Voltaire's Collection of Philosophical Essays

Author: Li Yuqing, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1997-07-01
Features: Voltaire (1694—1778) was originally named Fran?ois-Marie Arouet. "Voltaire" was his pen name. He was born in Paris. From a young age, he received a good education and demonstrated great intelligence. He had a passion for literature from an early age and aspired to become a writer. After graduating from high school, he became a writer without a profession. With the rise of the Enlightenment, Voltaire became the leader of the movement. In 1717, Voltaire was imprisoned in the Bastille for 11 months for writing satirical works that criticized the court's debauchery. Voltaire's real name was Fran?ois-Marie Arouet, and he was born in 1694 in a wealthy family of notaries in Paris. During his youth, he attended a noble school run by the Jesuits. After graduating from high school, his father wanted him to study law and become a judge or lawyer, but Voltaire aspired to be a poet. He truly had the talent of a poet, often composing poems spontaneously. Due to writing a satirical poem mocking the nobility, he was imprisoned in the Bastille. While in prison, he continued to write and completed his tragedy, Oedipus. In 1718, Oedipus premiered in Paris and was a success, making him famous overnight. After gaining fame, Voltaire continued to write satirical poems mocking the French nobility, which led to him being severely beaten by aristocratic youths and imprisoned in the Bastille for the second time. Upon release, he was declared an exile and forced to flee to England. In London, Voltaire observed the British political system and economic life with a fresh perspective, studied materialist philosophy and Newton's physics, and engaged with the emerging British literature. He developed a strong interest in Shakespeare's plays and translated and introduced them to France. In 1743, Voltaire published Letters on Philosophy, in which he praised the achievements of the British Revolution after its success, criticized the feudal system in France, and promoted materialist philosophical ideas. He believed that people should be free from birth and that all should be equal before the law. He advocated establishing an enlightened monarchy in France, guided by "philosophers" and supported by the bourgeoisie, with freedom of speech and the press. He opposed the Catholic Church, fiercely condemning the clergy's greed and ignorant teachings, calling the head of the Church a "scoundrel" and the Pope a "two-legged beast," and urging people to overthrow this evil force. Upon its publication, the book was declared a banned book by the French government and was publicly burned. To avoid trouble, Voltaire retreated to an old, remote noble estate on the border of France and the Netherlands, living in seclusion with his lover, the Marchioness de ételé, for 15 years until her death in 1749. During this time, he wrote tragedies such as The Death of Caesar and Muhammad, satirical epic poems like The Maid of Orleans, philosophical novels like Zadig or the Fate, historical works like The Age of Louis XIV, and scientific treatises like Principles of Newtonian Philosophy. In 1750, Voltaire was invited by King Frederick the Great of Prussia to visit Berlin. He arrived in a country more dark and cruel than France under feudal autocracy, yet he hoped to achieve certain social reforms and realize Enlightenment ideals through the power of an "enlightened monarch." However, Frederick the Great merely used Voltaire as a decorative figure in the court to present an image of an "enlightened monarch" to outsiders, while in reality, he pursued a policy of brutal military expansion. Voltaire could not change the reality of Germany and left Berlin in 1752. In 1760, Voltaire settled in the Ferney estate on the border of France and Switzerland, where he spent the last 20 years of his life. During this time, he wrote extensively on literature, philosophy, and politics, including philosophical novels like Candide or Optimism and The Innocent, and philosophical poems like The Laws of Nature. He also adapted the Yuan Dynasty Chinese opera The Orphan of Zhao into The Chinese Orphan. Although he was far from Paris, Voltaire remained concerned about French society. In his later years, he wrote many articles and pamphlets criticizing the Church and autocratic rule, which were circulated under pseudonyms and anonymous names across Europe, promoting progressive intellectual movements. At that time, thousands of philosophers, artists, and actors from across Europe came to visit Voltaire, and others wrote to him for advice. Voltaire warmly welcomed them or replied to their letters, and the small Ferney estate became the center of the European Enlightenment movement. Voltaire also actively participated in social activities, advocating for the rights of the innocent and oppressed. Most notably was the famous Calas affair of 1762. At that time, the Catholic Church held immense power in French society, and Catholic clergy were ranked as a privileged class in the feudal hierarchy. The Church frequently brutally oppressed and persecuted the people. In 1762, a Protestant named Calas had his son commit suicide due to debt. The Catholic Church immediately accused Calas of murdering his son because he wanted to convert to Catholicism. The court then arrested the entire Calas family, subjected them to severe torture, and sentenced Calas to death. On the day of execution, the executioners first broke Calas's arms, ribs, and legs with iron bars, then hanged him and dragged him to death on a cart, and finally set fire to his body to turn it into ashes. Upon hearing of this, Voltaire was furious. He personally investigated the truth of the case and sent a report on this injustice to many countries in Europe. The entire continent was shocked and angry, and people condemned the local court in Toulouse, France. Four years later, the Church was forced to declare Calas innocent and restore his family's freedom. From then on, Voltaire was known as the "savior of Calas" and was respected by the people of France. Later, Voltaire also fought for the victims of persecution, such as the Protestants Silvin and Labar, and after years of struggle, they were finally restored to honor. Therefore, Voltaire was hailed as the protector of the oppressed, and his reputation grew ever higher. Voltaire was not only a great thinker but also an outstanding writer. His most accomplished literary works were philosophical novels, and Candide or Optimism is one of his finest. The theme of Candide is to criticize blind optimism. The philosopher Pangloss in the novel believes that the world is perfect and that everything and everyone is perfectly good, "In this perfect world, everything moves toward perfection." The experiences of Pangloss throughout his life serve as a great satire of his "philosophy." He first contracts syphilis, then is burned at the stake by the Inquisition, and later is sold into slavery, yet he remains stubborn, refusing to change his views and still insists that the world is perfect. The protagonist, Candide, initially believes in Pangloss's optimistic philosophy but is shattered by the harsh realities of the world. He is the adopted son of a German baron and is driven out of his home by the baron, who is deeply prejudiced against the nobility, because he falls in love with the baron's daughter, Cunégonde. From then on, he wanders the world, witnessing the corruption of feudal autocracy and the crimes of the Catholic Church everywhere. When he arrives in Lisbon, he experiences a major earthquake. To prevent the city from being destroyed, the Church colludes with university doctors and believes that the only way to stop the earthquake is to slowly burn a few people in a solemn ceremony. As a result, the Church arrests five people. One of them is accused of marrying his own godmother, and the other two Portuguese are accused of throwing away the ham in the chicken they were cooking. The Pangloss and Candide present at the scene seem to agree with their eating habits, so they are also taken to the religious stake. The three are burned to death, but Pangloss and Candide miraculously escape. After enduring countless hardships, Candide realizes that the world is like a slaughterhouse and abandons optimism. In the end, he finds a golden land where the ground is covered with gold, jade, and precious stones, and where everyone lives in freedom, equality, happiness, and prosperity. Of course, this is merely Voltaire's ideal. In February 1778, at the age of 84, Voltaire returned to Paris after the death of Louis XV, after being away for 28 years. The people welcomed this brave fighter with open arms. On May 30, Voltaire died. Before his death, a priest demanded that he acknowledge Christ as his savior, but he fiercely refused. The reactionary Church refused to allow him to be buried in Paris. During the French Revolution, Voltaire's remains were returned to Paris and were laid to rest with great honor in the Pantheon, the mausoleum of France's great men.