Letter 20 speaks briefly of the belles lettres of the nobility, including the Earl of Rochester and Edmund Waller. Letter 22 references the poetry of Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope. In Letter 23, Voltaire argues that the British honour their Men of Letters far better than the French in terms of money and veneration. The last letter, Letter 24, discusses the Royal Society of London, which he compares unfavourably to the Académie Française. Letter XXV Philosophy In the letter 25, which was not included with the original twenty-four, Voltaire criticizes certain ideas of Blaise Pascal by taking citations from his Pensées and giving his own opinion on the same subject. The most important difference between the two philosophers is in their conception of man. Pascal insists on the miserable aspect of man who must fill the emptiness of his life with amusements, while Voltaire accepts the optimistic Enlightenment view. External links Letters on The English at Internet Modern History Sourcebook Text of Lettres philosophiques (1734) in French Letters Concerning the English Nation 1733 books 1734 books 18th-century essays French memoirs Books about England History of Christianity in England Quakerism Works by Voltaire Essay collections Cultural depictions of English people