1/18/00 Extra Credit Assignment - Voltaire

Francois Marie Arouet was born on November 21, 1694 in Paris. He was the son of a notary. The name most people know Francois by is his pen name, Voltaire. Voltaire was a French author, philosopher, and apostle of free thought, he was also one of the most influential figures during the French age of Enlightenment. Voltaire received an excellent education at a Jesuit school called Louis-le-Grand. At age 16 he left school and became friends with Parisian aristocrats. The aristocrats admired his cleverness, humor, and remarkable writing ability. [Voltaire Foundation, Oxford]

In 1717 Voltaire was arrested for writing a series of satirical verses ridiculing the French government. He was imprisoned in the infamous French prison, the Bastille. During imprisonment he adopted the name Voltaire. He used this pen name because he could not be blamed for writing subversive literature if the government could not identify the author. During his eleven months in prison he wrote his first major play. The play was named "Oedipe", which achieved great success in 1718. Ironically, only weeks out of prison Voltaire got in an argument wi

During the time of the enlightenment, the philosophes were people who brought "the light of knowledge to their ignorant fellow creatures"(McKay, 601). The prevalent ideals of these thinkers were progress, reason, and the search for natural law. Francois Marie Arouet, or Voltaire was undoubtedly the most famous. One of the more interesting of the enlightenment figures, Voltaire used wit and clever satire to convey his messages. In some cases, he shared the same view as other philosophes, but in others his opinion was very different.

Voltaire said that it didn't matter what people said, he believed they had freedom of speech and he would defend that right(16). Like the other Enlightenment thinkers, Voltaire talked about how wonderful freedom of speech would be, and despised those that did not give it. He himself had been imprisoned because of something he said. Voltaire did not believe there were accidents, there has to be a reason for everything.(18) This goes along with the new way of thinking. Nothing happened "by accident", everything had a reason or law which could explain it. He also says the same thing when he says there are no chances, everything has a cause.(19) Again, he displays his agreement with Enlightenment ideals. One of the main goals of these thinkers is progress, and to them that meant a break from harsh absolutism and the censorship of the church. "Liberty can only be achieved when the last king is strangled by the entrails of

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Approximate Word count = 982
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)