Voltaire, born François-Marie Arouet, was born on November 21st, 1694 in Paris, France. He died on
May 30th, 1778, also in Paris, France. He lays to rest in the Pantheon in Paris. Voltaire was born to a
middle class family and was the youngest of five children. His mother died at the age of seven and he
wasn’t very close with his father. Voltaire was closest to his godfather, Châteauneuf, who most likely
contributed highly to his ideals. Voltaire wrote poetry in his early days and studied at the Jesuit college
of Louis-le-Grand in Paris
After mocking the duc d’Orléans, Philippe II, Voltaire was banished from Paris and imprisoned in the
Bastille in 1717. In the time after his release, he wrote an epic poem about Henry IV, which brought
him back in the favor of the regent and Queen Marie and allowed him to become a court poet. (Don’t
worry, he goes to jail once more and gets exiled many more times)
Voltaire spent a few years in England during his exile. While there, he became fluent in English and
gained the influence of many popular philosophers. Voltaire traveled and lived in different places,
such as Geneva and Ferney. He was welcomed back to Paris for his progressive ideals of the
Enlightenment. He stayed there until he died.
Voltaire believed in freedom of religion and free commerce. He believed in deism, which means God
created the world but he now stays apart from it. Voltaire was also a vegetarian and an animal rights
activist. He most importantly believed in reason.
Some fun facts about Voltaire:
He won the lottery for quite a bit of money and used it to invest. He invested it so cleverly that he
convinced the court to let him take control of his inheritance. From then on, he was pretty rich!
In 1733, Voltaire had an affair with a married woman, Émilie du Châtelet, that lasted for 16 years. At
one point, he was even living in her husband’s home, which he payed to fix up. Her husband was cool
with this and even stayed with them at the home together.
Some notable works of Voltaire includes:
“Candide”
“Mahomet”
“The Age of Louis XIV”
“Diatribe du docteur Akakia”
“Micromégas”
“L’Histoire de Charles XII”
“Mérope”
“Alzire”
“An Essay on Universal History, the Manners and Spirit of Nations from the Reign of Charlemaign to
the Age of Lewis XIV”
“Letters on England”
Quiz:
1) Where was Voltaire born?
2) Name one of his beliefs
3) Voltaire became fluent in what second language?
4) Name one of his works
Discussion Questions:
Should Voltaire have returned to Paris after the imprisonment and exile he faced there? Would you
have held a grudge against the government and stayed away?
Would Voltaire have been as controversial as he was if he was born now? Would he have ever even
been imprisoned since we have freedom of speech now?
Final report comments:
Midterm report:
I relate to this from my presentation with Martin Luther being excommunicated from the church
ReplyDelete"Would Voltaire have been as controversial as he was if he was born now?" I'm sure he'd find a way to parody our times every bit as scathing/annoying/provocative as it was in his own. We need him!
ReplyDeleteDQ2: Would Voltaire have been as controversial as he was if he was born now? Would he have ever even been imprisoned since we have freedom of speech now?
ReplyDeleteHe would be controversial but face less consequences for his views.