28/09/2001
Voltaire

Voltaire, destined to become one of the most famous writers and humanitarian thinkers of all time, was born François Marie Arouet in France in 1694. The son of a notary, he was educated at the Jesuit College of Louis-le-Grand in Paris before being sent by his father to study law. However, the young man soon rejected the law in favour of literature. With a talent for verse and a brilliant, if acerbic, wit the young man soon became a favourite of Parisian society.

Francois Marie's reputation spread when, in 1717, he was arrested for writing a series of satirical verses ridiculing the French government. Imprisoned in the Bastille for eleven months, he wrote his first major play, 'Œdipe,' which met with great acclaim on its first performance at the Théâtre-Français in 1718. Following this success he adopted the name 'Voltaire'.

His writings expressed both his brilliant and sarcastic wit and an erudite understanding of the social structures and religious dilemmas of the time. In 1726 however, a quarrel with an illustrious aristocrat resulted in Voltaire's second incarceration in the Bastille. Given the choice of further imprisonment or exile to England, he chose the latter.

Ever in pursuit of knowledge, Voltaire soon mastered the English language and was drawn to the philosophy of John Locke and to the ideas of the great scientist Sir Isaac Newton, who were both to have an influence on his later work. Whilst in London, he published in a revised form his epic poem, the Henriade, a surreptitious edition of which had already appeared in France. The poem - an eloquent defence of religious toleration that was far ahead of its time - would eventually achieve almost unprecedented success throughout Europe.

After his return to Paris in 1728, he spent the next four years writing a book ostensibly praising English customs and institutions whilst at the same time presenting a subtle but merciless attack upon the political and ecclesiastical structures of France. Not surprisingly, reaction to this work was unfavourable and Voltaire was forced to flee Paris once again. He found refuge at the Château de Cirey in the independent duchy of Lorraine. There he formed an intimate relationship with Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, marquise du Châtelet, herself a learned intellectual. The result was a period of intense literary activity during which he produced a number of plays, novels, tales and satires.

Voltaire did not remain out of favour in Paris for long and frequently travelled both to that city and to Versailles
where, through his friendship with the marquise de Pompadour, the famous mistress of Louis XV, he gained access to the court which soon succumbed to his charm, intelligence and wit. He was first appointed historiographer of France, and then a gentleman of the king's bedchamber; finally, in 1746, he was elected to the French Academy.

Despite these successes, Voltaire left France in 1749, at the invitation of Frederick II of Prussia to join the Prussian court. His stay there, however, proved to be short lived; Voltaire's polemic and the King's temper proving a volatile combination and in 1752 Voltaire returned.

The constrictions of France led him to purchase the 'Ferney' estate, just over the Swiss border and it was here, just outside Geneva that Voltaire produced some of his most famous work, including the novel Candide. He became a central figure in the French philosophical movement, and an outspoken critic of religious intolerance, persecution and tyranny. To his pen can be attributed some of the noblest ideas that were later to drive the Revolution which he did not live to see. He continued to incur the displeasure of the Establishment, and was only allowed to return to Paris shortly before his death in 1778. He was greeted with a hero's welcome.