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'{{Otheruses}} {{Infobox Writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]] --> |name = François-Marie Arouet |image = Voltaire.jpg |caption = Voltaire at 24, by Catherine Lusurier after [[Nicolas de Largillière]]'s painting |pseudonym = Voltaire |birthdate = 21 November 1694 |birthplace = [[Paris]], [[France]] |deathdate = {{death date and age|1778|5|30|1694|11|21|df=yes}} |deathplace = Paris, France |occupation = [[Writer]], [[philosopher]], [[playwright]] |nationality = [[French people|French]] |influences = [[John Locke]], [[Isaac Newton]] |influenced = [[French Revolution]], [[Victor Hugo]], [[Founding Fathers of the United States]], [[Marquis de Sade]], [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], [[Karl Marx]], [[Juan José Castelli]] |signature = |website =}} '''François-Marie Arouet''' (21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778), better known by the [[pen name]] '''Voltaire''', was a [[France|French]] [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] writer and [[philosophy|philosopher]] famous for his [[wit]] and for his advocacy of [[civil liberty|civil liberties]], including [[freedom of religion]] and [[free trade]]. Voltaire was a prolific writer and produced works in almost every [[literature|literary]] form including plays, [[poem|poetry]], [[novel]]s, [[essay]]s, historical and scientific works, more than 20,000 letters and more than 2,000 books and [[pamphlet]]s. He was an outspoken supporter of [[social reform]], despite strict [[censorship]] laws and harsh penalties for those who broke them. As a satirical [[polemic]]ist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious [[dogma]] and the French institutions of his day. Voltaire was one of several Enlightenment figures (along with [[Montesquieu]], [[John Locke]] and [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]]) whose works and ideas influenced important thinkers of both the [[American Revolution|American]] and [[French Revolution]]s. ==Life== ===Early career=== François Marie Arouet was born in Paris, the youngest of the five children<ref>Wright, [http://books.google.com/books?id=wXc6AAAAMAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA505,M1 p 505].</ref> (only three of which survived) of [[François Arouet]] (1650 – 1 January 1722), a notary who was a minor treasury official, and his wife, [[Marie Marguerite d'Aumart]] (ca. 1660 – 13 July 1701), from a noble family of the province of [[Poitou]]. Voltaire was educated by [[Jesuits]] at the [[Collège Louis-le-Grand]] (1704–1711), where he learned [[Latin]] and [[Greek language|Greek]]; later in life he became fluent in [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[English language|English]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Liukkonen, Petri |title=Voltaire (1694-1778) - pseudonym of François-Marie Arouet |url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/voltaire.htm |accessdate=24 July 2009 }}</ref> By the time he left school, Voltaire had decided he wanted to be a writer, against the wishes of his father who wanted him to become a notary. Voltaire, pretending to work in Paris as an assistant to a [[notary]], spent much of his time writing poetry. When his father found him out, he sent Voltaire to study law, this time in [[Caen]] ([[Normandy]]). Nevertheless, he continued to write, producing essays and historical studies. Voltaire's wit made him popular among some of the aristocratic families with whom he mixed. His father then obtained a job for him as a secretary to the French [[ambassador]] in the Netherlands, where Voltaire fell in love with a French [[refugee]]<!-- refugee of/from what?/FW --> named [[Catherine Olympe Dunoyer]]. Their scandalous elopement was foiled by Voltaire's father and he was forced to return to France.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} Most of Voltaire's early life revolved around Paris. From early on, Voltaire had trouble with the authorities for his energetic attacks on the government and the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic Church]]. These activities were to result in numerous imprisonments and exiles. He allegedly wrote satirical verses about the [[aristocracy]]. A work about the [[Philippe II, Duke of Orléans|Régent]] thought to be by him led to his imprisonment in the [[Bastille]] for eleven months, until the real author came forward. While there, he wrote his debut play, ''[[Oedipe (play)|Œdipe]]''. Its success established his reputation. ===The name "Voltaire"=== The name "Voltaire", which the author adopted in 1718, is an [[anagram]] of "''AROVET LI''," the Latinized spelling of his surname, Arouet, and the initial letters of "''le jeune''" ("the younger").<ref>{{Citation |title=Voltaire |work=Profiles in literature series |author=Christopher Thacker |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=1971 |isbn=9780710070203 |page=[http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=D5s9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA3 3] |url=http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=D5s9AAAAIAAJ |postscript=. }}</ref> The name also echoes in reverse order the syllables of the name of a family [[château]] in the [[Poitou]] region: "[[Airvault]]". The adoption of the name "Voltaire" following his incarceration at the Bastille is seen by many to mark Voltaire's formal separation from his family and his past. [[Richard Holmes (biographer)|Richard Holmes]]<ref>{{citebook|author=Holmes, Richard|title=Sidetracks: explorations of a romantic biographer|publisher=HarperCollins|year=2000|pages=345–366}} and "Voltaire's Grin" in ''New York Review of Books'', 30 November 1995, pp. 49-55</ref> supports this derivation of the name, but adds that a writer such as Voltaire would have intended it to also convey its connotations of speed and daring. These come from associations with words such as "''voltige''" ([[acrobatics]] on a trapeze or horse), "''[[volte-face]]''" (a spinning about to face one's enemies), and "''volatile''" (originally, any winged creature). "Arouet" was not a noble name fit for his growing reputation, especially given that name's resonance with "''à rouer''" ("for thrashing") and "''roué''" (a "''débauché''"). Voltaire is known to have used at least 178 separate pen names during his lifetime.<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/dp/078640423X - "The appendixes offer even more: a listing of Voltaire's and Daniel Defoe's numerous pseudonyms (178 and 198, respectively)..."]