Life
Voltaire was born in a wealthy middle-class family in Paris and received a good education since he was a child. His father was a legal notary and wanted him to be a judge in the future, but he became interested in literature and later became a literati.
Voltaire had a quick mind and was versatile throughout his life. His works are known for their harsh language and satirical tone. He said: "Laughter can defeat everything. It is the most powerful weapon." He was thrown into the Bastille twice for his pungent satire on feudal absolutism. His books were banned and he was expelled from the country many times. In 1725, he was forced to go into exile in England and became deeply interested in the politics and culture of the British bourgeoisie. He studied the British bourgeois constitutional monarchy, Locke's materialist empiricism and Newton's theory of gravity.
While living in England from 1726 to 1729, he concentrated on investigating the British political system, philosophy and literature. After returning to China, he published the "Philosophical Letters" (also known as the "British Letters", 1734) to promote the British bourgeois revolution. Later achievements, criticizing France's authoritarian regime. The tablets were banned immediately after publication, and the Paris court ordered the arrest of the author. He fled to his girlfriend, Mrs. Atlet's manor in Xirei Village, and lived in seclusion for 15 years.
In 1746, he was elected as an academician of the French Academy. Voltaire, holding the illusion of an enlightened monarch, came to Berlin in 1750 at the invitation of King Friedrich II of Prussia. He originally wanted to make a difference in politics, but Frederick II treated him as a literary acolyte. The painful experience made him determined not to associate with any king again.
During this period, he got close to the younger generation of Enlightenment thinkers and wrote articles for the Encyclopedia, which were later included in his book "Philosophical Dictionary" (1764).
In 1753, he left Berlin and settled in Switzerland.
Since 1760, he has settled in Fernay Manor on the border between France and Switzerland. He has maintained frequent correspondence with people from various European countries, and actively participated in social activities. He wrote a large number of pamphlets to expose religious persecution and judicial system under autocratic regimes. Department of Darkness.
During this period, religious factional struggles broke out in France, resulting in a large number of refugees. Voltaire sheltered hundreds of families of refugees in his estate. He also fought against injustice many times, seeking justice for the poor and redressing unjust cases. The one with the greatest impact was the Kara incident.
On October 13, 1761, a terrible tragedy occurred in a house on Rue Felatier in Toulouse. The owner of the house, Jean Carat, was a respected Huguenot businessman. Late that night, Jean Carat discovered that her eldest son, Marc-Antoine, had committed suicide by hanging from a beam in the shop. The whole family panicked, and his mother burst into tears, alarming the neighbors. Suddenly, someone in the crowd of onlookers said: "Mark Antony was killed by his parents because he chose Catholicism." Catholicism and Protestantism have experienced religious wars in the 16th century, and have been in opposition for more than two hundred years. Still very sharp. A judge from Toulouse came after hearing the news. Without investigating or interrogating, without even looking at the scene, he arrested all the people who were at home on the night of the "murder" incident. Why did Mark Antony commit suicide? It turned out that this 28-year-old young man had studied law and wanted to be a lawyer. However, he was forced to engage in business because he could not obtain a Catholic certificate. He wanted to get a sum of money from his father to start a business, but was rejected by his father. Disappointed, he went to a cafe every day to drink to drown his sorrows. Later, because he was in debt, he felt that his future was bleak, so he committed suicide in a single thought. How could a gray-haired, nearly 70-year-old man hang a young and strong young man to death? The crime of "murder" is obviously difficult to establish. Prosecutor Diku was upright and went to court to defend Lao Kara, but was suspended for three months. Lawyer Sudel wanted to clarify the truth, but the judge, who was caught up in the excitement, refused to listen. Instead, he thought the lawyer was incompetent. The presiding judge abused his power and forced Carla to confess his accomplice. Carla said sternly: "Since there is no crime, how can there be an accomplice?" On March 10, 1762, the court, regardless of all the evidence of innocence, brutally sentenced Carla. Punishment of car breaking. Before his execution, Lao Carla said sadly and angrily: "I have told the truth, and I died innocently..." Not long after the incident, Voltaire heard various rumors. He has always been skeptical of the church and believes that both Catholics and Protestants are shameless people. The tragic experience of the old man Kara aroused his incomparable indignation against the church and judicial authorities, and he was determined to fight for human dignity and freedom of belief.
