Voltaire

[|Lawrence-Voltaire.mp3]media type="file" key="Lawrence-Voltaire.mp3"


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Outline of Life//__** Voltaire, whose real name was Francois Marie Arouet, was a French Philosopher and writer during the 1700s. He was born on November 21, 1694 to an upper middle class family.(1) His father, Francois Arouet, was an affluent attorney while his mother was of slight noble lineage.(2) As a child, he was mischievious and always wanted to be the center of attention. He grew up surrounded by wealthy and prominent people who he was able to impress with his intelligence, poetry and comic antics.(1)

From the age of ten on, Voltaire spent seven years at an exclusive Jesuit school, the Jesuit College of Louis-le-Grand on the Left Bank of Paris. While at the school, he recieved good training in literature, the classics, and drama. He acted in many plays and at the age of twelve he wrote one himself.(2) This school is where many of his ideas would begin to take shape. He became increasingly anti-catholic, believing in God and moral responsibility but denying religious athority and divine revelation.(1) He also expressed disbelief in heaven and hell. One teacher predicted that he would become the bearer of French deism- a religion that discarded nearly all theology except belief in God. After graduation, he announced that literature would be his profession. His father, however, warned him that this profession was useless and was open to destitution. Instead, his father insisted that Voltaire study law.(2)

In 1713, when Voltaire's Godfather's brother was named the French ambassador to The Hague in Holland, Voltaire's father appointed him as his page. During the time that he worked this unpaying job, he fell in love and planned to elope. The ambassador soon discovered this and sent him back home. After his return home, he became a popular local figure due to connections with friends that were now important young men in Paris. He became famous for writing poems and plays poking fun at everything and anyone of importance. One poem, suggesting that the Duke of Orleans had committed incest with his daughter, landed Voltaire in jail. He was released in 1718 under the condition that he would no longer live in Paris. This was his first taste of exile, which he would experience many times during his life. By the time he was out of Jail, he had changed his name to Voltaire, an acronym of //AROVET LI,// the latin spelling of his surname. He moved to his father's house in Chatenay and then returned to Paris. While in Paris, his first major play, Oedipus, was accepted and shown for 42 nights. Voltaire became a literary sensation.(1)

After his exile, Voltaire headed to Château de Cirey, where he would meet Marquise du Châtelet. Their relationship, which lasted for fifteen years, had a significant intellectual element. Voltaire and the Marquise collected over 21,000 books, an enormous number for the time. Together, they studied these books and performed experiments in the "[|natural sciences]" in his laboratory. Voltaire's experiments included an attempt to determine the properties of fire. They also studied history together, writing essays concerning history and religion.

Throughout the rest of his life, he wrote poems, prose, plays, and more tirelessly. he became known as one of the great Enlightenment thinkers. He was so honored as this, not because he came up with the ideas which he professed, but because he was able to popularize and spread the new philosophies in France and abroad. In 1751, it became necessary to distance himself from the Prussian monarchy so he moved to Ferney. It was there that he adopted a poor girl who he named Belle et Bonne. She became his main source of encouragement, making his last years extremely productive.(1)

In 1778, Voltaire returned to Paris again to see the production of his last play, //Irene//. He died on May 30th of that year, recieving guests such as Benjamin Franklin at his deathbed and seeing the political result of the Enlightenment- The American Revolution. (1)

