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Chevalier de Seingalt’s memoir

• Chevalier de Seingalt’s memoir is an important source of the 18th century’s history.

• While some doubt the accuracy of the text, others claim the book to be reliable.

• First, critics argue that Chevalier was not as wealthy as he stated, as he had to borrow money during his stay in Switzerland.

• However, others think that taking a loan was due to the way he kept his wealth.

• For example, he had to sell property first, in order to receive his money.

• This could take weeks to get the money.

• Therefore, he needed to borrow some money while waiting.

• Second, critics argue that the writings about conversations with Voltaire cannot be accurate, as he wrote them down years later.

• Others object this, stating that it is known that Chevalier wrote down the conversations each night and referred to the notes while he wrote the memoire.

• Last, there is no consensus about Chevalier’s escape from the Venice prison.

• Some argue that his story about the escape through the ceiling is invented.

• Critics state that it is more probable that he bribed the guards thanks to his powerful contacts.

• However, others claim this story to be true, stating that other prisoners had even more powerful contacts but could not escape.

• Moreover, it is written in Venice documents that the ceiling in his cell had to be repaired after his stay.

• To sum up, while critics argue against the accuracy of Chevalier’s writing, there are also counterarguments which argue in favor of Chevalier’s accuracy.