Voltaire was born on 21 November 1694 to François Arouet and Marie Marguerite d'Aumart. Voltaire was the fifth child of his bourgeois parents. His father was a lawyer and notary and later became treasurer of the Chambres des Comptes. Voltaire was a sickly child and did not expect to live, his mother died when he was only seven years old. After his death Voltaire became close to his godfather, the abbot of Chateauneuf. The abbot was known for his skepticism and wit, and he introduced Voltaire to deism and also taught him to recite lines from the satirical poem Moisade. François Arouet, Voltaire's father, decided that his son would study law and in 1704 he enrolled him in the Jesuit college of Louis-le-Great. Voltaire attended until the age of seventeen and prospered immensely, earning several academic awards. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe talented Ninon de Leelos, one of his father's clients, was so impressed with Voltaire that he gave him 2000 francs for the specific purpose of purchasing books. At college, Voltaire received a healthy and liberal education, also training his critical sense. He also received considerable theatrical training, for the Jesuits continued the Renaissance tradition of having Latin performed, and the vernacular performed by their protégés. Voltaire had already demonstrated his ability to write verse and was determined to become a great poet. But his father, who didn't think writing was an effective way to earn a living, insisted that his son continue to study law. Voltaire obeyed but not really. Voltaire was able to demonstrate his ability to make friends among the influential (even many enemies which we will talk about later) and knew that the right circle in pre-revolutionary France was the aristocratic one. He was therefore elated when his godfather, the abbot, introduced him to the daringly liberal society of the Temple. He was welcomed by freethinking aristocrats, such as the Duke De Sully, the Dulce de Vendome, the Prince de Canti and other high-ranking people, as well as by men of Letheri. Determined to distinguish himself in the Temple, he wrote satirical verse, and since the surest route to fame was to become a tragic poet, he began to plan tragedy in verse. At this point his father became alarmed because he was neglecting his legal studies, but also because the society he frequented was notoriously libertine. So he forced him to leave Paris. This was only the first of many exiles he would experience. He was sent to Holland as a page to the French ambassador. However, there was one unfortunate love affair, of which there would be many, with a respectable young woman whose Protestantism was not acceptable to Voltaire's father. He returned to Paris again in 1713. By now Voltaire had acquired something of a reputation for his satirical verse and prose. But her gift was to get him into trouble from time to time throughout his life. When he was publicly accused of writing defamatory poems, his father sent him to the countryside, far from Paris. For almost a year he was a guest of the Marquis de Saint Ange. He spent his time writing essays and working on his first tragedy, but he definitely did not study law. Voltaire's ability to make friends has been mentioned, but he was something of a past master at making enemies, largely because of his sensitivity and the fact that he took an almost mischievous pleasure in using sardonic wit to attack them. with. When he was allowed to return to Paris, he was introduced to the Court de Seaux, a famous literary and political salon, presided over by the attractive Duchess of Maine. It was the Duchess of Maine who persuaded Voltaire to write satires against his enemy; The regent,Orleans. In 1716 he was exiled to Tulle and later to Sully for having mocked the Duke of Orleans. He did not return to Paris for a long time. When two particularly offensive pamphlets appeared, Puerto Regnant and J'aivu, the author of which was suspected and he was arrested and sent to the Bastille (famous prison) on May 6, 1717. He would remain there for eleven months and then be exiled. in Chatenay and elsewhere. While occupying the room that became known by his name in the famous prison, he revised his tragedy, called Oedipe, and began work on the epic poem The Henriad, which celebrated the exploits of Henry IV of France. These two early works reveal Voltaire as a man dedicated to freedom and justice, as he understood these concepts. A dominant theme in OEdipe is the tyranny of the priesthood, the poem is memorable for its appeal to tolerance. It was upon his release from prison that Voltaire adopted the name by which he is now universally known, Aurot de Voltaire. The Oedipe tragedy first took place in November 1718 and was an immediate success that lasted 45 days. Now Voltaire was welcomed back to Paris as a gifted tragic poet. But his reputation as a writer of satires and other satirical verse directed against public figures was too great for him to avoid new difficulties. He was falsely accused of