Voltaire

by: Pooja Suresh

 

 

Nom

François Marie Arouet,

rechristened as Arouet de Voltaire

 

 

 

Voltaire recites The Poème sur le désastre de Lisbonne (Poem on the Lisbon Disaster), a poem about the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. This poem is regarded as an introduction to Voltaire's famous work, Candide.

 

 

Pays/Ville

Paris, France

 

 

Details Personnels:

I am a writer and produced works in many literary forms, such as plays, poetry, novels, essays, books and pamphlets.  My works exhibit the principles of French Enlightenment.  I am also a philosopher, and fight injustice, especially religious intolerance, while defending civil rights, such as freedom of religion and of trade. 

 

Date de Naissance:

November 21, 1694

 

Date de Mort:

May 30, 1778

 

Sexe:

Male

Croyances Politiques:

I was exiled from Paris in 1726, and went to London for three years.  I thought the English Constitution was very impressive, and the writings of philosopher John Locke and of scientist Sir Isaac Newton intrigued me.  Using the things I learned in London, when I went back to Paris, I wrote Lettres Philosophiques Sur Les Anglais, which highlighted my political views.  I believed that civil rights should be extended, but the majority of the people should not make big decisions for the country.  I think that an enlightened absolute ruler was necessary to have a good government.  Other works that i wrote criticized the Catholic Church and the French institutions of my time.

 

Croyances Religieuses:

I believe in religious tolerance.  I am a deist, meaning I believe that God exists, but i do not base this on faith, but rather I base my belief on reason.  And thought I believe in God, I also believe that church and priestcraft is corrupt.

 

Situation de Famille:

Father: François Arouet

Mother:Marie Marguerite Daumand 

I was the youngest of three children.  My mother died when I was seven, so I became closer to my sister.  My sister gave birth to a daughter, who later became my mistress.

 

Comment je suis devenu écrivain:

I have always enjoyed poetry, and other forms of literature.  I decided to become a writer, though my father was against it because he thought writers could not earn good livings.  So, he found me employment as a lawyer, but soon, I became a writer like I've always wanted.

 

En Cherchant:

Human liberty and justice.

 

Metier:

French poet, dramatist, historian, and philosopher

 

Interets/Loisirs:

• talent for poetry
• love of theater
• keen ambition to succeed
• expert at satire
• eager to be tested against Sophocles and Pierre Corneille

 

Accomplissements:    

• Éléments de la philosophie de Newton mis à la portée de tout le monde
• Candide
• The Henriade
• Lettres philosophiques sur les Anglais
• Le Mondain
• Sept Discours en Vers sur l'Homme
• Dictionairre Philisophique
• Zadig

 

Education:

• I went to the Jesuits at the Collège Louis-le-Grand from 1704 to 1711

 

Personnage que je voudrais rencontrer et pourquoi:

Socrates because I was going to base a play on him.

 

Amis:

• Frederick the Great
• Gabrielle Émilie le Tonnelier de Breteuil (Émilie du Châtelet)
• Catherine Olympe Dunoyer
• Madame du Pompadour

 

Citation Memorable:

• "Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices." -Voltaire
• "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."- Voltaire
• “Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.”- Voltaire

 

Mon Influence sur la Culture Francaise

 

     In my lifetime, I have had a large influence upon the French Culture.  I have written many works, including poetry and plays.  Not only am I a famous writer, but I am also a well-known philosopher.  I am known for my philosophical writing, my wit, and my hatred towards religious intolerance, cruelty, and war.  In my writings, I often criticize the King and the Church of France, and constantly support political and social reform.  For these reasons, I have been jailed quite a few times in my life, sometimes in the Bastille prison.  But no matter how much I must pay in return, I still want to fight all injustice.

 

     One of my main things that inspired me to fight injustice was the Rohan incident of 1726.  I had insulted a young nobleman, by the name of Chevalier de Rohan, and I made him look like a downright fool.  As an act of revenge, Rohan sent men to beat me up and throught his connections, he managed to throw me into the Bastille prison for the second time of my life.  After promising to leave France and go to England, I was released from prison.  But ever since that time, I have supported and fought for social and judicial reform.  During my two years in England, I was greatly influenced by John Locke and Isaac Newton.  After my return to France, I continued to write literary works, advocating reform for the social and legal structure of France.  At the time, the King was not affected by any laws because he made the laws.  In addition, there was no trial by jury, and any person with a high status and influence on the judicial system could obtain a "lettre de cachet" which would immediately call for the arrest of someone, even though there was no accusation or trial.  I strongly believed that this was wrong, and promoted my own ideas in my works.

 

     Later on in my life, there were strict censorship laws.  I was forced to write my works anonymously, and instead of writing my criticism of the King and the Church straightforwardly in the text, I based plays and stories around the current circumstances of France, bringing to light the need for reform.  Using logic and humour, I also made viewpoints, opposing my own viewpoint, seem outright ridiculous, convincing the audience that reform is necessary.  All in all, I have had a great influence on the French Culture throughout my life because of my philosopical writings and my advocation of social and judicial reform.

 

 

 

Resources:

 

Birkenstock, Jane M.. "Voltaire." Visit Voltaire. 07 Jan 2009 Web.9 Jun 2009. <http://www.visitvoltaire.com>. 

 

Mossner, Ernest. "Deism." Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. Donald Borchert. Vol. 2. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan

       Reference USA, 2006. 680-693. 10 vols. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. International Academy High 

       School. 6 June 2009 <http://find.galegroup.com/gvrl/>.

 

"Voltaire." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.  

       Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009

       <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet  /BioRC>.

 

"Voltaire." International Dictionary of Theatre, Volume 2: Playwrights. St. James Press, 1993. 

       Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009Save

       <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet /BioRC>.