Voltaire: biography of this French philosopher and writer

If we say the name of François-Marie Arouet it is possible that few know who we are referring to, on the other hand, if we mention the pseudonym that he used For most of his life, there is no doubt that the figure of one of the most important thinkers of the Enlightenment will come to mind: Voltaire.

Of plebeian origin although wealthy, Voltaire was critical of the class society of his time, with the Catholic Church and with injustices. He was an advocate for religious freedom and tolerance and enacted that all men are equal.

Next we are going to delve into the life of this French intellectual through a biography of Voltaire, in which we will talk about his philosophy and literary work, all of them protagonists of a life marked by constant exiles and squabbles with the authority figures of his time.

• Related article: "What was the Enlightenment movement?"

Brief biography of Voltaire

François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, was a French writer, historian, philosopher and lawyer who belonged to Freemasonry.

He is considered to be one of the main figures of the Enlightenment, a period in Western history that emphasized the power of human reason and science, to the detriment of superstition and religion.

Throughout his life, Voltaire wrote numerous works, was involved in the public and political life of enlightened European society and he showed a very critical opinion with the class society of his time, something that led him to step on the Bastille.

Early years

François-Marie Arouet was born on November 21, 1694 in Châtenay-Malabry. He was the son of the notary François Arouet, adviser to the king and treasurer of the Chamber of Accounts of Paris, and Marie Marguerite d’Aumard, who died when little Arouet was only seven years old old. Voltaire is known to have had four siblings, but only two besides himself reached adulthood: Armand Arouet, a lawyer in the Paris Parliament, and his sister Marie Arouet.

The young François-Marie studied Greek and Latin at the Jesuit college Louis-le-Grand between 1704 and 1711, coinciding with the last years of the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King. It would be in that college where the young Voltaire would befriend the brothers René-Louis and Marc-Pierre Anderson, future ministers of King Louis XV. In 1706, being only twelve years old, Voltaire wrote the tragedy "Amulius and Numitor", of which some fragments would be found that were published in the 19th century.

Between 1711 and 1713 he would study law, but he would not finish that degree because, according to he told his father, he preferred to be a man of letters and not just another royal official. Around this time, his godfather, the Abbe de Châteauneuf, introduced him to the Temple Society, a group libertine, coinciding with the fact that at that time he received a large inheritance from the old courtesan Ninon de Lenclos. The old woman had left him that inheritance, apparently for the purpose of young Voltaire buying books for himself.

In the year 1713, François-Marie Arouet got the position of secretary of the French embassy in The Hague, Holland, city where he would compose his “the Ode on the misfortunes of the time”. His stay was short, as the ambassador himself returned him to Paris that same year when he learned that Arouet had become intimate with a young French Huguenot refugee named Catherine Olympe Dunoyer, "Pimpette". During this same time he began to write his tragedy "Oedipus", although it would not be published until 1718 and, later, he began to write his cult epic poem called "The henriada".

Since 1714 he works as a clerk in a notary's office. Despite being a commoner, he becomes a frequent guest at Parisian salons and evenings with the Duchess of Maine at the Château de Sceaux.. There he would have the opportunity to meet the celebrities of the time and rub elbows at gallant dinners with the most notable libertine nobles. At this time he composed two extremely scandalous poems: “Le Bourbier” and “L’ Anti-Giton ”, similar to the erotic stories in verse of La Fontaine.

• You may be interested in: "The 5 ages of History (and their characteristics")

François-Marie imprisoned, Voltaire released

When Louis XIV died in 1715, the Duke of Orléans assumed the regency and the young François-Marie Arouet dared to write a satire against the incestuous love affairs between himself and his daughter, the Duchesse de Berrand. As a consequence of his daring, young Arouet was imprisoned in the famous Bastille prison, serving his sentence between May 1717 and April 1718. On leaving prison he was exiled to his birthplace in Châtenay-Malabry, being from this moment on the one who adopts the name by which he would be known for the rest of his life and after his death: Voltaire.

The late 1710s and early 1720s is a very prolific time for Voltaire. He premiered his tragedy "Oedipus" in 1718, with great success. In 1720 he will present "Artemira" and in 1721 he offers the manuscript of his epic "La henriade" to the regent, publishing it with the title of "Poème de la Ligue" in 1723 dedicated to King Henry IV of France, whose glory and exploits are the argument of the construction site. This work would achieve great success and, motivated, Voltaire decides to start writing his "Essay on Civil Wars."