</ref> ===Great Britain=== The aptitude for quick, perceptive, cutting, witty and often scathingly critical repartee for which Voltaire is known today made him highly unpopular with many of his contemporaries, including much of the French [[aristocracy]]. These sharp-tongued retorts were responsible for Voltaire's [[exile]] from France, during which he resided in Great Britain. After Voltaire retorted to an insult given him by the young French nobleman Chevalier de Rohan in late 1725, the aristocratic Rohan family obtained a royal ''[[lettre de cachet]]'', an irrevocable and often arbitrary penal decree signed by the French King ([[Louis XV]], in the time of Voltaire) that was often bought by members of the wealthy [[nobility]] to dispose of undesirables. They then used this warrant to force Voltaire first into imprisonment in the [[Bastille]] and then into [[exile]] without holding a trial or giving him an opportunity to defend himself.<ref name="The Life of Voltaire">{{cite web|url=http://thegreatdebate.org.uk/Voltaire.html |title=The Life of Voltaire |publisher=Thegreatdebate.org.uk |date= |accessdate=2009-08-03}}</ref> The incident marked the beginning of Voltaire's attempts to improve the French judicial system. Voltaire's exile in Great Britain lasted over two years, and his experiences there greatly influenced many of his ideas. The young man was impressed by Britain's [[constitutional monarchy]] in contrast to the French [[absolute monarchy]], as well as the country's support of the freedoms of speech and religion. He was also influenced by several of the neoclassical writers of the age, and developed an interest in earlier English literature, especially the works of [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]], still little known in continental Europe at the time. Despite pointing out his deviations from neoclassical standards, Voltaire saw Shakespeare as an example French writers might look up to, since drama in France, despite being more polished, lacked on-stage action. Later, however, as Shakespeare's influence was being increasingly felt in France, Voltaire would endeavour to set a contrary example with his own plays, decrying what he considered Shakespeare's barbarities. After almost three years in exile, Voltaire returned to Paris and published his views on British attitudes towards government, literature, and religion in a collection of essays in letter form entitled the ''[[Letters on the English|Lettres philosophiques sur les Anglais]]'' (''Philosophical Letters on the English''). Because he regarded the British constitutional monarchy as more developed and more respectful of human rights (particularly religious tolerance) than its French counterpart, these letters met great controversy in France, to the point where copies of the document were burnt and Voltaire was again forced to leave France. ===Château de Cirey=== [[Image:Voltaire Philosophy of Newton frontispiece.jpg|thumb|200px|In the frontispiece to their translation of Newton, [[Émilie du Châtelet]] appears as Voltaire's muse, reflecting Newton's heavenly insights down to Voltaire.]] Voltaire's next destination was the Château de Cirey, located on the borders of [[Champagne, France|Champagne]] and [[Lorraine (région)|Lorraine]]. The building was renovated with his money, and here he began a relationship with the Marquise du Châtelet, Gabrielle Émilie le Tonnelier de Breteuil (famous in her own right as [[Émilie du Châtelet]]). Cirey was owned by the Marquise's husband, [[Marquis Florent-Claude du Chatelet]], who sometimes visited his wife and her lover at the chateau. The 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 elements of fire. Having learned from his previous brushes with the authorities, Voltaire began his future habit of keeping out of personal harm's way, and denying any awkward responsibility. He continued to write many plays, such as ''Mérope'' (or "La Mérope française") and began his long researches into science and history . Again, a main source of inspiration for Voltaire were the years of his British exile, during which he had been strongly influenced by the works of Sir [[Isaac Newton]]. Voltaire strongly believed in Newton's theories, especially concerning [[optics]] (Newton’s discovery that white light is composed of all the colours in the [[spectrum]] led to many experiments at Cirey), and gravity (Voltaire is the source of the famous story of Newton and the apple falling from the tree, which he had learned from Newton's niece in London and first mentioned in his ''Essai sur la poésie épique'', or ''Essay on Epic Poetry''). Although both Voltaire and the Marquise were curious about the philosophies of [[Gottfried Leibniz]], a contemporary and rival of Newton, they remained essentially "Newtonians", despite the Marquise's adoption of certain aspects of Leibniz's arguments against Newton. She translated Newton's Latin ''Principia'' in full, adjusting a few errors along the way, and hers remained the definitive French translation well into the 20th century. Voltaire's book ''Eléments de la philosophie de Newton'' (Elements of Newton's Philosophy), which was probably co-written with the Marquise, made Newton accessible to a far greater public. It is often considered the work that finally brought about general acceptance of Newton's optical and gravitational theories. Voltaire and the Marquise also studied history—particularly those persons who had contributed to civilization. Voltaire's second essay in English had been ''Essay upon the Civil Wars in France''. It was followed by ''La Henriade'', an epic poem on the French king Henri IV, glorifying his attempt to end the Catholic-Protestant massacres with the Edict of Nantes, and by a historical novel on King [[Charles XII of Sweden]]. These, along with his ''Letters on England'' mark the beginning of Voltaire's open criticism of intolerance and established religions. Voltaire and the Marquise also worked with philosophy, particularly with [[metaphysics]], the branch that dealt with what could not be directly proven: whether or not there was a [[God]], etc. Voltaire and the Marquise analyzed the [[Bible]], trying to discover its validity in their time. Voltaire's critical views on religion are reflected in his belief in [[separation of church and state]] and religious freedom, ideas that he had formed after his stay in England. Though deeply committed to the Marquise, Voltaire by 1744 found life at the château confining. On a visit to Paris that year, he found a new love: his niece. At first, his attraction to [[Marie Louise Mignot]] was clearly sexual, as evidenced by his letters to her (only discovered in 1937). <ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=99Rnph1FGxcC&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=%22mme+denis%22++Voltaire&lr=&as_brr=3&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html |title=Ian Davidson, Voltaire in Exile, Grove Press 2006}} See also Will and Ariel Durant, The Age of Voltaire, Simon & Schuster (196 ) page 392 [http://books.google.com/books?ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html&id=v6oYAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22mio+cazzo+mio+cuore%22&q=%22mio+cazzo+mio+cuore%22+]</ref> Much later, they lived together, perhaps platonically, and remained together until Voltaire's death. Meanwhile, the Marquise also took a lover, the Marquis de Saint-Lambert.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=99Rnph1FGxcC&pg=PA7&lpg=PA6&dq=%22mme+denis%22++Voltaire&lr=&as_brr=3&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html |title=Davidson, ibid, page 7 |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2009-08-03}}</ref> ===Sanssouci=== [[Image:Adolph-von-Menzel-Tafelrunde.jpg|thumb|''Die Tafelrunde'' by [[Adolph von Menzel]]. Guests of Frederick the Great, in Marble Hall at [[Sanssouci]], include members of the [[Prussian Academy of Sciences]] and Voltaire (seated, third from left).]] After the death of the Marquise in childbirth in September 1749, Voltaire briefly returned to Paris and in 1750 moved to [[Potsdam]] to join [[Frederick II of Prussia|Frederick the Great]], a close friend and admirer of his.<ref>According to poet [[Richard Armour (poet)|Richard Armour]], Voltaire's friendship with [[Frederick William II of Prussia|Frederick William]] existed because "Frederick considered Voltaire to be immensely clever and so did Voltaire."</ref> The king had repeatedly invited him to his palace, and now gave him a salary of 20,000 francs a year. Though life went well at first—in 1752 he wrote ''[[Micromégas]]'', perhaps the first piece of [[science fiction]] involving ambassadors from another planet witnessing the follies of humankind—his relationship with Frederick the Great began to deteriorate and he encountered other difficulties. An argument with [[Pierre Louis Maupertuis |Maupertuis]], the president of the [[Berlin Academy of Science]], provoked Voltaire's ''[[Doctor Akakia|Diatribe du docteur Akakia]]'' (Diatribe of Doctor Akakia), which satirized some of Maupertuis' theories and his abuse of power in his persecutions of a mutual acquaintance, Samuel Koënig. This greatly angered Frederick, who had all copies of the document burned and arrested Voltaire at an inn where he was staying along his journey home. <!--according to Caspar Hewett's bio, after a lot of quarreling with each other about many things, F. the Great gave him "a leave of absence" rather than that he got arrested--> ===Geneva and Ferney=== Voltaire headed toward Paris, but Louis XV banned him from the city, so instead he turned to [[Geneva]], near which he bought a large estate (''Les Délices''). Though he was received openly at first, the law in Geneva which banned theatrical performances and the publication of ''[[The Maid of Orleans (poem)|The Maid of Orleans]]'' against his will made him move at the end of 1758 out of Geneva across the French border to [[Ferney]], where he had bought an even larger estate, and led to Voltaire's writing of ''[[Candide|Candide, ou l'Optimisme]]'' (Candide, or Optimism) in 1759. This satire on [[Leibniz]]'s philosophy of optimistic determinism remains the work for which Voltaire is perhaps best known. He would stay in Ferney for most of the remaining 20 years of his life, frequently entertaining distinguished guests, like [[James Boswell]], [[Giacomo Casanova]], and [[Edward Gibbon]].<ref>The Scottish diarist [[James Boswell|Boswell]] recorded their conversations in 1764, which are published in ''Boswell and the Grand Tour''.</ref> In 1764 he published his most important philosophical work, the ''Dictionnaire Philosophique'', a series of articles mainly on Christian history and dogmas, a few of which were originally written in Berlin.<ref name="The Life of Voltaire"/> [[Image:Voltaire's chateau, Ferney.JPG|thumb|Voltaire's ''[[château]]'' at [[Ferney]], France.]] From 1762 he began to champion unjustly persecuted people, the case of [[Jean Calas]] being the most celebrated. This [[Huguenot]] merchant had been tortured to death in 1763, supposedly because he had murdered his son for wanting to convert to Catholicism. His possessions were confiscated and his remaining children were taken from his widow and were forced to become members of a monastery. Voltaire, seeing this as a clear case of religious persecution, managed to overturn the conviction in 1765.<ref name="The Life of Voltaire"/> ===Death and burial=== In February 1778, Voltaire returned for the first time in 20 years to Paris, among other reasons to see the opening of his latest tragedy, ''Irene''. The 5-day journey was too much for the 83-year old, and he believed he was about to die on February 28, writing "I die adoring God, loving my friends, not hating my enemies, and detesting superstition." However, he recovered, and in March saw a performance of ''Irene'' where he was treated by the audience as a returning hero.<ref name="The Life of Voltaire"/> However, he soon became ill again and died on 30 May 1778. When asked on his deathbed by a priest to renounce the devil and turn to God, he is alleged to have replied, "For God's sake, let me die in peace."<ref>Norman Davies, ''Europe: A history'' p. 687</ref> [[Image:Voltaire's tomb.jpg|thumb|right|Voltaire's tomb in Paris' [[Pantheon (Paris)|Pantheon]]]] Because of his well-known criticism of the church, which he had refused to retract before his death, Voltaire was denied a Christian burial, but friends managed to bury his body secretly at the abbey of Scellières in [[Champagne (region)|Champagne]] before this prohibition had been announced. His heart and brain were embalmed separately. On 11 July 1791, the [[National Assembly]], which regarded him as a forerunner of the French revolution, had his remains brought back to Paris to enshrine him in the [[Panthéon, Paris|Panthéon]]. It is estimated that a million people attended the procession, which stretched throughout Paris. There was an elaborate ceremony, complete with an orchestra, and the music included a piece that [[André Grétry]] composed specially for the event, which included a part for the "tuba curva". This was an instrument that originated in Roman times as the [[Cornu (horn)|cornu]] but had been recently revived under a new name.<ref>Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed, 1954; "Cornu" article</ref> A widely-repeated story that the remains of Voltaire were stolen by religious fanatics in 1814 or 1821 during the Pantheon restoration and thrown into a garbage heap is false. Such rumours resulted in the coffin being opened in 1897, which confirmed that his remains were still present.