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Artist, writer and philosopher (French)
Born November 21, 1694
Died May 30, 1778 (age 83 years)
In the eighteenth century, at a time when French culture dominated Europe, Voltaire dominated French culture. His work includes a wide range of writings in all genres, including 56 plays, dialogues, historical works, novels and short stories, verse and epic poetry, of essays, articles, scientific and cultural , pamphlets, literary criticism and more than 20,000 letters. Voltaire was born November 21, 1694 and lived until the age of 83 years. He chose the career of letters against the will of his father, who said he could not live by his pen. Anyway, at the time he was about forty years, Voltaire was both a renowned writer and a wealthy man.


Voltaire is known for his philosophical writings, for his great irony for her fight against injustice, intolerance, cruelty and war. In France, in 17 years .. “he was the writer leading the struggle for political and social reforms which most talked-about. As his writings criticizing the king and the Church, he lived most of his lives in constant fear of being imprisoned. That’s why he spent relatively few years in Paris was for him to choose for either forbidden or too dangerous.
Voltaire was the son of a notary. In 9-17 years, he attended the Jesuit College Louis-le-Grand. When he had left his father found him a place in a law firm, but Voltaire wanted to devote himself to literature. He spent most of his time in the salons and became the leader of Parisian society.
In 1717, Voltaire was arrested and sent to the Bastille for offenses against the regent, Philippe II of Orleans. He was released eleven months later when it was established that he had been falsely accused. During his imprisonment he wrote his first play, “Oedipus,” which gained him great esteem when it was played at his release from prison. Voltaire continued to write for the theater and thought he could win both fame and wealth in his chosen career.
In 1726, the theater, Voltaire made a remark able to Chevalier de Rohan, a young noble, who understood that Voltaire despised. In revenge, beating Rohan said Voltaire by his people as he watched the beating of his coach. Although it was not very athletic, Voltaire took lessons in fencing and Rohan wanted to provoke a duel. To avoid a case, the powerful Rohan family had published a letter stamped and Voltaire was arrested and thrown in the Bastille. He was released against the promise that he would leave the country and go to England.
The episode with the Chevalier de Rohan left an indelible impression on Voltaire and from that moment he became an advocate for justice reform and society. During his stay in England, he met the most important intellectuals of the country. He was impressed by the greater freedom of opinion that there was in England and was deeply influenced by Isaac Newton and John Locke. When he was permitted to return to France, Voltaire secured its financial position and continued his literary career with the goal to establish truth, to publish his works and to act to reform society.
Through his writings, Voltaire tried to bring reform social and legal structures of the time. In the eighteenth century in France, all power was in the hands of the king and the Church. The Church taught that the authority to determine what was good and what was bad was entirely devoted to the king by God. The king was completely above the law, his pleasure was the law. The Church instilled in the general opinion respecting the divine right of kings, and in return, the king protected the authority of the Catholic Church in France. Thus, it was a system of control of consciences, and as long as people believed in the divine right of kings, the kings and the Church, and those who function at their service (the nobles and higher clergy) maintained their privileges over the rest of the population.
In the eighteenth century, there were 350 different customs in different law in the French provinces. It was difficult for a subject to know what was the law in one place and in such cases. The judicial offices were venal and it was not necessary to have previous experience. The judges pronounced the sentences of the existing laws on behalf of the king, who had delegated the power he possessed divine right. A person arrested could be held in jail for months before a trial is held. There was no jury, torture could be applied to obtain confessions, and if the guilt was established, the person’s property was confiscated by King. The penal laws were confusing. New laws contradicted the old, and there was often a matter of discussion. Almost every decision by a judge could be challenged and disputed by another law. In this way, the power of judges was unlimited.
When we wanted to make an arrest without the law has been violated, could, if they had influence, to obtain a secret security called lettre de cachet which was countersigned by the secretary of state and closed by the royal seal. The person named in the warrant of imprisonment was to visit a particular prison or exile, either abroad or in this city of France. The victim remained in prison or in exile for an indefinite period. She could not defend himself because there were no charges, no trial.
It was not easy being a writer supports the reform of society in the eighteenth century in France. All the writings were reviewed by government censors before being published. In 1741 there was seventy-six censors. Before the book obtains “the permission and the privilege of the King”, the censor had to attest that the book contained nothing contrary to religion, order or public morality. A book published without government permission would be burned by the executioner, the printer and the author arrested and jailed. Many of Voltaire’s works were burned by the executioner.
In 1757, a man named Damiens attempted to assassinate Louis XV. In response to the attack on the king, a new edict stipulated that whoever was convicted of having written or printed works designed to attack power or religion, or the peace and tranquility of the kingdom would be put to death. In 1764 another decree prohibits the publication of literature on state finances. Books, pamphlets and even prefaces to plays were subjected to a detailed examination and controlled. Sentences ranging from a pillory to nine years in the galleys were imposed for the sale or purchase of publications criticizing the established order. For most of his life Voltaire thought it necessary to have ready means of escape if he learned that the police were looking for.
Due to censorship laws, Voltaire wrote frequently anonymous and the sale of most of his books was prohibited. Anyway, because of his talent as a writer and his sparkling wit, a text by Voltaire, who was banned was in great demand.
Voltaire and other French writers who wanted to escape the censorship did print their works in Amsterdam, The Hague and Geneva were then smuggled into France. Voltaire denied being the author of many of his writings and even drew criticism or denunciation of his own books. He also used other means to hide his views on the need to reform society. His plays and stories (with examples of injustice similar to what was happening in France) were often in the past or in foreign countries or imaginary. Another technique was to publish without a conclusion and let the reader or the reader make their own judgments. Voltaire was often called the Genius of Mockery. He used logic and humor to demonstrate that public opinion was opposed to his ridiculous - and in this technique, Voltaire was a past master.
Copyright did not exist at that time and it was natural for publishers to print anything that fell into their hands and not sharing their profits with the writer. That is why Voltaire withdrew very little profit from his writings. He understood very early that it was necessary to have independent means of support if he wanted to reform society through his books.
Voltaire was a millionaire in midlife. When he was twenty years, he cultivated the friendship of rich bankers, especially the Paris brothers. Through them he learned to invest, speculate, etc. … the brothers Paris had a contract to supply food to the French army and the ammunition and they invited him to participate with them in this extremely profitable. When he was in England, he noticed that one could make a lot of money in foreign trade and investing in ships that sailed around the world. It also invests in works of art lent to individuals and took some interest on loans.
The secretary of Voltaire, Longchamp, reported that revenues from Voltaire in 1749 were 80,000 francs, which corresponds to approximately $ 600,000 (592,200 Euros) currently. Voltaire kept investments that brought 45,000 francs in several foreign countries. This was done to ensure his livelihood if he would have to leave France quickly.
Voltaire in his work denounces the war, religious intolerance and political and social injustice. His writings have had a great influence on the French Revolution of 1789 and the American Revolution of 1776. You have to read books by Voltaire to understand why he was considered the greatest writer of his time in Europe and why it is still heard today.