In 1722 his father died, leaving him a great fortune. that Voltaire takes advantage of to make a new trip to Holland, accompanied by the widowed countess of Rupelmonde, although this would not prevent her from having other loves a year later, this time with the Marchioness of Bernières. In 1724 he would premiere "Mariana", a time in which he began to suffer serious health problems but that did not prevent him from continuing with his literary production, premiering the following year "El indiscreto".

• Related article: "Jean-Jacques Rousseau: biography of this Genevan philosopher"

Distrusting the estate society

In 1725 he received the honor of being invited to the wedding of King Louis XV, which made Voltaire become a recurring character at the French Court.. However, in 1726, because of arguing with the noble knight De Rohan and saying a few words that did not sit well with him, he caused a stir in the capital.

De Rohan had his lackeys beat up Voltaire, though he later refused to clarify the matter in the manner of the time, in the form of a sword or pistol duel. The nobleman did not deign, seeing Voltaire as a commoner and understanding that those of his status are completely devoid of honor.

Voltaire, not satisfied with the situation, went all over Paris looking for the nobleman and asking for satisfaction, that is, a duel. Although Voltaire's demands were legitimate, the fact that a commoner persecuted an aristocrat demanding compensation did not sit well with the high society. For this reason, Voltaire ended up being imprisoned again in the Bastille, this time for only two weeks. The seclusion did not intimidate him, because while in prison he kept asking for his satisfaction. In the end Voltaire was released from prison, but only in exchange for his swearing into exile.

• You may be interested in: "Anthropocentrism: what it is, characteristics and historical development"

Exile in britain

Returning to being a free man, Voltaire decided to go into exile to Great Britain, where he would remain for two and a half years (1726-1729). The events in Paris taught Voltaire that, although he had been received with pleasure and curiosity among the nobles in the beginning, for them he would never stop being a commoner, a person of lower status and who did not deserve the same rights. The law was not the same for everyone, and for this reason he became a great defender of the right to universal justice.

In his exile, the first thing he did was settle in London, being welcomed by Lord Henry St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke.. Voltaire had no money at all, being so desperate that he even asked his brother Armand Arouet for financial help, whom he detested for being a Jansenist but now needed him more than ever. She didn't even get a reply from him.

The time he spent in England was decisive for the formation of his thought. Voltaire discovered Newtonian science, empiricist philosophy, and English political institutions. He learned English and became an Anglophile, perceiving the English as the wisest and freest people of the moment. He had a great interest in the work of Sir Isaac Newton, although he did not give her time to know him in depth but he did attend his funeral in 1727 at Westminster Abbey.

While in London Voltaire is surprised by the tolerance and religious variety of the English and of their great reverence for Shakespeare, whose Hamlet monologue he translates. Around this time he would publish the first two great texts of him in English: "Essay on Civil War" and "Essay on Epic Poetry." Voltaire was fortunate to be associated with other great British figures of the time, such as the deist Samuel Clarke, the philosophical poet Alexander Pope, and the satirist Jonathan Swift. He would also meet John Locke, whose liberal work he admires.

• Related article: "The 75 best phrases of Voltaire"

Back to France

In 1729 Voltaire returned to France with three fundamental purposes. The first, to get rich as soon as possible so as not to die in the most absolute of miseries as it used to happen to many men of letters. The second, to promote tolerance and combat fanaticism. The third, spread the scientific thought of Sir Isaac Newton and the liberal political ideas of the philosopher John Locke, publishing in French his "Philosophical or English Letters", a text that made French society seem backward and intolerant.

Voltaire wanted to get rich and saw a golden opportunity in the project of the mathematician Charles Marie de la Condamine, who he had discovered a flaw in the lottery system devised by French finance minister Michel Robert Le Pelletier-Desforts. De la Condamine discovered that the system could be exploited by buying the cheap bonuses that gave the right to accumulate almost all the lottery numbers.

Surprisingly, The lottery trick worked for both of them and, despite the lawsuit filed by the minister, since they hadn't really done anything illegal, they won a large sum of money. But this was only a trifle compared to other riches that the philosopher would add, for Voltaire further increased his fortune by acquiring a remitting American silver in Cádiz and speculating in various financial operations, becoming one of the largest rentiers in all of France.