<ref>''[http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F02E3DD1638E433A2575BC0A9679C94699ED7CF Voltaire and Rousseau, Their Tombs in the Pantheon Opened and Their Bones Exposed]'', New York Times, January 8, 1898</ref> ==Writings== ===Poetry=== From an early age, Voltaire displayed a talent for writing verse and his first published work was poetry. He wrote two long poems, the ''[[Henriade]]'' and ''[[The Maid of Orleans (poem)|The Maid of Orleans]]'', besides many other smaller pieces. The ''Henriade'' was written in imitation of [[Virgil]], using the [[Alexandrine]] couplet reformed and rendered monotonous for modern readers but it was a huge success in the 18th and early 19th century, with sixty-five editions and translations into several languages. The epic poem transformed French King Henry IV into a national hero for his attempts at instituting tolerance with his Edict of Nantes. ''La Pucelle'', on the other hand, is a [[burlesque]] on the superhuman powers attributed to virginity in the legend of Joan of Arc. Voltaire's minor poems are generally considered superior to either of these two works. ===Prose=== [[Image:VoltaireCandidFrontis+Chap01-1762.jpg|thumb|300px|Frontispiece and first page of chapter one of an early English translation by T. Smollett et al of Voltaire's "Candide" , printed by J. Newbery, 1762]] Many of Voltaire's [[prose]] works and romances, usually composed as pamphlets, were written as [[polemics]]. ''[[Candide]]'' attacks the passivity inspired by Leibniz's philosophy of [[optimism]]; ''L'Homme aux quarante ecus'', certain social and political ways of the time; ''[[Zadig]]'' and others, the received forms of moral and metaphysical orthodoxy; and some were written to deride the [[Bible]]. In these works, Voltaire's ironic style, free of exaggeration, is apparent, particularly the restraint and simplicity of the verbal treatment. ''Candide'' in particular is the best example of his style. Voltaire also has, in common with [[Jonathan Swift]], the distinction of paving the way for [[science fiction]]'s philosophical irony, particularly in his ''[[Micromégas]]''. [[Image:Voltaire-Baquoy.gif|thumb|left|Voltaire at [[Frederick the Great]]'s ''[[Sanssouci]]''. Engraving by [[Pierre Charles Baquoy]].]] In general criticism and miscellaneous writing, Voltaire's writing was comparable to his other works. Almost all of his more substantive works, whether in verse or prose, are preceded by prefaces of one sort or another, which are models of his caustic yet conversational tone. In a vast variety of nondescript pamphlets and writings, he displays his skills at journalism. In pure literary criticism his principal work is the ''Commentaire sur Corneille'', although he wrote many more similar works{{ndash}} sometimes (as in his ''Life and notices of Molière'') independently and sometimes as part of his ''[[Siècles]]''. Voltaire's works, especially his private letters, frequently contain the word "''l'infâme''" and the expression "''écrasez l'infâme''," or "crush the infamous". The phrase refers to abuses to the people by royalty and the clergy that Voltaire saw around him, and the superstition and intolerance that the clergy bred within the people.<ref>{{cite book |last=Palmer |first=R.R. |authorlink= |coauthors=Colton, Joel |title=A History of the Modern World |year=1950 |publisher=McGraw-Hill, Inc. |isbn=0-07-040826-2 }}</ref> He had felt these effects in his own exiles, in the confiscations of his books, and the hideous sufferings of [[Jean Calas|Calas]] and [[Jean-François de la Barre|La Barre]]. He also stated that (one of his most famous quotes) "Superstition sets the whole world in flames; philosophy quenches them". The most oft-cited Voltaire quotation is apocryphal. He is incorrectly credited with writing, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” These were not his words, but rather those of [[Evelyn Beatrice Hall]], written under the pseudonym S. G. Tallentyre in her 1906 biographical book ''[[The Friends of Voltaire]]''. Hall intended to summarize in her own words Voltaire's attitude towards [[Claude Adrien Helvétius]] and his controversial book ''De l'esprit'', but her first-person expression was mistaken for an actual quotation from Voltaire. Her interpretation does capture the spirit of Voltaire’s attitude towards Helvetius; it had been said Hall's summary was inspired by a quotation found in a 1770 Voltaire letter to an Abbot le Roche, in which he was reported to have said, “I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write.”<ref>{{cite book |last=Boller, Jr. |first=Paul F. |authorlink= |coauthors=George, John |title=They Never Said It: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, and Misleading Attributions |year=1989 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=0-19-505541-1 }}</ref> Nevertheless, scholars believe there must have again been misinterpretation, as the letter does not seem to contain any such quote.<ref>Charles Wirz, archivist at The Voltaire Institute and Museum in Geneva, recalled in 1994, that Hall, placed wrongly, between speech marks this quotation in two works devoted to Voltaire, recognising expressly the quotation in question was not one, in a letter of 9 May 1939, which was published in 1943 in volume LVIII under the title "Voltaire never said it" (pp.534-5) of the review "Modern language notes", Johns Hopkins Press, 1943, Baltimore. An extract from the letter: 'The phrase "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" which you have found in my book "Voltaire in His Letters" is my own expression and should not have been put in inverted commas. Please accept my apologies for having, quite unintentionally, misled you into thinking I was quoting a sentence used by Voltaire (or anyone else but myself).' "The words "my own" were underlined personally by Hall in her letter. To believe certain commentators - Norbert Guterman, ''A Book of French Quotations'', 1963 - Hall was referencing back to a Voltaire letter of 6 February 1770 to an abbot le Riche where Voltaire said "Reverend, I hate what you write, but I will give my life so that you can continue to write." The problem is that, if you consult the letter itself, the sentence there does not appear, nor even the idea: ''A M LE RICHE A AMIENS. 