VOLTAIRE (FRANCOIS MARIE AROUET) (1694-1778)

French Writer

Voltaire was a social critic whose writings sometimes brought him great fame and sometimes landed him in jail. Due to an argument, Chevalier Gui-Auguste de Rohan, a French noble, had Voltaire beaten, arrested, and then exiled to England for two years. There Voltaire made friends with Swift and Pope. He was much impressed by English freedom of speech, thought, and religion. He wrote Letters Concerning the English Nation comparing the French system of government very unfavorably with that of the English. He also praised English thinkers such as Locke and Newton. Publication of this book in France led to another warrant for Voltaire's arrest.

Financially secure, Voltaire managed to settle down for a decade out of reach of French law with his mistress Emilie, Mme du Chatelet. Emilie, who held a strong interest in science, translated Newton's works in French. Voltaire invented the story about Newton and the apple in his Essay on epick poetry and Lettres philosophiques.

When Emilie died, Voltaire accepted an invitation from Frederick the Great to join his court in Berlin. Unfortunately, Voltaire angered Frederick by ridiculing one of his courtiers (who richly deserved it) in print. Frederick had the book burned and imprisoned Voltaire briefly. Unable to get permission to return to Paris, Voltaire now settled near Lake Geneva where he wrote tirelessly. In fact, Voltaire likely worked for eighteen to twenty hours a day. During this period, he wrote his most famous work, Candide. In Candide, Voltaire ridiculed the optimistic philosophy of Leibniz, who claimed that because God is good, "everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds." Although Voltaire believed in God, he felt that God is probably indifferent to the fate of humans.

At the age of 83, Voltaire returned to Paris in triumph. There he was cheered by crowds and received by such people as Mm du Barry, Diderot, Franklin, and Gluck.