Voltaire

Guide Note

Voltaire, born in 1694, was considered a literary and intellectual genius. Much of his work contained criticism of the Catholic Church doctrine. He was an avid supporter of civil liberties and social reform. He went on to inspire many of the minds who took part in the American Revolution and French Revolution.

Fast Facts

  1. Birth Name: François-Marie Arouet
  2. Born: November 21, 1694 in Paris, France
  3. Language: French, Latin, Greek, Italian, Spanish and English
  4. Key Subjects: Catholic Church Dogma, civil liberties and social reform
  5. Studied Law
  6. Exiled for inflammatory writings
  7. Wrote first play in prison
  8. Never Married
  9. A millionaire by age 40
  10. Was a freemason
  11. Died: May 30, 1778 in Paris, France

Major Work

  1. Mahomet (Play) - Written in 1736
  2. Zadig, ou La Destinée - Published in 1747
  3. Micromégas - Published in 1752
  4. Dictionnaire Philosophique - Published in 1764

Quotes

  1. "All men are born with a nose and ten fingers, but no one was born with a knowledge of God." — Voltaire on men and God
  2. "An ideal form of government is democracy tempered with assassination." — Voltaire on the government
  3. "Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." — Voltaire on appreciation
  4. "Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe." — Voltaire on faith

Contribution

During his lifetime he wrote between fifty and sixty plays, over 200 books and pamphlets, essays, novels and numerous poems, which included Henriade and La Pucelle d'Orléans.

The Mahalo Top 7

  1. Wikipedia: Voltaire
  2. Voltaire Foundation: Voltaire Biography and Works
  3. The Literature Network: Voltaire Biography, Online Works and Forum  WARNING: Pop-ups
  4. Amazon.com: Voltaire Merchandise
  5. Positive Atheism: Voltaire Resources
  6. The New Yorker: "Voltaire's Garden" Article (2007)
  7. Blog Post: "Worldly and Personal Influences on Voltaire's Writing"  Jennifer: Very in-depth blog post and discussion

Free Voltaire Works Online

Voltaire Study Guides and Literary Criticism

Voltaire Biographies and Profiles

Voltaire Quotations

Voltaire News and Articles

Voltaire Photos and Videos

Voltaire Fan Sites, Blogs and Message Boards

Voltaire Books and Merchandise

Voltaire Personal Timeline

Voltaire Publications Timeline

Voltaire Notable Movies

 WARNING The links in the following timeline all come from IMDb which has pop-ups


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