6 February. You left, Sir, des Welches for des Welches. You will find everywhere barbarians obstinate. The number of wise will always be small. It is true...it has increased; but it is nothing in comparison with the stupid ones; and, by misfortune, one says that God is always for the big battalions. It is necessary that the decent people stick together and stay under cover. There are no means that their small troop could tackle the party of the fanatics in open country. I was very sick, I was near death every winter; this is the reason, Sir, why I have answered you so late. I am not less touched by it than your memory. Continue to me your friendship; it comforts me my evils and stupidities of the human genre. Receive my assurances, etc.'' Voltaire, however, did not hesitate to wish censure against slander and personal libels. Here is what he writes in his “Atheism” article in the ''Dictionnaire philosophique'': ''Aristophanes (this man that the commentators admire because he was Greek, not thinking that Socrates was Greek also), Aristophanes was the first who accustomed the Athenians to consider Socrates an atheist. [[...]] The tanners, the shoemakers and the dressmakers of Athens applauded a joke in which one represented Socrates raised in the air in a basket, announcing there was God, and praising himself to have stolen a coat by teaching philosophy. A whole people, whose bad government authorized such infamous licences, deserved well what it got, to become the slave of the Romans, and today of the Turks.''</ref> Voltaire's first major philosophical work in his battle against "l'infâme" was the ''Treatise on Tolerance'', exposing the Calas affair, along with the tolerance exercised by other faiths and in other eras (for example, by the Jews, the Romans, the Greeks and the Chinese). Then, in his ''[[Dictionnaire philosophique]]'', containing such articles as "Abraham", "Genesis", "Church Council", he wrote about what he perceived as the human origins of dogmas and beliefs, as well as inhuman behavior of religious and political institutions in shedding blood over the quarrels of competing sects. Amongst other targets, Voltaire criticized France's colonial policy in North America, dismissing the vast territory of [[New France]] as "[[a few acres of snow]]" (''"quelques arpents de neige"''). ===Letters=== Voltaire also engaged in an enormous amount of private correspondence during his life, totaling over 20,000 letters. Theodore Besterman's collected edition of these letters, completed only in 1964, fills 102 volumes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fmls.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pdf_extract/I/3/230 |title=article in ''Forum for Modern Language Studies'' |doi=10.1093/fmls/I.3.230 |publisher=Fmls.oxfordjournals.org |date= |accessdate=2009-08-03}}</ref> One historian called the letters "a feast not only of wit and eloquence but of warm friendship, humane feeling, and incisive thought."<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=OperFVu5MykC&q=%22feast+not+only+of+wit+and+eloquence%22&dq=%22feast+not+only+of+wit+and+eloquence%22&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html Will and Ariel Durant, Rousseau and Revolution (1967), page 138]</ref> ==Philosophy== ===Religion=== [[Image:Voltaire dictionary.jpg|thumb|upright|Voltaire at 70. Engraving from 1843 edition of his ''[[Dictionnaire philosophique|Philosophical Dictionary]]''.]] Voltaire did not believe that any single religious text or tradition of revelation was needed to believe in God. Voltaire's focus was rather on the idea of a universe based on reason and a respect for nature which reflected the contemporary [[pantheism]]. Like other key thinkers during the [[Age of Enlightenment|European Enlightenment]], Voltaire considered himself a [[Deism|deist]], expressing the idea: "What is faith? Is it to believe that which is evident? No. It is perfectly evident to my mind that there exists a necessary, eternal, supreme, and intelligent being. This is no matter of faith, but of reason."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://deism.com/voltaire.htm |title=Voltaire |publisher=Deism.com |date=2009-06-25 |accessdate=2009-08-03}}</ref><ref>Voltaire. W. Dugdale, ''A Philosophical Dictionary ver 2'', 1843, Page 473 sec 1. Retrieved October 31, 2007.</ref> As for religious texts, Voltaire's opinion of [[the Bible]] was mixed. This did not hinder his religious practice, though it did win for him a bad reputation among religious fundamentalists. [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]] wrote to his father the year of Voltaire's death, saying, "The arch-scoundrel Voltaire has finally kicked the bucket...."<ref>{{cite book |last=Keffe |first=Simon P. |title=The Cambridge Companion to Mozart |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2003 |isbn=0521001927}}</ref> Views of [[Islam]] and its prophet, [[Muhammad]], can be found in Voltaire's writings. In a letter recommending his play ''[[Mahomet (play)|Fanaticism, or Mahomet]]'' to [[Pope Benedict XIV]], Voltaire described the founder of Islam as "the founder of a false and barbarous sect" and "a false prophet."<ref>Voltaire, Letter to Benedict XIV written in Paris on 17 August 1745: ''Your holiness will pardon the liberty taken by one of the lowest of the faithful, though a zealous admirer of virtue, of submitting to the head of the true religion this performance, written in opposition to the founder of a false and barbarous sect. To whom could I with more propriety inscribe a satire on the cruelty and errors of a false prophet, than to the vicar and representative of a God of truth and mercy? Your holiness will therefore give me leave to lay at your feet both the piece and the author of it, and humbly to request your protection of the one, and your benediction upon the other; in hopes of which, with the profoundest reverence, I kiss your sacred feet.''</ref> Elsewhere, his views were more generous, often praising the relative tolerance of Muslim behavior in the lands they conquered (as opposed the Christian Inquisitions) and the fact that its dogmas were written by its founder himself, not based on hearsay, and had not endured the innumerable changes Christian dogmas had. His ''Essai sur les Moeurs et l'Esprit des Nations'', contains much fuller accounts on Muhammad and the founding and spread of his religion as do a number of his polemical works on religion. <ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.voltaire-integral.com/Html/00Table/11.html|title=Essai sur les Moeurs et l'Esprit des Nations|accessdate=2009-06-27|publisher=Voltaire Intégral}}, Vol. I: Tome XI: Chap. VII "De l’Alcoran, et de la loi musulmane."</ref> From translated works on Confucianism and Legalism, Voltaire drew on Chinese concepts of politics and philosophy (which were based on rational principles), to look critically at European organized religion and hereditary aristocracy.{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}} There is an apocryphal story that his home at Ferney was purchased by the Geneva Bible Society and used for printing Bibles,<ref>{{citebook|last1=Geisler|first1=N.L.|last2=Nix|first2=W.E.|title=A General Introduction to the Bible|publisher=Moody Press}}</ref> but this appears to be due to a misunderstanding of the 1849 annual report of the [[American Bible Society]].