’s not being poor!

Second, the conversations with Voltaire: The Chevalier states in his memoir that

each night, immediately after conversing with Voltaire, he wrote down everything he

could remember about that particular night’s conversation. Evidently, the Chevalier

kept his notes of these conversations for many years and referred to them when

writing the memoir. Witnesses who lived with the Chevalier in his later life confirm

that he regularly consulted notes and journals when composing the memoir.

Third, the Chevalier’s escape from the prison in Venice: Other prisoners in that

prison had even more powerful friends than he did, and none of them were ever

able to bribe their way to freedom, so bribery hardly seems likely in his case. The

best evidence, though, comes from some old Venetian government documents.

They indicate that soon after the Chevalier escaped from the prison, the ceiling of

his old prison room had to be repaired. Why would they need to repair a ceiling

unless he had escaped exactly as he said he did?