being the author of the pamphlets of La Grange-Chancel, in the Philippines, which were virulent satires directed against the Duke of Orleans. He was exiled again and this time he was a guest of the Duke of Villars, Marshal of France and famous war hero. While living with the Marshal and having a harmless romance with the Duchess, he began to collect material for his historical works. By the end of 1725, Voltaire was prospering as he enjoyed the patronage and friendship of the Duke of Richelieu. The arrogant Chevalier du Rohan, obviously jealous of Voltaire's popularity, mocked him for his adopted name. A harsh exchange ensued between the two, and the Knight subsequently had his lackeys attack his enemy. When Voltaire challenged him to a duel, the Chevalier had him sent to the Bastille for the second time, in 1726. Voltaire was imprisoned for only two weeks. , but once released, he once again faced exile. Voltaire met Henry St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke in the early 1720s, when the Englishman himself was in exile. The two villains became good friends and Voltaire, always a good letter writer, corresponded with him regularly. It was perhaps this relationship that led the Frenchman to spend much of the next three years in England. This period of Voltaire's life is said to have been of the greatest importance to him. In the eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica Saintsbury says: “Before the English visit, Voltaire had been an elegant insignificant, an expert in the forms of literature popular in French society, a sort of superior Dorat or Boufflers of previous growth. He returned from that visit as one of Europe's most important men of letters. The cultural and intellectual climate of England in this period (1726 to 1729) delighted the young Voltaire. It was welcomed in both Tory and Whig circles. Among his friends and acquaintances were the leading literary figures of the day, including Pope, Swift, Gay, Yahg and Thomson. He especially revered Alexander Pope, with whom he had much in common: the satirical gift, the wit, the great facility at versification, the critical temperament and, yes, the vindictiveness and inability to suffer a fool willingly. In England, Voltaire learned to read and write the language fluently. He avidly read the works of Bacon, Shakespeare, Milton, whose allegory of Death and Sin he found unacceptable, Newton and Locke, whose views on tolerance were particularly acceptable to him. His newfound interest in Shakespeare led himto begin writing his Roman work, Brutus. He later established himself as a devout Newtonian and wrote a treatise on Newton's systems. Voltaire also collected materials for his Lettres philosophiques sure Les Anglais, in which he interpreted English culture more favorably to his countrymen and contrasted it with that of France. It is clear that Voltaire had only admiration for England and the English. In contrast to the France he had known, he found freedom and tolerance in his temporary home. This was the man who declared that he might disapprove of what an individual said, but that he would defend to his death the individual's right to say it. During his exile in England, he published an English edition of The Henriade dedicating it to the English queen. It was a great success and he earned around £1000 from subscriptions alone. Voltaire remained French and Parisian. Although he enjoyed his time in England, he longed to return home. In the spring of 1729 he obtained permission to do so. In 1733 the publication of the English letters and satirical poem Temple du Gout infuriated many influential people. The letters, while praising the English, attacked the French government and church. The poem satirized contemporary writers, particularly J.B. Rosseau, the man who had once predicted that Voltaire would make a great name for himself. The government issued an arrest warrant for Voltaire and his house was searched. By then, however, the author of the two offensive works was in Liray in Lorraine and spent the next 15 years with Emile du Chatelet, with whom he had been intimate for the past year, at her husband's house in Grey- sur-Blaise. . The relationship between her and Voltaire would last around sixteen years and marked the next important stage in his long career. Lady. du Chatelet was twelve years younger than Voltaire and in many ways an extraordinary woman. He was short-tempered, often difficult and persona non grata in fashionable society, yet he had his attractions. A woman of keen intellect, she spent much of her time writing an exposition of the German's conclusions. He also shared Voltaire's enthusiasm for Newton and, while his companion worked on an exposition of the Newtonian system, translated the Principia into French and added a commentary. They were very productive years for Voltaire. Among other works, he completed two poems: Le Mondain, a satire against the Jansenists, and the philosophical Discours Jur l'home. He also worked on the Siecle de Louis XIV and his