Voltaire
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| 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. | 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]]''. | 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]]''. | 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]]''. | ||
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- "It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets." --Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (21 November, 1694 – 30 May, 1778), better known by the pen name Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, essayist, deist and philosopher known for his wit, philosophical sport, and defense of civil liberties, including freedom of religion and the right to a fair trial. He was an outspoken supporter of social reform despite strict censorship laws in France and harsh penalties for those who broke them. A satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize Christian Church dogma and the French institutions of his day.
Contents |
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, 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
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.
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 worksTemplate: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. He had felt these effects in his own exiles, in the confiscations of his books, and the hideous sufferings of Calas and 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.” Nevertheless, scholars believe there must have again been misinterpretation, as the letter does not seem to contain any such quote.
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. One historian called the letters "a feast not only of wit and eloquence but of warm friendship, humane feeling, and incisive thought."
Bibliography
Major works
- Œdipe (1718)
- Zaïre (1732)
- 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)
- L'Orphelin de la Chine (1755)
- Candide (1758)
- Dictionnaire philosophique (1764)
- L'Ingénu (1767)
- La Princesse de Babylone (1768)
- Épître à l'Auteur du Livre des Trois Imposteurs (Letter to the author of The Three Impostors) (1770)
Plays
Voltaire wrote between fifty and sixty plays, including a few unfinished ones. Among them are these:
Historical
- History of Charles XII, King of Sweden (1731)
- The Age of Louis XIV (1752)
- 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)
- History of the Russian Empire Under Peter the Great (Vol. I 1759; Vol. II 1763)
