French Enlightenment writer, philosopher and historian well-known by his nom de plume, Voltaire (1694-1778) with nickname Zozo was born Francois-Marie Arouet.
A critic of Christianity, especially the Roman Catholic Church, a believer in deism and a satirical polemist, he criticized religious dogma, intolerance as well as the French institution of his time.
Voltaire advocated for freedom of speech and religion (including religious tolerance), and the separation of church and state. Social progress, his works portray, could be achieved through reason. He also declares through his works that all authority, including church and state must allow itself to be subjected to reason. His works spoke for him as they portray his great wit.
Educated at College Louis-le-Grand, Voltaire made philosophy his career and Western Philosophy his religion, and propounded the theory of classical liberalism. His areas of focus were Political philosophy, literature, historiography, and biblical criticism.
His contributions to the world, apart from Literature, are in the areas of civil liberties and the separation of church and state. His beliefs on freedom and reason led to the French Revolution, the U.S. Bill of Rights and the decrease in the power of the Roman Catholic Church.
His beliefs reflected in his writing have influenced even modern western society. These beliefs were fired up after his visit to England.
It must be recalled that after King Henry VIII left the Catholic Church and took England with him, there arose a period of religious intolerance after his death so much so that Protestants were burned at the stake by no other but the late king’s daughter, Catherine Aragon, nicknamed Bloody Mary (Queen Mary of England or Mary Tudor).
Remember also that after Queen Elizabeth 1 of England, King James 1 ruled both Scotland and England, his son who succeeded him ran into misfortune when he married a French Catholic princess, and he was later beheaded for all kinds of offences including treason! Nevertheless, we all know that his crime was that he married a Catholic in a land of Protestants.
Also remember that Queen Elizabeth 1 herself was imprisoned by her half sister Mary Tudor because she was Protestant.
All these religious intolerance moved men of thoughts like Voltaire to write against societal ills such as the excessive powers of the church and the state. Voltaire and other Enlightenment Age writers protested through their writings that there should be tolerance, freedom of speech and religion.
Voltaire’s influences were such men of the ink as Cicero, Miguel de Cervantes who wrote the mostly read book after the Bible, the novel Don Quixote, Francis Bacon, Pierre Bayle, William Shakespeare, Alexander Pope, Moliere, Isaac Newton, Virgil, to name a few.
He in turn influenced such notable names as P.B. Shelley, J.W. von Goethe, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche who said that God was dead, Napoleon, Emilie de Chatelet and many others.
Very versatile and prolific, Voltaire produced works in almost all literary form, such as plays, novels, historical and scientific books. He has to his name over 2, 000 books and pamphlets and over 20, 000 extant letters. These empirical evidences show that Voltaire was truly a writer (chuckle)!
His Works:
Voltaire’s best known work is Candide, a satirical novella published in 1759. It tells the story of a naïve young man who lost the love of his life and went in search of her. He is shipwrecked after being conscripted. Candide loses everything being robbed and tortured.
Nonetheless, he does not lose the will to live. So, he begins a journey into the challenges and evils of the real world. This journey comes with great disillusionment, very painful to the young man who believes “that what happens happens for the best in the end.” He learned this from the teaching of his personal philosopher, Dr Panlosss. This satirical novel mocks the doctrine of optimism!
Voltaire’s message in the Candide is that no matter what life throws at a man, no matter how devastated one is, one must strive to overcome it; man mustn’t be passive in accepting life’s adversity. Man must not resign himself to, ‘whatever happens is for the best.’
As a prolific writer and one of the leading writers of The Enlightenment era, Voltaire’s other notable works include the tragic play Zaire, the historical study The Age of Louis XIV and Zadig.
Voltaire was a knight in shinning amour, a liberator whose ideal form of government was democracy. He believed in reason and equal rights.
Voltaire’s Quotes
Every man is guilty of all the good he didn’t do.
We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies.
Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need.
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.
Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time.
Don’t think money does everything or you are going to end up doing everything for money.
The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood.
It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one.
The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor.
The more often stupidity is repeated, the more often it gets the appearance of wisdom.
If you want to know who controls you, look at who you are not allowed to criticize.
The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.
I disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.
I might disagree with your opinion, but I am willing to give my life for your right to express it.
God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well. (Remember that Voltaire is a deist who believes that God created, but is not in control of creation).
The best is the enemy of the good.
Common sense is not so common.
We must cultivate our garden.
Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.
