According to the biological point of view, Voltaire is male. . . . . . . . . . . . .
The following is a brief introduction to Voltaire's life:
Francois Marie Arouet, better known by his pen name Voltaire, was an important figure in the French Enlightenment. He has a lot of knowledge, including 100 poets, playwrights, essayists, novelists, historians and philosophers. He is an advocate of free thought and liberalism.
Voltaire 1694 was born in a middle-class family in Paris, and his father was a lawyer. When Voltaire was a teenager, he studied in the Great Louis College founded by Jesuits, and also studied law for a while, but he soon gave up. When he was young in Paris, he soon became famous: he was quick-thinking, full of fun, laughing and cursing, and became a poem. However, under the old French system, such people would be in danger. Voltaire was thrown into the Bastille for writing some political poems. He spent nearly a year in prison. During this period, he wrote the epic "Henrietta", which was widely praised. Shortly after Voltaire was released in 17 18, his play Oedipus was staged in Paris and achieved great success. Voltaire became famous at the age of twenty-four, and for the next sixty years, he was a major figure in French literature.
Voltaire is not only a master of language, but also knows how to make money. He gradually became a lonely rich man. But at 1762, he had some trouble. Voltaire has become the most astute and famous orator of his time (perhaps beyond time and space), but some French nobles think that he lacks the humility that a civilian should have. This led to an open debate between Voltaire and such a noble Rouen knight. Voltaire outsmarted him in the argument, making the other side dumbfounded and ashamed. But not long after, the knight instigated a mob to suddenly beat Voltaire and later put him in the Bastille prison. Voltaire agreed to leave France and was soon released from prison. So he went to England and lived there for about two and a half years.
Voltaire's life in England was a major turning point in his life. He studied English and read through the works of some famous British people, such as John Locke, Francis Bacon, isaac newton and william shakespeare. He also met with most of the leading British thinkers at that time. Shakespeare, English science and empiricism all left a deep impression on Voltaire. What impressed him most was the British political system. Britain's democracy and individual freedom are in sharp contrast with Voltaire's political situation in France. No English aristocrat can issue a secret order to drive Voltaire to prison. If Voltaire is detained for some improper reason, a writ of habeas corpus can release him immediately.
Voltaire returned to France and wrote his first important philosophical work, Philosophical Correspondence, which is often called English Letters. The book was published in 1734, marking the real beginning of the French Enlightenment. In On English Letters, Voltaire generally praised the British political system, John Locke and other British thinkers. The publication of the book aroused the anger of the French authorities, and Voltaire was forced to leave Paris.
Voltaire spent most of the next fifteen years in Sire, eastern France. There, he became the lover of Lady Chatterley, the smart and elegant wife of a marquis. After her death 1750, Voltaire went to Germany at the personal invitation of Frederick, King of Prussia. Voltaire spent three years in Potsdam, Frederick's official residence. At first, he had a close relationship with Frederick, a talented and intelligent man, but they finally had an argument. Voltaire left Germany on 1753.
After leaving Germany, Voltaire settled in a manor near Geneva, where he could escape the persecution of the king of France and Prussia. But his liberal views even put him in a little danger in Switzerland. So in 1758, he moved to a new manor in Fournies near the border between France and Switzerland. There, if the authorities give him trouble, he can have two escape routes He lived there for twenty years, wrote many literary and philosophical works, corresponded with cultural leaders all over Europe, and received tourists.
Over the years, the number of Voltaire's literary works has not decreased. He is an incredibly prolific writer, perhaps the author with the largest number of works among the characters in this book. His collection of works has a total of more than 30 thousand pages. These include epics, lyric poems, letters, essays, novels, short stories, plays and important historical and philosophical works.