universal history, Essai sur moeurs. Once the regent died, Paris beckoned him again. After 1743 he found himself well at court, above all thanks to Richelieu and Madame de Pompadour, who admired him. The Poeme de Fontenay (1745) was a success, he was rewarded with an appointment as royal historiographer and received a substantial pension. In this period he turned to another type of writing, philosophical tales, of which Candide (1759) would become the best known. He continued to write plays and was now in competition with Crebellion, with whom he would have a bitter falling out. In 1746 Voltaire was elected to the French Academy, he had reached maturity as a literary artist and philosopher. But Voltaire was a risk-taker and nothing could stop the audacity of his pen. In its bitingly satirical content Trajan est-il? the references to Louis XV were evident. In 1748 he found it expedient to take refuge with the Duchess of Sceaux, and shortly afterwards joined Mme. de Chatelet in Luneville. In September 1749 Madame de Chatelet died giving birth to a child, and the father was neither her husband nor Voltaire. Now he had nowhere to go and could not return to Paris, especially due to the ongoing feud with Crebellion. Fortunately Voltaire was a communicator, and Frederick the Great, whom Voltaire had metonce and with whom he had corresponded regularly for some time, had urged him to come to Potsdam, where the Prussian king had founded his academy and wished to add another star to his galaxies of philosophes, the intellectuals of Europe. Thus Voltaire settled in Potsdam in 1750 as a member of the court of Frederick the Great. There, the beneficiary of a generous pension, he completed his most ambitious historical work, the Siecle de Louis XIV (1751), wrote a new philosophical tale, Micromegas (1752), which illustrates the influence of Swift's Gulliver's Travels on his narrative and worked on his universal history. Unfortunately, the friendship between Frederick and Voltaire did not prosper, both could be difficult individuals in their own ways. Voltaire was offended by elements in the king's personal life and found him particularly arrogant. What ultimately led to the breakdown of their relationship was Voltaire's attack on the president of Frederick's much-loved Academy of Sciences. Entitled Diatribe du Doctor Akakia, it was published without permission and despite his assurances that all copies would be destroyed, Voltaire maliciously took pleasure in circulating the work. As a result, he suffered the humiliation of being arrested at Frankton and having his luggage searched. He could no longer remain in Germany under the protection of the man he had once praised as a Horace, a Catalius, a Maecenas, a Socrates, an Augustus, and a Solomon of the North. Aware that he would not be welcome in Paris, due to his stay in Germany which was considered an insult to his countrymen. Voltaire then moved to Geneva, where the air of freedom was purer. Voltaire was now a very rich man. He had inherited sums of money from his father and brother, had received pensions from the French and Prussian kings, and had earned more money from his works, especially plays. He purchased a castle near Geneva and called it Les Delices, his “summer palace.” He purchased another residence in Monrion, Lausanne, which he called his “winter palace”. Busy as ever as a writer, he nevertheless found time to encourage local producers, particularly watchmakers. It was in Lausanne that he wrote Candide (1759), as well as a tragedy and many verses. From his pen also came polemical works, he continued the attack on religion with a war cry: “Ecrasez I' Infame”. Voltaire found greater tolerance in Switzerland, his relations with the Calvinists were not harmonious. In particular, they were shocked to learn that he had built a private theater in Les Delices and often staged plays. Thus retaining possession of that Chateau and state property of Ferneg, in France quite close to the Swiss border. He moved there in 1760 and lived with his niece Mme. Denis. Here he flourished as a gentlemanly gentleman, served by as many as sixty people. He was extremely hospitable and welcomed the many distinguished visitors from all parts of Europe who came to see and talk to the now famous man. He remained in Ferney for twenty years. Although he continued to write on literary topics, they received less attention. His works demonstrate his constant interest in religious, political, social and philosophical issues. But now he was not content simply to use belletristic literature as a medium. He was a very thoughtful man and became an active advocate of tolerance and justice, emerging as an eighteenth-century Zola. In his Traite sur la tolerance (1763) he wrote in defense of Jean Caluis, who had been tortured and executed due to the religious controversy. This was effective enough for Caluis to be recognized as the victim of judicial homicide. The death of the young Chevalier de la Barre for alleged sacrilege led Voltaire to write another powerful.”