Voltaire,
«vol TAR or vohl TAR» (1694-1778), was the pen name of Francois
Marie Arouet, a French author and philosopher. Voltaire's clear style, sparkling wit,
keen intelligence, and strong sense of justice made him one of France's most famous
writers.
Candide (1759), Voltaire's best-known work, is a brilliant philosophical tale that has
been translated into more than 100 languages. On the surface, the work describes
the adventures of an inexperienced young man as he wanders around the world.
Philosophically, Candide is recognized as a complex inquiry into the nature of good
and evil.
Voltaire, the son of a lawyer, was born on Nov. 21, 1694, in Paris. He received an
excellent education at a Jesuit school. He showed little inclination to study law, and
his schooling ended at the age of 16. He soon joined a group of sophisticated
aristocrats who had little reverence for anything except wit, pleasure, and literary
talent. Paris society sought Voltaire's company because of his cleverness, his
remarkable ability to write verses, and his gift for making people laugh.
There are several theories about the origin of Voltaire's pen name, which he adopted
in 1718. The most widely accepted one is that Voltaire comes from an imperfect
arrangement of the letters making up the French equivalent of Arouet the Younger.
Imprisonment and early success. In 1717, Voltaire was imprisoned in the
Bastille for satirical verses that he may or may not have written ridiculing the
government. During his 11 months in prison, he finished his tragedy Oedipe. The
success of the play in 1718 made Voltaire the greatest French playwright of his
time. He maintained this reputation—with more than 50 plays—for the rest of his
life. While in prison, Voltaire also worked on La Henriade, an epic poem about
King Henry IV. This poem, written in the style of the Aeneid by the Roman poet
Virgil, was published in 1723.
Voltaire became independently wealthy in his early 30's through an inheritance
and wise investments. He was also a celebrity who had three plays performed in
1725 to help celebrate the wedding of King Louis XV. Royal pensions and other
honors followed. But all this success ended abruptly in 1726 when the Chevalier
de Rohan, a powerful young nobleman, scornfully asked: "What is your name
anyway? Monsieur de Voltaire or Monsieur Arouet?" His question implied that
Voltaire was claiming to be a nobleman while he was in fact of common origin.
Voltaire supposedly replied that whatever his name was, he was bringing it
honor, which was more than Rohan could say for himself. This answer cost
Voltaire a beating by Rohan's men. Challenged to a duel by Voltaire, Rohan had
him thrown into the Bastille again. A few days later, Voltaire was allowed to
choose between continued imprisonment and exile.
Exile and return to France. Voltaire chose exile. From 1726 to 1729, he lived
in England, for him a land of political and religious freedom. There, he met the
writers Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift and was attracted to the ideas of the
philosopher John Locke and the scientist Sir Isaac Newton. It has been said that
Voltaire went into exile a poet and came back a philosopher.
1
Voltaire returned to France in 1729, and published several works. The most
important ones were History of Charles XII (1731) and his best-known play,
Zaire (1732). In 1733, his Letters Concerning the English Nation appeared in
England. This book appeared in France the next year in an unauthorized edition
called Philosophical Letters. Voltaire's praise of English customs, institutions, and
style of thought was an indirect criticism of their French counterparts. French
authorities condemned the book, and Voltaire fled from Paris.
Voltaire found a home with the Marquise du Chatelet, one of the most cultured
and intelligent women of the day. From 1734 to 1749, he lived in her chateau at
Cirey in Lorraine. During this period, he wrote several plays, an essay on
metaphysics, two works on Sir Isaac Newton, and some poetry. He also wrote
two notable philosophical tales. One of them, Zadig (1747), explores the
problem of human destiny. The other, Micromegas, was started at Cirey and was
published in 1752. In it, Voltaire used giant visitors from a distant star and from
the planet Saturn to discuss the relative insignificance of human pretensions in
answering religious questions. In this work, Voltaire also encouraged the use of
human reason for the development of science.
2