<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.nzarh.org.nz/journal/2004v77n1aut.pdf|title=Voltaire's House and The Bible Society|publisher=The Open Society|accessdate=2008-07-01|format=pdf}} 2.18&nbsp;[[Mebibyte|MiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 2288028 bytes --></ref> Voltaire's chateau is now owned and administered by the [[French Ministry of Culture]]. Though many books have been written taxing Voltaire with anti-semitism,<ref name="Why?">[[Dennis Prager|Prager, D]]; [[Joseph Telushkin|Telushkin, J]]. ''Why the Jews?: The Reason for Antisemitism''. New York: [[Simon & Schuster]], 1983. page 128-9.</ref> they do not explain, nor usually even mention, the numerous pamphlets he wrote attacking anti-semitism itself. This apparent contradiction led many to conclude that his remarks were in fact anti-Biblical and not anti-semitic. His "Sermon du rabbin Akib", for example, is a scathing attack on Christian persecution of the Jews, and similar remarks can be found scattered throughout his 200-odd pamphlets and books on religion.<ref>{{cite book|last=Voltaire|first=François-Marie|title=Essai sur les Moeurs }} See also: {{cite book|last=Voltaire|first=François-Marie|title=Dictionnaire Philosophique }}</ref> It has been pointed out that thirty of the 118 articles in his ''[[Dictionnaire Philosophique]]'' described the ancient Jews in consistently negative ways, as barbarous, absurd and deeply superstitious; however, this ignores his qualifiers, in which he points out that "all of antiquity was", as a rule.<ref>[[Léon Poliakov|Poliakov, L]]. ''The History of Anti-Semitism: From Voltaire to Wagner''. Routledge & Kegan Paul, Ltd., 1975 (translated). page 88-89.</ref> [[Peter Gay]], the best known contemporary authority on the Enlightenment,<ref name="Why?" /> wrote that "Voltaire struck at the Jews to strike at Christianity," a view shared by certain leading Jewish Voltairians—indeed, the point usually is, if the Jews were cruel and absurd, what can be made of other faiths that declare their histories sacred, yet persecute them? "When I see Christians cursing Jews," he wrote in his ''English Notebook'', "methinks I see children beating their fathers." And posing as a freshly-minted Spanish priest in ''Les Questions de Zapata'', he asks his superiors how how he should go about explaining that the Jews, whom they burn by the hundreds, were the chosen people of God for four thousand years, and why we chant their prayers while burning them.<ref>[[Peter Gay|Gay, P]]. ''The Party of Humanity: Essays in the French Enlightenment''. Alfred Knopf, 1964. pages 103-105.</ref> Voltaire grew exceedingly vocal against the Church during the campaign for tolerance of his later years, openly writing that it had been the "consistently implacable enemy of progress, decency, humanity and rationality" and that it had been the Church's interest to "keep people as ignorant and submissive as children".<ref>Gay, ''Party of Humanity'', 44, 53.</ref> In the [[Scottish Enlightenment]] the Scots began developing a uniquely practical branch of [[humanism]] to the extent that Voltaire said ''"We look to Scotland for all our ideas of [[civilisation]]"''.<ref name="Barroso">{{cite web |url=http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/06/756&format=HTML&aged=1&language=EN&guiLanguage=en |title=The Scottish enlightenment and the challenges for Europe in the 21st century; climate change and energy |author=[[José Manuel Barroso]], 11th [[President of the European Commission]] |format=[[html]] |work=Enlightenment Lecture Series, [[University of Edinburgh|Edinburgh University]] |date=28 November 2006 |quote=I will try to show why Voltaire was right when he said: 'Nous nous tournons vers l’Écosse pour trouver toutes nos idées sur la civilisation' [we look to Scotland for all our ideas on civilisation]. }}</ref><ref name="RSE Scotsman Voltaire quote">{{cite web |url=http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/international/potocnik.htm |title=Visiting The Royal Society of Edinburgh… |format=[[html]] |work=[[Royal Society of Edinburgh]]. First published in ''[[The Scotsman]]'' Saturday 4 June 2005 |quote=Scotland has a proud heritage of science, research, invention and innovation, and can lay claim to some of the greatest minds and greatest discoveries since Voltaire wrote those words 250 years ago. }}</ref> ===Freemasonry=== Voltaire was initiated into [[Freemasonry]] one month before his death. On April 4, 1778 Voltaire accompanied his close friend [[Benjamin Franklin]] into ''Loge des Neuf Soeurs'' in Paris, France and became an [[Entered Apprentice]] Freemason, perhaps only to please Franklin.<ref>"Benjamin Franklin...urged Voltaire to become a freemason; and Voltaire agreed, perhaps only to please Franklin.{{citebook|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ISMObxdcmfsC&pg=RA4-PA112&dq=freemason+voltaire&ei=ssVASJfIOKakiwGz44zbCQ&sig=DSRHtjUrh3wTLPDfM9SiyFTyvyg |author=Ridley, Jasper|title=The Freemasons: A History of the World's Most Powerful Secret Society|year=2002|pages=112}} See also: {{cite web |url=http://www.americanmason.com/didntARC.ihtml|title=I did not know that: Mason Facts}} and {{cite web |url=http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/voltaire/voltaire.html |title=Voltaire on British Columbia Grand Lodge Site }}</ref> ==Legacy== [[Image:Bust of Voltaire 2, Houdon..jpg|thumb|right|Bust of Voltaire by [[Antoine Houdon|Houdon]].]] Voltaire perceived the French [[bourgeoisie]] to be too small and ineffective, the [[aristocracy]] to be parasitic and corrupt, the commoners as ignorant and superstitious, and the [[Roman Catholic Church|church]] as a static and oppressive force useful only as a counterbalance since its "religious tax" or the [[tithe]] helped to create a strong backing for revolutionaries. Voltaire distrusted [[democracy]], which he saw as propagating the idiocy of the masses.<ref>{{citebook|url=http://history.hanover.edu/texts/voltaire/voldemoc.html|title=The Philosophical Dictionary|accessdate=2008-07-01|chapter=Democracy|publisher=Knopf|year=1924}}</ref> Voltaire long thought only an enlightened [[monarch]] could bring about change, given the social structures of the time and the extremely high rates of illiteracy, and that it was in the king's rational interest to improve the education and welfare of his subjects. But his disappointments and disillusions with Frederick the Great changed his philosophy somewhat, and soon gave birth to one of his most enduring works, his novella, ''[[Candide]], ou l'Optimisme'' (Candide, or Optimism, 1759), which ends with a new conclusion: "It is up to us to cultivate our garden". His most polemical and ferocious attacks on intolerance and religious persecutions indeed began to appear a few years later. ''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.