In 1731 Voltaire published his "History of Carlos XII" where he would advance some problems and topics that he would expose in more detail in his "Philosophical Letters" (1734). In her he would an uncompromising defense of religious tolerance and ideological freedom, taking as a model the English permissiveness and the secularism of Anglo-Saxon society. She would also take the opportunity to accuse Christianity of being the root of all dogmatic fanaticism. The "History of Carlos XII" is withdrawn at the request of the government, but this does not prevent it from continuing to circulate clandestinely.

• You may be interested in: "Scientific Revolution: what is it and what historical changes did it bring?"

Escape to Cirey-Sur-Blaise

In 1732 he reached his maximum theatrical success with "Zaïre", a tragedy that he wrote in just three weeks. In 1733 he published "The Temple of Taste", a time that coincides with the beginning of a deep relationship with the mathematics and physics Madame Émilie du Châtelet. In 1734 he would publish his controversial and explosive "Philosophical Letters", almost immediately condemned to be burned at the stake and Voltaire was ordered to be arrested.

The writer had already foreseen the possibility of being arrested, so he left Paris before they got their hands on him. and he took refuge in the castle of the Marchioness du Châtelet, in Cirey-Sur-Blaise (Champagne). It is from this moment that he would establish a long love relationship with the Marchioness, which would last sixteen years and with which he would work in his work "The Philosophy of Newton", where he summarized in French the new physics of the English genius.

He would live in this retreat for ten years, devoted to letters. He also took the opportunity to settle some financial matters, concluded his lawsuits and offered to restore the castle, adding a gallery and equipping it with a large cabinet for physics experiments of the marquise. He would also build a library of 21,000 personally chosen volumes. They were years of tranquility for Voltaire, having enough time to document and write his works, and to dedicate himself to reading and science with the Marchioness.

At this same time Voltaire resumed his dramatic career writing "Adélaïde du Guesclin" (1734), first piece of classicism that moved away from Greco-Latin themes to address the history of France. He then he would write "The death of Caesar" (1735), "Alzira or the Americans" (1736) and "Fanaticism or Muhammad" (1741). In 1741 he met Philip Stanhope of Chesterfield in Belgium, an encounter that inspired him to write the novel "The Ears of the Earl of Chesterfield and Chaplain Gudman." In 1742 his "Fanaticism or Muhammad" is banned.

• Related article: "Montesquieu: biography of this French philosopher"

End of relationship with the Marchioness

Voltaire travels to Berlin, where he is appointed Academician, Historiographer and Knight of the Royal Chamber. Following her sixteen-year relationship with Voltaire, the Marchioness du Châtelet falls madly in love with the young poet Jean-François de Saint-Lambert. Voltaire discovers them and, after a fit of rage, ends up consenting to the situation.

The Marchioness becomes pregnant, but she dies in 1749 due to complications of childbirth, which makes Voltaire extremely devastated and depressed, deciding to flee accepting the new invitation to Berlin from Frederick II of Prussia, something that made the king very angry. Louis XV.

In 1751 he published the first complete version of "The Century of Louis XIV" and continued with "Micromegas" in 1752. Due to some disputes with Federico II, especially because of his disagreement with the newly appointed President of the Berlin Academy, the materialist philosopher Maupertuis, Voltaire flees Prussia in 1753. Unfortunately for him, he is arrested in Frankfurt by an agent of the king and has to suffer several humiliations before returning to France. He is not welcomed by King Louis XV, which causes him to have to take refuge in Switzerland, in a mansion and country estate, Les Délices, which he bought near Geneva.

The Lisbon earthquake of 1755 greatly impressed Voltaire, making him think about the nonsense of history and the sense of evil, publishing "Poem on the Lisbon Disaster" about it. It is around this year that he begins his collaborations with the Encyclopedia of Diderot and D ’Alembert, publishing seven volumes of“ Essays on the general history and on the customs and spirit of the nations "(1756) and" History of the empire of Russia under Peter the Great "(1759), focusing not only in the history of men but also in the manifestations of the human spirit in artistic form, customs, social institutions and religions.

