A Voltairean, as defined by Ernest Benot, philosophical writer and one-time director of the Ecole normale superior, in his Etudes et pensées (1884) is:
a man who prefers to see clearly in all matters; in religion and in philosophy, he believes willingly only what he understands, and he admits that there are things he does not know; he values application above speculation, simplifies ethics as well as doctrine, and tries to direct it toward useful virtues; he likes a moderate political system that preserves natural liberty, the liberty of conscience, of speech and of the individual, reduces evil as much as possible, procures the greatest good, and places justice among the highest benefits; in the arts, he admires above all moderation and truth; he has a deadly hatred for hypocrisy, fanaticism and bad taste; he does not limit himself to detesting them, he fights them to death.
The man who inspired these words, often called the Father of the French Revolution, may indeed have had limitations as regards his personal life, but he did emerge as the leading apostle of tolerance and freedom in the eighteenth century, which has been called the "century of Voltaire."
Voltaire is the name he adopted in his maturity; his real one was Francois Marie Arouet. He was born on November 21, 1694, in Paris, the fifth child of his middle-class parents, who were natives of Poitou. Voltaire's father was a rather prosperous lawyer and notary who became treasurer to the Chambres des Comptes. A sickly child, Francois was not expected to live. And it must be admitted that, like Alexander Pope, whom he was to meet and with whom he corresponded, his life could be described as "one long disease." Yet he was to live that life energetically and to survive until May 30, 1778.
The Abbé de Châteauneuf, Voltaire's godfather, took special interest in the boy. Among other things, he introduced him to deism. The Abbé, noted for his skepticism and wit, also taught him to recite lines from the satirical and shocking poem Moïsade.
Voltaire's father was determined that his son should study law, and the lad was enrolled in the Jesuit College of Louis-le-grande in 1704. He remained there until his seventeenth year, winning many academic prizes. Evidence of his precocity is also found in the fact that the gifted Ninon de Leclos, one of his father's clients, was sufficiently impressed by the young man to will him 2,000 francs for the specific purpose of buying books. At the Jesuit college, Voltaire received a sound liberal education, developed his ability as a writer, and trained his critical sense. Of significance also is the fact that he gained considerable theatrical training, for the Jesuits continued the Renaissance tradition of having plays in Latin and the vernacular performed by their charges.
Voltaire had already demonstrated his ability to write verse and was determined to become a great poet. But his father had little faith in literature as a means of earning a good living, and he insisted that his son continue to study law. The young man complied, but only in a perfunctory way.
All his life Voltaire was to demonstrate his ability to make friends among the influential, and he knew that the right circle in pre-Revolutionary France was the aristocratic one. Therefore he was elated when his godfather, the sophisticated Abbé de Châteauneuf, introduced him into the daringly liberal society of the Temple, where he was welcomed by such freethinking aristocrats as the Duke de Sully, the Duke de Vendôme, the Prince de Carti, and other persons of high rank as well as by men of letters. To Voltaire, the Temple was a society of "princes and poets." Determined to distinguish himself among the latter, he wrote satirical verse and, since the surest way to fame in literature at that time was to become a tragic poet, began planning a tragedy in verse. It may be added that Voltaire exercised that charm of which he was always capable and became quite a gallant and favorite of the ladies.
At this point, Voltaire's father, alarmed not only because his son was neglecting his legal studies but because the society the young man now kept was notoriously libertine, forced him to leave Paris. This was the first of the many "exiles" he was to experience. He was sent to Holland as a page to the French ambassador. The result, however, was an unfortunate love affair with a respectable young lady whose Protestantism was not acceptable to Voltaire's father. The young man found himself back in Paris again. The year was 1713.
By this time, Voltaire had won quite a reputation for his satirical verse and prose. But his gift was to get him into trouble from time to time throughout his life. When he was publicly accused of writing libelous poems, his father again sent him away from Paris, this time into the country, where for nearly a year he was the guest of the Marquis de Saint-Ange. He spent his time writing essays and working on his first tragedy, certainly not in studying law.
Mention has been made of Voltaire's ability to make friends, but it should be noted that he was something of a past master at making enemies, largely because of his sensitivity and the fact that he took almost malicious pleasure in using his sardonic wit to attack those with whom he did not agree. He demonstrated both capacities when he was allowed to return to Paris. He was introduced to the Court de Seaux, a famous literary and political salon, over which the attractive Duchess du Maine presided. It was apparently the duchess who got Voltaire to write lampoons against her enemy, The Regent, Orleans. So, in May 1716, Voltaire once more was forced to leave Paris for a time, going first to Tulle and later to Sully. He was not back in Paris very long when he faced more trouble. Two specially offensive libels appeared, Puerto Regnanto and J'ai vu. And this time Voltaire, suspected of being the author, was sent to the Bastille on May 16, 1717. He was to remain there for eleven months and then to be exiled to Châtenay and elsewhere. While occupying the room that came to be known by his name in the famous prison, Voltaire revised his tragedy, which was entitled Œdipe, and began work on his epic poem L' Henriade, which celebrated the deeds of Henry IV of France. It is notable that these two earliest works reveal Voltaire as a man dedicated to freedom and justice as he understood those concepts. A dominant theme in the play is the tyranny of the priesthood; the epic poem is memorable for the plea or tolerance.
It was on his release from prison that Voltaire adopted the name by which he is now known universally, Aurot de Voltaire. The aristocratic particle de is of special interest since he belonged to a bourgeois family. This indeed points to the fact that he was determined to rise in the world. The most common explanation of the name is that it is an imperfect anagram of Arouet, l.j. (le jeune), but other explanations have been advanced. Some have believed that it was an older name on his mother's side of the family; still others argue that it was derived from his schoolboy sobriquet, le volontaire.
The tragedy Œdipe, first acted in November 1718, was an immediate success, enjoying a run of forty-five days. Now Voltaire was welcomed back to Paris as a gifted tragic poet. But his reputation for writing lampoons and other satiric verse directed against public figures was too great for him to avoid new difficulties. He was falsely accused of being the author of the La Grange-Chancel libels, the Philippiques, which were virulent satires directed against the Duc d' Orleans. This time he was guest of the Duc de Villars, maréchal of France and famous war hero. While living with the maréchal and harmlessly making love to the duchess, Voltaire commenced gathering material for his historical works.
By the end of 1725, Voltaire was flourishing, enjoying as he did the patronage and friendship of the Duke of Richelieu. Then his fortunes turned again. The arrogant Chevalier du Rohan, obviously jealous of Voltaire's popularity, taunted him about his adopted name. There followed a harsh exchange between the two, and the Chevalier subsequently had his lackeys attack his foe. When the latter challenged him to a duel, the Chevalier had his opponent sent to the Bastille. Voltaire was imprisoned only for a fortnight, but when released he again faced exile.