Voltaire was well known for his poetry at a very early age. He wrote two long pieces: The Henriade, written during his stay in Jail, and La Pucelle d'Orléans, written in 1730. He aslo wrote many shorter pieces. Voltaire wrote prose in many different genres and forms, Some of his works are notable for paving the way for future Science Fiction writers. Most of his works, however, were critical of other people and ideas and were composed as pamphlets. In particular, he attacked the bible, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Frech colonies in North America. His most notable piece is a satire entitled //Candide.// (4) Candide is the story of a boy who leads a sheltered life in a castle owned by a powerful Lord. He is eventually banished from the castle for making advances on the Lord's daughter and is left to face the real world. A the end of the story, Candide comes to the conclusion that the world is completely insane. Voltaire wrote over 21,000 private letters in his life which later revealed his character. In defense of free speech, Voltaire once said, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." He also said that "If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him." This is one of his most memorable aphorisms, found in an epistle he wrote in 1768. His last words were said to have been, "For God's sake, let me die in peace."
 * __//Literary Works//__**
 * Poetry**
 * Prose**
 * Quotes**
 * 1) "Voltaire 1694-1779." __UXL Biographies__. CD-ROM.2.0 ed.
 * 2) Durant, Will and Ariel. __The Age of Voltaire__. New York City: Simon and Schuster Publishers, 1965.
 * 3) "Voltaire." __Wikipedia__. 1 Oct 2008 .
 * 4) Mounir A. Farah and Andrea Berens Karls. __World History: The Human Experience__. New York, New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 1999.

Voltaire! Voltaire! Voltaire! (different voices, fading out...) Me: Many have heard the name, but do we all really know who this man was?
 * __Script__**

Me: Voltaire was a French philosopher and writer during the 1700s. He was born Francois Marie Arouet on November 21, 1694 to an upper midlle class family. His father was an affluent attorney while his mother was of slight noble lineage. He grew up surrounded by wealthy and important people who he was able to impress with his poetry, intelligence, and comic antics. For this reason, he grew to love being the center of attention. He recieved his education at the Jesuit College of Louis le-Grand on the Left Bank of Paris, where he would recieve good training in literature, the classics, and drama. He acted in many plays and wrote one himself. But, most importantly, this is where many of Voltaire's ideas would begin to develop. He opposed Catholic ideals more than ever, believing in God and moral responsibility but denying religious athority, divine revelation, and the existence of heaven and hell. After he completed school, Voltaire announced that literature would be his profession. His father, knowing the dangers that a career of that kind was open to, insisted that Voltaire studied law instead. In 1713, Voltaire's Godfather's brother was named ambassador to The Hague in Holland and Voltaire's father appointed him as page. Voltaire was unhappy during this unpaying job, but he soon fell in love and planned to elope. After the ambassador discovered this, he was sent back home, where he would become a popular local figure due to connections yet again with important men in Paris. During this rise of popularity, he wrote poems and plays ridiculing and questioning anything of importance. One poem, suggesting that the Duke of Orleans had committed incest, landed him in jail. He was released in 1718 on the condition that he would be exiled out of Paris. During the time he was in jail, he had officially changed his name to Voltaire, an anagram of the latin spelling of his surname. After living with his father in Chatenay with his father for some time, he temporarily moved back to Paris where his first major play, Oedipus, had been accepted and was shown for 42 nights. Voltaire became a literary sensation. Later in life he began an intellectual relationship with Marquise de Chatelet in Chateau de Cirey. Together they studied history and built up a library of over 21,000 books. They also performed experiments concerning the natural sciences, specifically the properties of fire. During the last years of his life, Voltaire moved to Ferney, France, where he adopted a poor girl who he named Belle et Bonne. She became a source of encouragement, making his last years extremely productive. In 1778, he returned to Paris one last time to see the production of his last play, //Irene//. He died on May 30th of that year. THE END. Other Voice: That's it? I don't see how this guy was that important....At all.

Me: Oh....um......I still have more research that I guess I could use now....

Voltiare was well-known for being one of the most important enlightenment thinkers. He was known as this because he spread and popularized the new ideas and philosophies in France throughout the world. He was very well known for his writing. He wrote two long pieces of poetry, //The Henriade// and //La Pucelle d'Orleans.// He wrote Prose in many different genres, most of which attacked the Bible, the Roman Catholic Church, and the French colonies in the United States. His most popular piece is a work of satire entitled //Candide//, in which the main character comes to the conclusion that the world is completely insane. Voltiare was known to be very wise, as was seen in many of his sayings throughout his life.