He calmly and personally investigated and collected evidence through various channels, and summoned Carla's two sons, who had been exiled to Geneva, to Fernay, based on the details provided by them and the reflections heard from passing travelers. Compare and make a personal judgment on the entire event. During this period, he published the confessions of the two Carla brothers, wrote a pamphlet exposing this inhumane injustice, and provided all expenses for Mrs. Carla and brought her to Paris to attract the attention of public opinion. On February 3, 1763, Voltaire personally wrote a letter of appeal, concluding that "I am sure that this family is innocent." On March 7, the Privy Council ordered a retrial of the case, and the old man Kara and his family who had suffered unfair injustice were finally vindicated.
At the end of this year, Voltaire published the famous "On Religious Tolerance", which violently criticized the religious persecution of the reactionary church and the dark phenomenon of the autocratic government that disregarded human life, and elaborated on his idealism and materialism thoughts.
Later, he also advocated for Labar, a 19-year-old knight who was also persecuted by the church, and Sylvain, a Feng Shui master over fifty years old, and finally vindicated these two unjust cases. .
Throughout his later years, Voltaire engaged in a large number of creations with more vigorous fighting spirit. He wrote 613 entries for the "Encyclopedia" and compiled it into a volume in 1764 as the "Philosophical Dictionary". Publicly published on the topic. In addition, he also published philosophical novels "Zadig" and "Candide", historical works "History of Russia under Peter the Great" and "On Parliament", etc.
It is worth mentioning that during his settlement in Fernay, he maintained frequent correspondence with people from all walks of life in various European countries. According to statistics, there are more than 10,000 letters from Voltaire that have been preserved, and as many as 700 people corresponded with him. He used this method to discuss various social issues with correspondents and promote his anti-authoritarian and anti-church enlightenment ideas. Voltaire's tireless struggle won great reputation. His name resounded throughout Europe, and many celebrities came to Ferney to seek an audience. Fernay became the center of European public opinion, and progressive people at that time honored Voltaire as "Priest Fernay."
In February 1778, he attended the first performance of his tragedy "Irena" Return to Paris. As soon as the news spread, the whole city was in uproar. Some young people who had only heard his name but never seen him were even more ecstatic and flocked to his hotel, making the surrounding streets crowded. As he passed by, the women secretly plucked one or two hairs from his fur coat and kept them as holy relics.
When he arrived in Paris, Voltaire was overly excited and had a uremia attack, and was forced to stay in bed. But he still insisted on dictating the last five-act poetic tragedy "Irena". Although the script was mediocre, when it was performed, the reaction in Paris and Versailles was very strong. The queen attended the performance, and Voltaire also dragged his sick body to appreciate the last honor and happiness.
The church people had ulterior motives and wanted to use Voltaire's prestige to increase their own worth, so they took advantage of Voltaire's death in an attempt to make some money from it.
One day, a priest sneaked into Voltaire's ward and asked Voltaire to make a deathbed confession. Although Voltaire was not an atheist but a deist, he was always at odds with the church. He knew the priest's purpose and sent him away unceremoniously.
A few days later, another abbot named Morey repeated his old trick. As soon as Voltaire saw him coming in, he asked:
"Where do you come from, priest?"
"Ah, sir, I come from God!"
"Really? Can you show me God's edict?"
Although Voltaire was seriously ill, he still maintained a clear mind and ruthlessly expressed his thoughts with his unique bitter irony. Expose the ugly face of these "wolves in monk's clothes".
On May 12, Voltaire couldn't help coughing up blood and his temperature rose sharply. The Duke of Richelieu couldn't bear to see his old friend suffer like this, so he sent him opium tincture. Voltaire was so confused that he drank all of this potent sedative. Three priests broke in while he was unconscious. After he regained consciousness, they asked him if he recognized the sanctity of Christ. Voltaire had already given a negative answer in the "Philosophical Dictionary". When he heard the words "Christ" and "Holy", he became furious, made an astonishing move, propped up the sick body, and pushed the priest angrily A handful and said: "Let me die in peace."
At 11 o'clock in the evening on May 30, 1778, Voltaire passed away.
The reactionary church hated this blasphemous old enemy and ordered his body to be transported out of Paris overnight and abandoned in a deserted grave.
However, Voltaire’s contribution to the French Enlightenment in the 18th century cannot be erased. For most of his life he was recognized as a leader and mentor of his people. After the French Revolution, Voltaire's remains were moved to the Cemetery of the Greats.