In 1758 he bought a property in Ferney, in France, right on the border with Switzerland. so that, in case of having another problem in his native country, to be able to get out of it quickly. He would live there for 18 and it would be the place where he would receive numerous members of Europe's intellectual elite. From there he would send and receive a multitude of letters, some 40,000 that used to end with his expression “Écrasez l'Infâme” (“Crush the Infamous”).

Last years

In 1763 he drew up his "Treatise on Tolerance" and, in 1764, his "Philosophical Dictionary." That same year he anonymously divulged a harsh libel against Jean-Jacques Rousseau called "The sentiment of the citizens". Since then, being already a famous and influential person in public life, Voltaire intervened in several court cases, including the Jean case. Calas, which would lead to the abolition of judicial torture in France and other European countries, also laying the foundations of human rights modern.

In 1773 Voltaire, already very old, fell seriously ill. Despite this, he published his "Story of Jenni" in 1775 and, in 1776, seeing that the end was drawing near, he wrote a will. In 1778 he returned to Paris where he was welcomed with enthusiasm and decided to release his "Irene" amid true fascination.. After receiving many visits to discuss all kinds of philosophical and intellectual issues in general, his condition worsens and, finally, he died on May 30, 1778, aged 83, being buried in the Benedictine monastery of Scellières, near Troyes. In 1791 his remains would be transferred to the Pantheon.

His philosophical thought

Voltaire achieved fame thanks to his literary works and, above all, for his philosophical writings, where he was truly critical. Unlike Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire sees no opposition between an alienating society and an oppressed individual, and he believes in a universal and innate feeling of justice that must be reflected in the laws of all countries.

For him, the law should be the same for everyone. There must be a convention of justice, a social pact to preserve the interest of each individual. He considers that the instinct and reason of each person leads him to respect and promote such a pact.

His philosophy dispenses with God, although this does not mean that Voltaire is an atheist, but rather a deist.. However, he does not believe in divine intervention in human endeavors and, in fact, denounces providentialism in his philosophical tale "Candido or optimism" (1759). He showed himself as a fervent opponent of the Catholic Church, which, according to him, was the representation of intolerance and injustice. For this reason, Voltaire ended up becoming the model for the liberal and anticlerical bourgeoisie and the enemy of the religious less critical of his doctrine.

Despite being critical of the Catholic Church, Voltaire has gone down in history for coining the concept of religious tolerance. He fought against intolerance and superstition, but always defended the peaceful coexistence between people of different beliefs and religions. It is for this reason that he is attributed the following maxim that, although he never uttered it, sums up very well what his position was:

"I do not share what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

John Locke's philosophy is for Voltaire a doctrine that is perfectly suited to his positive and utilitarian ideal.. Locke is the defender of liberalism, affirming that the social pact should not suppress the natural rights of the individual. We individuals learn from experience, everything that exceeds it is hypothesis.

Voltaire draws his morals from Locke's doctrine. He considers that the goal of men is to take their own destiny, improve their condition, make the simpler life of him promoting science, industry, the arts and governing with a good politics. Life will not be possible without a convention where each one finds his part, his place in the world. The justice of each country, although it varies in terms of laws, must ensure this convention, which is universal.

The pseudonym "Voltaire"

There are many theories about the pseudonym of Voltaire. François-Marie Arouet made use of this very identifying name, much more popular than his baptism name. One of the most accepted versions is the one that says it derives from the nickname "Petit Volontaire" (Small Volunteer) that they used his relatives to refer to him, in an affectionate way, when he was a child. However, of the hypotheses that seem more plausible we have the one that says that Voltaire is an anagram of “AROVET L (E) I (EUNE) ”, which would be nothing more than the stylized version in Roman typeface of the expression“ Arouet, le Jeune ”(Arouet, el Young man).

But for those who are not convinced by this hypothesis, we have others. It could be the name of a small fiefdom his mother owned, while others say it could be the Old French verb phrase that meant that he "voulait faire taire" ("wished to silence", quickly pronounced as "vol-ter") because of his innovative thinking for the epoch. Another theory is the one that says that it would be the word “revoltair” (unruly), changing the order of the syllables.

Whatever the case, the fact is that in 1717 the young Arouet takes the name of Voltaire after an arrest, probably being the explanation behind this name a combination of most of the ones we have seen.