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20061013194545/http://humanities.uchicago.edu/homes/VSA/Candide/Candide.letter.html|title=Letter on the subject of Candide, to the Journal encyclopédique July 15, 1759|accessdate=2008-01-07|publisher=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref> Voltaire is also known for many memorable aphorisms, such as: "''Si Dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer''" ("If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him"), contained in a verse epistle from 1768, addressed to the anonymous author of a controversial work, ''The Three Impostors''. But far from being the cynical remark it is often taken for, it was meant as a retort to the atheistic clique of d'Holbach, Grimm, and others. 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). Voltaire has had his detractors among his later colleagues. The Scottish Victorian writer Thomas Carlyle argued that, while Voltaire was unsurpassed in literary form, not even the most elaborate of his works were of much value for matter and that he never uttered an original idea of his own. Nietzsche, however, called Carlyle an "insipid muddlehead" who failed to free himself from the very petty-mindedness he professed to condemn. He often used [[China]], [[Siam]] and [[Japan]] as examples of brilliant non-European civilizations and harshly criticized [[slavery]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Voltaire|first=François-Marie|title=Candide (chapter 19) }}</ref>. The town of [[Ferney]], where Voltaire lived out the last 20 years of his life, is now named [[Ferney-Voltaire]] in honor of its most famous resident. His ''[[château]]'' is a [[museum]]. Voltaire's library is preserved intact in the [[National Library of Russia]] at [[St. Petersburg]], Russia. In Zurich 1916, the theater and performance group who would become the early avant-garde movement [[Dada]] named their theater The [[Cabaret Voltaire (Zürich)|Cabaret Voltaire]]. A late-20th-century [[industrial music]] group then [[Cabaret Voltaire (band)|named themselves]] after the theater. A character based on Voltaire plays an important role in ''[[The Age of Unreason]]'', a series of four [[alternate history]] [[novels]] written by American [[science fiction]] and [[fantasy]] author [[Gregory Keyes]]. Voltaire was also known to have been an advocate for coffee, as he was purported to have drunk the beverage at least 30 times per day. It has been suggested that high amounts of caffeine acted as a mental stimulant to his creativity.<ref>[http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0506.koerner.html Washingtonmonthly.com]</ref> His great grand-niece was the mother of [[De Chardin|Pierre Teilhard de Chardin]], a famous writer and Jesuit priest.{{cn|date=May 2010}} ==Works== ===Major works=== *''Lettres philosophiques sur les Anglais'' (1733), revised as ''[[Letters on the English]]'' (circa 1778) *''Le Mondain'' (1736) *''Sept Discours en Vers sur l'Homme'' (1738) *''[[Zadig]]'' (1747) *''[[Micromégas]]'' (1752) *''[[Candide]]'' (1759) *''Ce qui plaît aux dames'' (1764) *''[[Dictionnaire philosophique]]'' (1764) *''[[L'Ingénu]]'' (1767) *''La Princesse de Babylone'' (1768) ===Plays=== Voltaire wrote between fifty and sixty plays, including a few unfinished ones. Among them are these: *''[[Oedipus (Voltaire)|Œdipe]]'' (1718) *''[[Zaïre (play)|Zaïre]]'' (1732) *''[[Eriphile]]'' (1732) *''Irène'' *''[[Voltaire's Socrates (play)|Socrates]]'' *''[[Mahomet (play)|Mahomet]]'' *''[[Mérope]]'' *''[[Nanine]]'' *''The Orphan of China'' (1755)<ref>This is a translation of a famous Chinese play [[Orphan of Zhao]] about the revenge of the orphan of the clan of Zhao on his enemies who killed almost every member of his clan. This play was based on an actual historical event in the Spring-Autumn period of Chinese history. Voltaire's version was translated by [[Arthur Murphy]] as ''The Orphan of China'' in 1759.</ref> ===Historical=== *''History of [[Charles XII]], King of Sweden'' (1731) *''The Age of Louis XIV'' (1751) *''The Age of Louis XV'' (1746–1752) *''Annals of the Empire - Charlemagne, A.D. 742 - Henry VII 1313'', Vol. I (1754) *''Annals of the Empire - Louis of Bavaria, 1315 to Ferdinand II 1631'' Vol. II (1754) *' Essay on the Manners of Nations (or 'Universal History') (1756) *''History of the Russian Empire Under Peter the Great'' (Vol. I 1759; Vol. II 1763) == Chronology == {{Voltaire timeline}} ==See also== *[[Classical liberalism]] *[[Contributions to liberal theory]] *[[List of Freemasons]] *[[List of coupled cousins]] *[[Mononymous persons]] ==Notes== {{reflist|2}} ==Further reading== * Besterman, Theoore, ''Voltaire'', (1969). * Brumfitt, J. H. ''Voltaire: Historian '' (1958) [http://www.questia.com/read/14509369?title=Voltaire%3a%20Historian online edition] * Davidson, Ian, ''Voltaire. A Life'', London, [[Profile Books]], 2010. ISBN 978184668261 * Durant, Will, ''The Story of Civilization. Vol. IX: The Age of Voltaire.'' New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965. * Gay, Peter, ''Voltaire's Politics, The Poet as Realist'', Yale University, 1988. * Hadidi, Djavâd, ''Voltaire et l'Islam'', Publications Orientalistes de France, 1974. * Knapp, Betina L. ''Voltaire Revisited'' (2000) 228pp * Mason, Haydn, ''Voltaire, A Biography'' *Muller, Jerry Z., 2002. ''The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in Western Thought''. Anchor Books. *Pearson, Roger, 2005. ''Voltaire Almighty: a life in pursuit of freedom''. Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781582346304. 447pp * Quinones, Ricardo J. ''Erasmus and Voltaire: Why They Still Matter'' (University of Toronto Press; 2010) 240 pages; Draws parallels between the two thinkers as voices of moderation with relevance today. * Schwarzbach, Bertram Eugene, ''Voltaire's Old Testament Criticism'', Librairie Droz, Geneva, 1971. * Torrey, Norman L., ''The Spirit of Voltaire'', Columbia University Press, 1938. *{{citebook|author=Vernon, Thomas S.|title=Great Infidels|url=http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/voltvern.htm|chapter=Chapter V: Voltaire|year=1989|publisher=M & M Pr|isbn=0943099056}} *{{citebook|author=Wade, Ira O.|year=1967|title=Studies on Voltaire|location=New York|publisher=Russell & Russell}} *Wright, Charles Henry Conrad, ''A History of French Literature'', [[Oxford University Press]], 1912. * "Voltaire," ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' (11th ed. 1911) ===In French=== * Pomeau, René ''La Religion de Voltaire'', Librairie Nizet, Paris, 1974. * Valérie Crugten-André, ''La vie de Voltaire'' [http://www.memo.fr/dossier.asp?ID=629] ===Primary sources=== * Morley, J., ''The Works of Voltaire, A Contemporary Version'', (21 vol 1901), [http://app.libraryofliberty.