Voltaire09

=Voltaire=

media type="custom" key="4649833" Voltaire was a French philosopher, who was a major player in the eighteenth century intellectual movement known as the enlightenment. Voltaire was actually a pen name for Francois Marie Arouet. Voltaire is best known for his philosophy, writings, and satirical plays, but was also a historian and scientist. Over his life he wrote more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets. Voltaire's thoughts and ideals influenced the American and French revolutions.

Voltaire was a native of Paris, was heavily influenced by his godfather, who gave him an introductory to progressive thinking. Later Voltaire was schooled by the Jesuits where he got a degree in philosophy in 1711. Although he was born in Paris his satirical works that make him famous today made him very unpopular with the monarchy and was imprisoned in the famous French Bastille. Soon after that he was exiled to England for two years. The experiences he had during these times made him more bitter towards the monarchy and probably formed many of the views that led to the American and French revolution.

One of Voltaire's best partners and friends was the Marquise du Chatelet. Who he met after his exile when he went to the Chateau de Cirey, where he and the Marquise collected an incredible library of 21,000 books, a number unheard-of for previous private libraries. Voltaire and the Marquise did many works together until she died in 1749. Two years later Voltaire joined Fredrick the Great in Potsdam, and was invited into Fredrick's court.

For years Fredrick and Voltaire remained close friends until one of Voltaire's works forced a law suit and an argument with the Berlin academy of science. After this, Fredrick had all the copies of this work destroyed and Voltaire, once again, arrested.

Voltaire finally returned to France, at first he tried to go to Paris but King Louis the XI banned him so he went to Geneva. When Geneva's laws pushed him away, he built a bought an immense estate in Ferney were he would spend the next 20 years of his life. Voltaire actually died in Paris, at age 83 on May 30th, 1778, when he came to promote a play of his.

Voltaire was mainly a Philosopher, although he did much more. He is remembered and honored in France as someone who fought undyingly for civil rights, liberty, and equality, along with the right to a fair trial and freedom of religion, two of the main bases of the American society.

François Marie Arouet(1694-1778), "better known as Voltaire, who's name is all but synonymous with the eighteenth-century intellectual movement known as the enlightenment"(__The Enlightenment__ by Ronald S. Love), was a French philosopher who, because of his radical views was out of his own country for much of his life, but spent many years in the court of King Fredrick II. Although he is well known for his philosophy, he is a prolific Enlightenment writer, a playwright, poet, essayist, historian, and scientist. He has written more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets. A huge out speaker for public reform who influenced the American and French revolutions. He was a huge part of the age of enlightenment, forming part of what America is today. "

He was born of in Paris of a minor government official. But it was his godfather, the abbe de Chateaneuf, who formed Froncois' views. After being educated by his godfather in an introductory to progressive thinking, Froncois was schooled by the Jesuits at the College Louis-le-Grand where he got his degree in philosophy in 1711.

Many of his satirical works that makes François so famous today made him very unpopular with the French Aristocracy of the time, and eventually got him imprisoned in the Bastille and then exiled to England for over two years. During this exile he had many experiences that greatly influenced his thinking for many of his works.

After his exile, François went to the Château de Cirey, a building renovated with his own money. Here at the Château, he began what became a 15 year intellectual relationship with Gabrielle Émilie le Tonnelier de Breteuil(the Marquise du Châtelet). Cirey was owned by Gabrielle's husband, Marquis Florent-Claude du Chatelet, and he sometimes visited Gabrielle, but he didn't live there. Voltaire and Gabrielle gathered over 21,000 books-an unprecedented number for the time.

Gabrielle died in September 1749, and in 1751 Voltaire moved to Potsdam to join Fredrick the Great and was invited to his court. They were close friends for the beginning of the relationship but after Voltaire was faced with a lawsuit and an argument with Maupertuis, then president of the Berlin Academy of Science, Voltaire wrote the //Diatribe du docteur Akakia// (Diatribe of Doctor Akakia) which satirised Maupertuis.[wikipedia] Fredrick had Voltaire arrested after this, and also burned all the copies of the Diatribe.

Voltaire tried to return to Paris but King Louis XI had him banned from the city, so he went to Geneva. Geneva welcomed him at first, but the city's laws against theatrical performances made Voltaire decide to cross the border into Ferney and by an immense estate in which he'd spend the remaining 20 years of his life.

In 1778 Voltaire returned to Paris for the first time in 20 years. He died of recurring illness at age 83 on May 30th 1778 in Paris.

From an early age, Francois had a talent for writing in verse, aka poetry. And although he wrote two long poems and a series of shorter verses, he did much more prose.

"The most enduring of Voltaire's written works is his novella, //Candide, ou l'Optimisme// (Candide, or Optimism, 1759), which satirized the philosophy of optimism. //Candide// was also subject to censorship and Voltaire jokingly claimed the actual author was a certain "Demad" in a letter, where he reaffirmed the main polemical stances of the text."(wikipedia)

Many of Francois' prose was put into pamphlets, and were written as polemics(practice of disputation or controversy). His largest philosophical work is the //Dictionnaire philosophique,// which is a composition of articles and several minor pieces. It was mostly written to voice criticism at French political institutions, & the Bible along with the Roman Catholic Church-two of Voltaire's personal enemies.

Voltaire was first and foremost a philosopher, and considered himself a deist-believing that "absolute faith, based upon any particular or singular religious text or tradition of revelation, was needed to believe in God."(wikipedia) His main focus was on respect for nature and the idea of the universe being based off of reason. This is known, still today, as "Voltairean Pantheism".

Voltaire felt that all the main forces in France(and most kingdoms in Renaissance-era Europe) were either too small, too corrupt, or not anything worthy enough of being a leading power. He also distrusted democracy, knowing it would play off the idocracy of the masses. Instead he liked the idea of a single monarch or an "enlightened absolutist" in power, being advised by a wise philosopher(like himself).

A month before he died, he accompanied Benjamin Franklin to a French Inn and became a Freemason, perhaps just to please Benjamin.

"Voltaire is remembered and honored in France as a courageous polemicist who indefatigably fought for civil rights – the right to a fair trial and freedom of religion – and who denounced the hypocrisies and injustices of the // ancien régime //. The //ancien régime// involved an unfair balance of power and taxes between the First Estate (the clergy), the Second Estate (the nobles), and the Third Estate (the commoners and middle class, who were burdened with most of the taxes)."(wikipedia)

Sources: · __The Enlightenment__ by Ronald S. Love · [] · [] · []