Essay on Voltaire and the Beginning of the Enlightment

The Enlightenment period was considered the period of living and learning through reason in which many writers became prominent in their own opinions on the matter of creation and why it occurred. During these period thinkers of the Enlightenment believed that nothing had imperfections because the world was created by a perfect God, therefore everything he created had to be perfect. There are two authors who emerged during this period who put their own spin, using very detailed opinions, on what they thought about creation. Pope’s Essay on Man discusses how humans cannot reason what they do not know while Voltaire brings about the idea of optimism in his story of Candide which demonstrates optimism to the extreme.

Voltaire was a famous, French philosopher of his time during a period known as the Age of Enlightenment. He was born on November 21, 1694, and was the youngest child out of five children of the average, stereotypical French family that he grew up in. He was born and raised in Paris, France. Furthermore, his father was a minor treasury official and was educated at a college for about seven years which is where he first showed his passion for literature, thus he pursued his likings, and learned several languages while he was still at a young age.

of religion, freedom of speech or of the press, the right to peaceably assemble, and the

Candide is a reflection of the philosophical values of the Enlightenment. Voltaire’s novel is a satire of the Old Regime ideologies in which he critiques the political, social, and religious ideals of his time.

Voltaire’s masterpiece has been read delightfully and with much interest by many people since its scarcely secret publication in Geneva and Paris (1759). When it was first published, there were about twenty copies, most of which were pirated. When Voltaire died (1778) there were already more than fifty, and later on it became the best seller of the eighteenth century.

“Rabelais wrote a five-part satire titled The Histories of Gargantua and Pantagruel, in which he vigorously attacked the church’s abuses and ridiculed the clergy and theologians” (Matthews 370). However, his obscene references set him aside of northern humanism. Marguerite of Angouleme expressed views similar to those of Protestants, that were sexual tales in which gratified the social class during its time. The Dutch Scholar, Erasmus, is considered one of the most influential figures among humanists. His work promoted the philosophy of Christ and dignity of the individual. Consequently, Erasmus got into conflict with Roman Catholics and Protestants with his foolish satires.

Within the hundred or so pages of Voltaire’s Candide resides proof of all four values of the Enlightenment: hope, progress, natural law, and reason. Being a man of the enlightenment, it makes sense for Voltaire’s novel to include these values. Using ironic humor and satire, Voltaire managed to say what he needed to say without being directly responsible for having said it. As Candide reads like an adventure story, there is a lot of dialogue between characters. Through these conversations and stories, Voltaire’s Candide shows support for the enlightenment principle of reason (critical, rational thought) with regards to organized religion but shows very little support for the enlightenment principle of progress (change for the better) with regards to female tropes and sexism.

Voltaire began to develop a deeper passion for the literary arts against his father’s will, who wanted him to become a notary and join law school. To avoid conflict, he lied to his father claiming he was pursing

Voltaire, and many other Enlightenment thinkers, rejected the dogmas of orthodox Christianity in favor of Deism and humanism. Voltaire 's commitment to Deism and his attacks on Christianity are readily prevalent in Candide, shining through especially well in the contrast between the inhabitants of Eldorado and the inhabitants in the largely Christian countries of Europe and the New World and

People are astonished at what this man has accomplished. Most people know this lad as Voltaire. Born François-Marie Arouet in November 21, 1694 in France, he started to linger around his uncle after the death of his mother when Voltaire was seven. In 1704 he attended the Collège Louis-le-Grand and showed his talent in writing. Among his greatest works came a book that came with Ideas from the enlightenment and the church rejected this. For a year, Voltaire was exiled to Tulle for mocking the duc d'Orleans. The following year when Voltaire had returned to France he was locked up for the reason of him writing against the ideas of the church. He was later sent to the bastille again in 1726 for arguing with the Chevalier de Rohan. He died May

According to multiple sources, Chatelet might have ran into Voltaire at one of her father’s famous salons. Voltaire was born on November 21st, in 1694. He lived and died in Paris, France. Voltaire’s real name is François-Marie Arouet and he was a famous writer, historian and philosopher during the French Enlightenment era. He was mainly famous for his intelligence, the attack on the Catholic Church, and him supporting the freedom of religion, expression, and Separation of church and state. Voltaire died on May 30th at the age of 83 in

Inspired by the bold ideas that coincided with the French enlightenment, writer François-Marie Arouet, more popularly known as Voltaire, wrote Candide, published in January of 1789 in Paris, France by Sirène. Voltaire became known as the “fountainhead of the Enlightenment and the intellectual spearhead of the French Revolution”² with his bold ideas that challenged society’s way of thinking. This satire was written during the Enlightenment period and demonstrated Voltaire’s criticisms toward the church, society and a multitude of other subjects. This book was chosen for the class because it exhibits the point of view of a famous philosopher during the Enlightenment period whose ideas were beneficial and relevant to the time period being studied. Candide contains many criticisms throughout the book and introduces the philosophical details of the Enlightenment period. This book ties in with what we are learning in class and served as a source of outside information and context for this specific era of history. Candide displays how a productive, fruitful era can also corrupt a nation and produce peril and hardship throughout the people,

In addition to insights on religion, Voltaire also detailed his own understanding of the politics and economics in Europe during the time of the Enlightenment. During this time, an absolute monarchy ruled France while the English had what Voltaire saw as a limited monarch with an involved democracy. France was ruled using bribery, force, and corruption while England was governed though compromise and negotiations. Voltaire himself believed in political moderation and defense of civil liberties. He also observed the differences in economics between the two countries. Free trade was discouraged in France, to the point that some noblemen lost their rank if they participated in such commerce. Contrasting this, Voltaire saw that the English encouraged trade and tradesmen were even held in high regards. He believed that this difference in economics was what gave England access to their freedoms.

Voltaire was sent to exile due to his satirical writings and criticizing the nobility of France. England compared to France was a wide difference, even though they were both run by monarchs. France ruled with the idea that if you did not agree with the nobility or you were going against the nobility in any way, you were sent to prison. England was a more permissive environment, which caused him to thrive. England was a country full of intellectuals proved to be more tolerant of free thought than his countrymen. Living in this environment, allowed Voltaire to use his mind to its full capacity and enabled him to write satirical works freely (“Meet Voltaire”). His exile to England also allowed him to interact with other satirical authors such as Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope. Swift was a satirist, essayist, and political pamphleteer who was a native to the Republic of Ireland. Pope was an 18th century poet known for his satirical verses and who was a native of England (“Voltaire” Biography). These two men, like Voltaire, use satire in order to make their point into proving why they believe in something or why they do not. When Voltaire returned to Paris, he wrote Lettres philosophiques, which embodied 18th century rationalism. He argued that the goal in life is not to achieve heaven through penitence, but rather to bring happiness

Voltaire: Your book may have more words than mine, but it is so overly drawn out and descriptive that people miss the points and have made it into a children’s story. Nowadays, people have to read the footnotes to understand the point you were trying to get across. Even then, it takes them far too long to discover the