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

Both the reading and the lecture talk about whether the Chevalier’s memoir is correct or distorted. The former mentions three evidences which show the memoir is incorrect or invented by its author due to the explanation of some critics. The professor, on the other hand, casts doubt on the idea by saying that there is no memoir in the world which is correct in every detail but Chevalier’s work is a reliable historical source due to the following reasons.
First of all, both the author and the lecturer posit whether Chevalier borrowed money from a Swiss merchant or not. The text explains that recent evidence demonstrates that he had borrowed a lot of money from a merchant which shows he was not a wealthy person. The speaker, in contrast, rebuts this notion by pointing out that if someone takes loan from a trader, it doesn’t mean he or she is a poor guy. According to her, if Chevalier wanted huge money for taking party or gambling, he would have to sell his properties to get money to do so which is not a sign that he is a poor individual.
Second of all, both the writer and the listening put forward whether his conversations with Voltaire is accurate or not. The passage asserts that it is not possible to remember the exact words used many years ago when the talk happened. The lecturer, conversely, refutes this by explaining that the author wrote every night about the conversation, including everything he remembered about that night which they talked together. Accordingly, he just referred to them which was written in his notes. So, according to lecture, it provides reliable information about their conversations.
Finally, both the article and the speaker put forth the idea of prison escape of Chevalier. The article avers that Chevalier’s memoir about his escape from prison through a hole he made in the ceiling is not true and he actually bribed jailers to do so. The listening passage, however, rejects the idea by mentioning that no one escaped by giving bribe to jailers to get freedom at that time. Also, there is an old Venetian document which shows his escape from prison and also the repairmen of the ceiling, exactly as he said in his writings.