Cleopatra and Julius Caesar corresponded in French, Alexander the Great and Aristotle exchanged epistles in the language of Moliere, Pascal discovered the law of universal gravitation and "passed" it on to Newton... all these "pearls", and many others, were taken before the Academy of Sciences by the French mathematician Michel Chasles (1793-1880).
Michel Chasles, a member of the Academy of Sciences since 1851, was a renowned mathematician, especially in the field of geometry, and passionate about the history of mathematics. His passion for history led him to meet Vrain-Denis Lucas which offered him a spectacular collection of letters and various writings by Pascal, Newton, Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Lazarus (the resurrected), Mary Magdalene... The collection consisted of more than 27,000 documents and the mathematician paid 140,000 francs of the time (a fortune).
Due to ingenuity, his love of country (according to the letters, all culture revolved around France), due to the impossibility of reading them all, due to the type of letter... the fact is that Vrain-Denis Lucas (professional forger) sneaked it . Poor Michel, proud of his discovery and his homeland, presented them at the Academy of Sciences… They must still be laughing .
In February 1870, the Paris Correctional Court sentenced Vrain-Lucas to two years in prison, a fine of 500 francs, and payment of all costs.
Sources:History of Mathematics, Mathematical Murders – Claudi Alsina