1694-1778
Francois Marie
Arouet, otherwise known as Voltaire, was born on November 21, 1694 in Paris.
He was educated at the College Louis-le-Grand by the Jesuits. He
left school at the age of sixteen, and chose literature as a career.
His writings which accused the French regent Philippe II, duc d'Orléans
of horrible crimes, resulted in his imprisonment in the Bastille. During
his 11 month stay in the Bastille, Voltaire completed his first tragedy,
dipe, which became very successful in 1718. In 1726 Voltaire mocked
a powerful nobleman, the consequence being a choice between imprisonment
or exile. He chose to be exiled from France. From 1726 to 1729, Voltaire
lived in England. During that time, Voltaire became interested in the ideas
of John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton. When he returned to Paris, Voltaire
wrote a book applauding English culture. The book was taken as an insult
to the French government, and Voltaire was forced to leave Paris once again.
Voltaire moved
to the Château de Cirey, located in the independent duchy of Lorraine.
There he formed close relationships with the aristocrats. While Voltaire
stayed at Cirey, he wrote many pieces of literature. This included numerous
plays, Elements of the Philosophy of Newton, novels, tales, satires, and
light verses. Although he found refuge in Cirey, Voltaire frequented
Paris and Versailles, where, through the influence of the marquise de Pompadour,
the famous mistress of Louis XV, he became a court favorite. He was
appointed historiographer of France, then a gentleman of the king's bedchamber
and finally, he was elected to the French Academy in 1746. His Poème
de Fontenoy (1745), which was about a battle won by the French over the
English during the War of the Austrian Succession, and his Epitome of the
Age of Louis XV, along with his dramas Le triomphe de Trajan and La princesse
de Navarre, were the results of Voltaire's affiliation with the court of
Louis XV.
In 1749, Voltaire
accepted a long-standing invitation from Frederick II of Prussia to reside
at the Prussian court. He went to Berlin in 1750, but remained for only
two years, for his ideas clashed with those of the king's. He completed
his Siècle de Louis XIV, a historical study of the period of Louis
XIV, during his stay at Berlin. In Ferney, Voltaire wrote several
philosophical poems, such as The Lisbon Disaster (1756); many satirical
and philosophical novels, such as Candide
(1759); the tragedy Tancrède (1760); and the Dictionnaire
philosophique (1764). He fought against prejudice, superstition
and intolerance, all through his writings.
More Literature by Voltaire
Letters
from Voltaire
If
God Did Not Exist, it Would Be Necessary to Invent Him
An
Epistle of Voltaire
A
Treatise on Tolerance