Philosophical Letters

Author: Voltaire
Publisher: Huawen Network
Publication Date: 2005-07-01
Features: Voltaire was a Frenchman, and he lived in England for a period of time. During this period, he met famous thinkers and writers, learned English, read the works of Locke, Bacon, Newton, Shakespeare, and others, and observed the development of British industry and commerce, the tolerance of religion, and the enlightenment in politics. Therefore, he wrote most of his experiences in England during this period in English and published them in the famous Letters on the English. The book was first published in London, England, in 1733, systematically introducing and commenting on the political, social, religious, and literary development of Britain. In 1734, the French version of Letters on the English was published in France, and the French government was greatly enraged. Publishers were arrested, and all the books were burned. Voltaire was forced to flee again, and the book was then published in the Netherlands, showing the shock it caused at the time. This storm can be said to be the prelude to the Enlightenment movement. French critic Gustave Lanson described the book as: "A bomb thrown at the old regime." Voltaire can be said to be a deeply influential and important thinker in the French Enlightenment movement. And Letters on the English is an important discussion that launched the French Enlightenment movement. If you want to understand the Enlightenment movement, you must read it!