Voltaire has always been a staunch believer in freedom of religious belief, but when he was nearly seventy years old, several shocking persecution incidents occurred in France. In anger, he devoted himself to the intellectual crusade against religious fanaticism. He wrote many political pamphlets attacking religious intolerance. He also likes to end each of his personal letters with "Erasez I'infame", which means destroying notorious things. "For Voltaire, this notorious thing is religious paranoia and fanaticism.
1778, 83-year-old Voltaire returned to Paris, where he attended the first performance of his new play Goddess of Peace. Many spectators cheered him and called him the "great old man" of the French Enlightenment. Hundreds of admirers have visited us, including Benjamin Franklin. But Voltaire's life soon ended, and he died in Paris on May 30th, 1778. Because of his outspoken opposition to clericalism, he could not hold a Christian funeral in Paris. But 13 years later, the victorious French revolutionaries dug up his body and reburied it in the great hall of Paris.
Voltaire's works are numerous, so it is difficult to list his main works in a short essay. But what is more important is the basic ideas put forward in his life. One of his strongest beliefs is that freedom of speech and the press must be practiced. There is a saying that people often think that he said, "I don't agree with what you said, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Although Voltaire has never actually made such a clear statement, it undoubtedly reflects his attitude.
Another principle of Voltaire is his belief in religious freedom. Throughout his life, he has always opposed religious freedom and religious persecution. Although Voltaire believed in God, he resolutely opposed most religious dogmas and constantly pointed out that organized religion was fundamentally hypocritical.
Naturally, Voltaire never believed that French aristocrats with titles were smarter or kinder than him, and his audience fully understood that the so-called "divine right of kingship" was nonsense. Although Voltaire himself is far from being a modern Democrat (he tends to support a powerful and enlightened monarch), his main ideas clearly and prominently oppose any form of hereditary system. Therefore, it is conceivable that most of his followers just agree with democracy; His political and religious thoughts were in the mainstream of the French Enlightenment and made substantial contributions to the French 1789 Revolution.
Voltaire himself was not a scientist, but he was interested in science and was a staunch supporter of Francis Bacon and John Locke's experimental view. He is an important and talented historian, and one of his most important works is his general history of the world "On National Customs and National Spirit". The difference between this book and most previous history books is mainly reflected in two aspects: first, Voltaire admitted that Europe is only a small part of the world, so a large part of this book is about the history of Asia; Second, Voltaire thinks that cultural history is generally far more important than political history. Therefore, his book is mainly about the socio-economic situation and artistic development, not about the war between the king and them.
As a philosopher, Voltaire is far less innovative in this book than others. To a great extent, he absorbed the views of others, such as John Locke and Francis Bacon, and narrated them to make them popular. It is through Voltaire's works (more than anyone else's) that the concepts of democratic politics, religious freedom and freedom of thought spread throughout France and many other parts of Europe. Although there are many other important writers in the French Enlightenment (Diderot, Alembert, Rousseau, Montesquieu, etc. ), it should be said that Voltaire is an outstanding leader of this movement. First of all, his pungent literary style, long career and numerous works make him have more audiences than any other writer. Second, his thought represents the whole enlightenment thought. Third, in terms of time, he appeared before all other important people. Montesquieu's masterpiece Yi Fa didn't come out until 1748; The first volume of the famous encyclopedia was published in 175 1. Rousseau's first paper was written in 175 1. But Voltaire's letters about the English were published in 1734, and he was already famous 16 years when this book was published.
Voltaire's works, except the short story "Honest Man", have few readers today, but they have a very wide audience in the18th century. Therefore, Voltaire played an important role in the change of public opinion that eventually led to the French Revolution. His influence is not limited to France: Americans like Thomas Jefferson, james madison and Benjamin Franklin are also familiar with his works.
It is interesting to compare Voltaire with Jean Jacques Rosso, a famous contemporary writer. Voltaire's whole world outlook is a strong rationalism, and he is more in the mainstream of the Enlightenment than the sentimental Rousseau. In the eighteenth century, Voltaire was the most influential of the two; But Rousseau is a more creative person, and his works have great influence today.