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Fperson=3804&Itemid=28 online edition] ==External links== {{Sisterlinks|s=Author:Voltaire}} {{Wikisource1911Enc|Voltaire}} * [http://humanities.uchicago.edu/homes/VSA/visitors.html ''Encyclopédie''], ARTFL Project, University of Chicago * [http://adlitteram.free.fr/donnees_auteurs/voltaire/voltaire_liste_oeuvres.htm ''Liste chronologique des oeuvres de Voltaire''], adlitteram.free.fr * [http://perso.orange.fr/dboudin/VOLTAIRE/Catcd1b.htm ''PRÉSENTATION DES OEUVRES COMPLÈTES DE VOLTAIRE EN CD-ROM''], ''Voltaire: Édition Electronique''{{Dead link|date=April 2010}} * [http://www.visitvoltaire.com/v_desfontaines.htm ''Château de Cirey - Residence of Voltaire''], visitvoltaire.com * [http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Chatelet.html ''Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil Marquise du Châtelet''], School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, Scotland *{{cite web |author=Hewett, Caspar J. M. |url=http://thegreatdebate.org.uk/Voltaire.html |title=The Great Debate: Life of Voltaire. |accessdate=2008-11-02 |date= August 2006}} *[http://societe-voltaire.org/ The Société Voltaire] *[http://efts.lib.uchicago.edu/efts/VOLTAIRE/restricted/VOLTAIRE.bib.html A complete bibliography] *[http://www.bacdefrancais.net/ An analysis of Voltaire's texts (in the "textes" topic)] {{fr icon}} *[http://www.livres-et-ebooks.fr/auteur/Voltaire-738/ Complete french ebooks of Voltaire] {{fr icon}} *[http://atheisme.free.fr/Biographies/Voltaire_e.htm Biography and quotes of Voltaire] *[http://www.laphilosophie.fr/livres-de-Voltaire-texte-integral.html Full Ebooks of Voltaire in French] on the website "La philosophie" *[http://www.ville-ge.ch/imv/ Institut et Musée Voltaire, Geneva, Switzerland] *[http://www.iep.utm.edu/d/deismfre.htm Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy on Voltaire] *[http://www.monsieurdevoltaire.com/ Monsieur de Voltaire] Correspondence in French *[http://thegreatdebate.org.uk/Voltaire.html The Life of Voltaire] Essay by Caspar J M Hewett *[http://www.visitvoltaire.com/ VisitVoltaire.com site with images] *[http://www.voltaire.ox.ac.uk/ Voltaire Foundation, Oxford, United Kingdom] *[http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jbourj/money3.htm Voltaire on the 10 French Franc banknote.] *[http://www.harrymaugans.com/2006/03/30/voltaires-candide/ Voltaire's Candide and Leibniz] *[http://www.intratext.com/Catalogo/Autori/AUT396.HTM Voltaire's works]: works: text, concordances and frequency list *[http://history.hanover.edu/texts/voltaire/volindex.html Voltaire's writings from Philosophical Dictionary]. Selected and Translated by H.I. Woolf, 1924 *[http://www.harrymaugans.com/2006/04/18/worldly-and-personal-influences-on-voltaire%e2%80%99s-writing/ Worldly and Personal Influences on Voltaire’s Writing] *{{gutenberg author}} *[http://librivox.org/newcatalog/search.php?title=&author=Voltaire&action=Search Works by Voltaire] in free audio format from [[LibriVox]] *[http://levoltaire.interfree.it/index.html Voltaire's works] and chronology *[http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95nov/voltaire.html About Voltaire in "Lucidcafé"] *[http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php&person=3804 Online Library of Liberty - The Works of Voltaire (1901)]. Some volumes, including mostly the unabridged ''Philosophical Dictionary'', translated by William F. Fleming {{start box}} {{s-culture}} {{succession box |title= [[List of members of the Académie française#Seat 33|Seat 33]]<br />[[Académie française]] | years=1746–1778 |before= [[Jean Bouhier (jurist)|Jean Bouhier]] |after= [[Jean-François Ducis]] }} {{end box}} {{Age of Enlightenment}} {{French Revolution navbox}} {{Persondata |NAME=Voltaire |ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Arouet, François-Marie (birth name); The Dictator of Letters |SHORT DESCRIPTION=Enlightenment philosopher. |DATE OF BIRTH=21 November 1694 |PLACE OF BIRTH=Paris, France |DATE OF DEATH=30 May 1778 |PLACE OF DEATH=Paris, France }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Voltaire}} [[Category:1694 births]] [[Category:1778 deaths]] [[Category:People from Paris]] [[Category:Voltaire| ]] [[Category:Deist thinkers]] [[Category:Early modern philosophers]] [[Category:French philosophers]] [[Category:Enlightenment philosophers]] [[Category:Philosophy of sexuality]] [[Category:French dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:French historians]] [[Category:French poets]] [[Category:French essayists]] [[Category:French satirists]] [[Category:French science fiction writers]] [[Category:French fantasy writers]] [[Category:Members of the Académie française]] [[Category:French monarchists]] [[Category:Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni]] [[Category:Burials at the Panthéon]] [[Category:Memoirists]] [[Category:Philosophes]] [[Category:The Enlightenment]] [[Category:French memoirists]] [[Category:Les Neuf Sœurs]] [[Category:Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)]] [[Category:French anti-death penalty activists]] [[Category:Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences]] [[ar:فولتير]] [[an:Voltaire]] [[az:Volter]] [[bn:ভলতেয়ার]] [[be:Вальтэр]] [[be-x-old:Вальтэр]] [[bs:Voltaire]] [[br:Voltaire]] [[bg:Волтер]] [[ca:Voltaire]] [[cs:Voltaire]] [[cy:Voltaire]] [[da:Voltaire]] [[de:Voltaire]] [[et:Voltaire]] [[el:Βολταίρος]] [[es:Voltaire]] [[eo:Voltaire]] [[eu:Voltaire]] [[fa:ولتر]] [[hif:Voltaire]] [[fr:Voltaire]] [[fy:Voltaire]] [[ga:Voltaire]] [[gl:Voltaire]] [[ko:볼테르]] [[hy:Վոլտեր]] [[hi:वोल्टेयर]] [[hr:Voltaire]] [[io:Voltaire]] [[id:Voltaire]] [[is:Voltaire]] [[it:Voltaire]] [[he:וולטר]] [[ka:ვოლტერი]] [[sw:Voltaire]] [[ku:Voltaire]] [[la:Voltarius]] [[lv:Voltērs]] [[lt:Volteras]] [[jbo:volter]] [[hu:Voltaire]] [[mk:Франсоа Волтер]] [[ml:വോൾട്ടയർ]] [[mt:Voltaire]] [[mr:व्होल्तेर]] [[arz:ڤولتير]] [[ms:Voltaire]] [[nah:Voltaire]] [[nl:Voltaire]] [[ja:ヴォルテール]] [[no:Voltaire]] [[nn:Voltaire]] [[oc:Voltaire]] [[pnb:والٹیئر]] [[pms:Voltaire]] [[nds:Voltaire]] [[pl:Voltaire]] [[pt:Voltaire]] [[ro:Voltaire]] [[qu:Voltaire]] [[ru:Вольтер]] [[scn:Voltaire]] [[simple:Voltaire]] [[sk:Voltaire]] [[sl:Voltaire]] [[ckb:ڤۆڵتێر]] [[sr:Волтер]] [[sh:Voltaire]] [[fi:Voltaire]] [[sv:Voltaire]] [[tl:Voltaire]] [[ta:வோல்ட்டயர்]] [[roa-tara:Voltaire]] [[te:వోల్టెయిర్]] [[th:วอลแตร์]] [[tr:Voltaire]] [[uk:Вольтер]] [[ur:والٹیئر]] [[ug:ۋولتىر]] [[vec:Voltaire]] [[vi:Voltaire]] [[vo:Voltaire]] [[war:Voltaire]] [[diq:Voltaire]] [[bat-smg:Vuolters]] [[zh:伏爾泰]]'