Voltaire

Early years Voltaire was born in Paris, France in 1694, the son of a notary (one who certifies legal documents) named Francois Arouet and his wife, Marie Marguerite D'Aumard. Most of Arouet's life revolved around Paris until his exile. He studied at the Collège Louis-le-Grand, where his education of the arts began. However, he claimed to not have learned anything other than "Latin and the Stupidities." Voltaire spent eight years there, where, despite his disdain, the school allowed for his development of literary talents, especially in the area of theater. After graduating, Voltaire set out to begin a writing career. His father, however, was intent on having his son educated in law. Voltaire then pretended to work in Paris as a lawyer's assistant; however, much of his time was spent writing derogatory poetry. When his father found out, he again sent Voltaire to study law, but in the country. Nevertheless, he continued to write, this time writing essays and historical (though not necessarily accurate) works. Voltaire's satirical wit made him popular among aristocratic families, and he continued to write about leading historical figures. One such work about Louis XV's regent, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, led to his being sent to the Bastille. While imprisoned, Arouet wrote his debut play, Oedipe, and here he adopted the name Voltaire. Oedipe's success began Voltaire's influence and brought him into the French Enlightment. Exile to England Voltaire's repartee continued to bring him trouble, however. After offending a young nobleman, the Chevalier de Rohan, the Rohan family had a lettre de cachet issued, a secret warrant that allowed for the punishment of people who had committed no crimes, and used it to exile Voltaire without a trial. The incident marked the beginning of Voltaire's attempt to ameliorate the French judiciary system. Voltaire's exile to England greatly influenced him through ideas and experiences. The young man was impressed by England's monarchy, combined with the freedoms of speech and religion. He also met several influential people, and was influenced by writers such as Shakespeare, which he saw as an example French writers should look to. Many of his later works were influenced by this stay. After three years in exile, Voltaire returned to Paris and published his ideas in a fictional document about the English government entitled the Lettres philosophiques (Philosophical letters on the English). Due to the fact that he regarded the English 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 burned and Voltaire was forced to leave Paris. The Château de Cirey Voltaire then set out to the Château de Cirey, located on the borders of Champagne, France and 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. Their relationship, which lasted for fifteen years, led to much intellectual development. Voltaire and the Marquise collected over 21,000 books, an enormous amount for their time. Together, Voltaire and the Marquise also studied these books and performed experiments. Both worked on experimenting with the "natural sciences", the term used in that epoch for physics, in his laboratory. Voltaire performed many experiments, including one that attempted to determine the properties of fire. The 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica comments that, "If the English visit may be regarded as having finished Voltaire's education, the Cirey residence was the first stage of his literary manhood." 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, publishing plays such as Mérope and some short stories. Again, a main source of inspiration for Voltaire were the years he spent exiled in England. During his time there, Voltaire had been strongly influenced by the works of Sir Isaac Newton, a leading philosopher and scientist of the epoch. Voltaire strongly believed in Newton's theories, especially concerning optics (Newton’s discovery that white light is comprised of all the colors in the spectrum led to many experiments on his and the Marquise's part), and gravity (the story of Newton and the apple falling from the tree is mentioned in his Essai sur la poésie épique (Essay on Epic Poetry)). Although both Voltaire and the Marquise were also curious about the philosophies of Gottfried Leibniz, a contemporary and rival, of Newton, Voltaire and the Marquise remained "Newtonians" and based their theories on Newton’s works and ideas. Though it has been stated that the Marquise may have been more "Leibnizian", which may have caused tension between the two, this is probably exaggeration; the Marquise even wrote "je newtonise," which means "I am "newtoning". Voltaire wrote a book on Newton's philosophies: the Eléments de la philosophie de Newton (The Elements of Newton's Philosophies). The Elements was probably written with the Marquise, and describes the other branches of Newton's ideas that fascinated him: it spoke of optics and the theory of attraction (gravity). Voltaire and the Marquise also studied history - particularly the people who built up civilization to the point it was at the time. Voltaire had worked with history since his time in England; his second essay in English was entitled Essay upon the Civil Wars in France. When he returned to France, He wrote a biographical essay over King Charles XII. This essay was the beginning of Voltaire's rejection of religion; he wrote that human life is not destined or controlled by greater beings. The essay won him the position of historian in the king's court. Voltaire and the Marquise also worked with philosophy, particularly with metaphysics, the branch of philosophy dealing with the distant, and what cannot be directly proven: why and what life is, whether or not there is a God, and so on. Voltaire and the Marquise analyzed the Bible, trying to find its validity in the world. Voltaire renounced religion; he believed in the separation of church and state and in religious freedom, ideas he formed after his stay in England. Voltaire even claimed that "One hundred years from my day there will not be a Bible in the earth except one that is looked upon by an antiquarian curiosity seeker." After the death of the Marquise, Voltaire moved to Berlin to join Frederick the Great, a close friend and admirer of his. 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, he began to encounter difficulties. Faced with a lawsuit and an argument with the president of the Berlin Academy of science, Voltaire wrote the Diatribe du docteur Akakia (Diatribe of Doctor Akakia) which derided the president. 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. Voltaire headed toward Paris, but Louis XIV banned him from the city, so instead he turned to Geneva, where he bought a large estate. Though he was received openly at first, the law in Geneva which banned theatrical performances and the publication of La pucelle dÓrléans against his will led to Voltaire's writing of Candide, ou l'Optimisme (Candide, or Optimism) in 1759 and his eventual leave. Candide, a satire on the philosophy of Gottfried Leibniz, remains the work for which Voltaire is perhaps best known for. Ferney and final years Voltaire's Death maskVoltaire then settled in Ferney, an estate along the Swiss-French border. There he took up a fight for workers' rights; his attack on serfdom made him extremely popular and influential in the politics of the area. Ironically, he provided money for the renovation of the church (the inscription "Deo erexit Voltaire" (Voltaire erected this to God) was placed on it) while his chief concern at the time was to fight the church. In 1778, he returned to Paris for the first time in 28 years. There, he saw a performance of his play, Irene. Its success encouraged him to begin another tragedy. However, on May 30th of that year, he became ill, and passed away during the night. He was buried in the Abbey of Scellères, and his body was transferred to the Panthéon on July 10th, 1791, during the French Revolution. In 1814, after the first fall of Napoleon and the restoration of the House of Bourbon monarchy, Voltaire's bones were removed from the Pantheon and destroyed. His heart is preserved at La Comedie Francaise.