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Voltaire's Wit and Wisdom: Freethought, Enlightenment, Satire

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Voltaire's Wit and Wisdom: Freethought, Enlightenment, Satire While the public loved his plays, often summarized these values the French elites6 could not with the common saying, “I François-Marie Arouet1 was born tolerate a laugh at their expense. disapprove of what you say, but I in 1694’s Paris at the dawn of the Without trials7 or legal defense, will defend to the death your Age of Enlightenment. His father Voltaire was imprisoned multiple right to say it.”16 sent him off to become a lawyer, times and later exiled to Britain. yet he quickly found fame as a socialite, philanderer2, and poet Once outside his home country, 8 who strived to surround himself he soon realized how corrupt “Doubt is not a pleasant with the great minds of his time. and tyrannical the absolute 9 condition, but certainty is He studied John Locke and monarchy in France really was. absurd.” Edmund Burke, admired Isaac Civil liberties were ignored, 3 religious minorities were brutally Newton, criticized Leibniz, and Voltaire could see how evidence- tortured, and execution came to became close friends with based17 reasoning18, scientific anyone who failed to flatter Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, literacy, and general education19 those in power.10 and Benjamin Franklin. could improve a society; so he worked to popularize and Fueled by coffee, inspired by his Despite the risks, Voltaire 11 explain Newton’s controversial muse (the mathematician and continued to riddicule state 12 discoveries to the public. He physicist, Madame du Châtelet), churches, organized religion, even helped to create the and driven to speak out against monarchies, injustice, hypocrisy, 13 world’s first encyclopedia! the political and religious prejudice , and corruption for atrocities around him, he wrote the rest of his life. over 20,000 letters and 2,000 books4 on science, religion, politics, philosophy, history, and “Think for yourselves and let Voltaire’s Candide is a comedy more (mostly in the form of others enjoy the privilege to do that follows travelers on their plays, poems, and novels). His so too.” optimistic21 search for happiness literary works made major as they suffer through a series of Voltaire loved the free markets, philosophical ideas accessible to random misadventures.22 In the religious tolerance, diversity of the masses and inspired kings5 end, they find contentment by thought, and the inclusive values and revolutionaries alike. tending to their gardens. of British Protestant Culture. Likewise, we would be wise to Even though he was a cynical meet existential absurdities with French15 Deist, his ideas were some acceptance, patience, “Those who can make you welcomed by his British humility, and humor. It may even believe absurdities can make you contemporaries just as he would help to get to work23 on the commit atrocities.” go on to welcome theirs. Voltaire problems already at our feet. Version 1.0 (Feb 14, 2020) • For updated versions of this and other Discussion Primers, please visit: freethoughtforum.org/library • Your feedback is welcome! This document may be printed, copied, and distributed (without alteration) for non-commercial use. © 2020 FREE THOUGHT INITIATIVE (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) 7. “It is better to risk saving a Cicero. If Milton, Dryden, guilty person than to Pope, and Locke had not been 1. “Each player must accept the condemn an innocent one.” free, England would have had cards life deals him or her; but neither poets nor once they are in hand, he or 8. “Man is free at the moment philosophers…” she alone must decide how to he wishes to be.” play the cards in order to win 17. “Opinions have caused more the game.” 9. “It is difficult to free fools from ills than the plague or the chains they revere.” earthquakes on this little 2. “Let us read, and let us dance; globe of ours.” these two amusements will 10. See Voltaire’s book “Letters never do any harm to the on England,” also known as 18. “No problem can withstand world.” “Philosophical Letters.” the assault of sustained thinking.” 3. “Weakness on both sides is, as 11. Voltaire’s common motto, we know, the motto of all “Écrasez l'infâme” means 19. “Judge a person by their quarrels.” something like “Crush the questions, rather than their corruption.” answers.” 4. “Despite the enormous quantity of books, how few 12. “Faith consists in believing 20. “‘Everything happens for the people read! And if one read when it is beyond the power best’ is not always true…” profitably, one would see the of reason to believe.” deplorable follies to which the 21. “The progress of rivers to the common people offer 13. “Prejudices are what fools use ocean is not so rapid as that of themselves as prey every for reason.” man to error.” day.” 14. “What is tolerance? It is the 22. “We all look for happiness, 5. A quote by King Frederick the consequence of humanity. We but without knowing where to Great of Prussia who was are all formed of frailty and find it: like drunkards who inspired by Voltaire to reform error; let us pardon look for their house, knowing his kingdom according to reciprocally each other's folly. dimly that they have one.” Enlightenment values: That is the first law of nature.” 23. “Life is bristling with thorns, “The greatest and noblest 15. “It is lamentable, that to be a and I know no other remedy pleasure which men can have good patriot one must than to cultivate one's in this world is to discover new become the enemy of the rest garden.” truths; and the next is to of mankind.” shake off old prejudices.” 16. “Had there been a literary 6. “To learn who rules over you, censorship in Rome, we simply find out who you are should have had to-day not allowed to criticize.” neither Horace, Juvenal, nor the philosophical works of Version 1.0 (Feb 14, 2020) • For updated versions of this and other Discussion Primers, please visit: freethoughtforum.org/library • Your feedback is welcome! This document may be printed, copied, and distributed (without alteration) for non-commercial use. © 2020 FREE THOUGHT INITIATIVE (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) .
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