DOCSLIB.ORG

François Marie Arouet Dit De Voltaire (1694-1778) Father a Royal Functionary Jesuit Educ Circulates in Libertine Salon Playwright (Oedipe, 1718)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
François Marie Arouet Dit De Voltaire (1694-1778) Father a Royal Functionary Jesuit Educ Circulates in Libertine Salon Playwright (Oedipe, 1718) François Marie Arouet dit de Voltaire (1694-1778) father a royal functionary Jesuit educ circulates in libertine salon playwright (Oedipe, 1718) Adrienne Lecouvreur (1692-1730) tragic actress Voltaire in love with her died suddenly (poison?) and was refused Church burial. Voltaire wrote bitter poem about this; see also in Letters on England Emilie du Chatelet (1706-49), noble woman, very well educated, success at court, (lessons on Newton by Maupertuis; dressed as man to attend cafe after Acad sci mtgs), lover of Voltaire 1733-47/9, collaborates with Voltaire on study of Newton Chateau de Cirey, 50 miles East of Paris which Voltaire paid to renovate when he lived there with Emilie du Chatelet (and her husband) Isaac Newton 1643-1727 3 laws of motion (inertia, F=ma, action and reaction) mechanical phil, but with gravity, which he cannot explain + need for God to oversee nature, “rewind the clock” Title a response/ rebuttal to Descartes, Principia Philosophiae (1644) Pierre Louis Maupertuis 1698-1759 exped’n to Lapland 1736 to measure curvature of the earth (lemon or orange?) Charles Marie de la Condamine (1701-74) exped to Peru to measure curvature of earth left in 1735; returned only in 1744. Discovered rubber and explored the Amazon along the way Frontspiece features Mme du Chatelet as Voltaire’s muse Emilie du Chatelet’s complete translation of Newton’s Principia, pub’d after her death (by Voltaire) in 1759 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz 1646-1716 -mathematician (calculus at same time as Newton) -court philosopher (many utopian schemes) -Theodicy (1710)=everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds depiction of the Lisbon earthquake, 1755 (estimated at 8-9 on the Richter scale) 30,000 reported dead at the time German print of hangings after the Lisbon earthquake--I’m not sure what basis in fact or (if factual) what reasons for the hangings “After the earthquake, which had destroyed three-fourths of the city of Lisbon, the sages of that country could think of no means more effectual to preserve the kingdom from utter ruin than to entertain the people with an auto-da-fé,1 it having been decided by the University of Coimbra, that the burning of a few people alive by a slow fire, and with great ceremony, is an infallible preventive of earthquakes.” Candide’s mentor, the optimist philosopher Pangloss, opines that it is all for the good, “all this is for the very best end, for if there is a volcano at Lisbon it could be in no other spot.” But when Pangloss is hanged for heresy, the earth shakes again. Candide laments: “If this is the best of all possible worlds, what are the others like?” The Calas Affair, Toulouse, 1762 Calas was executed in 1763 for allegedly killing his son who was converting to Catholicism. Voltaire’s pamphlet campaign changed public opinion and Calas was exonerated in 1765 (posthumously). Voltaire at the court of Frederick II of Prussia Voltaire’s Chateau at Ferney, France. Now the town is called Ferney-Voltaire. Busts by Houdon, 1778 Voltaire made a triumphant return to Paris in 1776. His play Irene was a great success. He met Benjamin Franklin then. Voltaire’s remains were reinterred in 1791 in the Pantheon in Paris. Pantheon designed as church in1758; completed in 1790 and used by the revolutionaries to honor their heroes. Inscription reads: “aux grands hommes la patrie reconnaissante” (to its great men from a grateful fatherland). Others reinterred there: Descartes, Rousseau..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • How to Quote Voltaire: the Edition to Use1 February 2021
    How to quote Voltaire: the edition to use1 February 2021 A complete alphabetical list of Voltaire texts and in which edition and volume to find them. The Voltaire Foundation’s Œuvres complètes de Voltaire (OCV) edition includes most texts, but for those not yet published in OCV, the 1877-1885 Moland edition (M) is mostly given. Abbreviations used AP Ajouts posthumes Best., followed by a a letter printed in Voltaire’s correspondence, ed. Th. Besterman, number 107 vol. (Geneva, 1953-1965, 1st edition) BnC Bibliothèque nationale de France: Catalogue général des livres imprimés, 213-214 (1978) BnF, ms.fr. Bibliothèque nationale de France: Manuscrits français BnF, n.a.fr. Bibliothèque nationale de France: Nouvelles acquisitions françaises D, followed by a number a letter printed in Voltaire, Correspondence and related documents, ed. Th. Besterman, in OCV, vol.85-135 DP Dictionnaire philosophique Lizé Voltaire, Grimm et la Correspondence littéraire, SVEC 180 (1979) M Œuvres complètes de Voltaire, éd. Louis Moland, 52 vol. (Paris, Garnier, 1877-1885) NM Nouveaux Mélanges philosophiques, historiques, critiques ([Genève], 1768) OA Œuvres alphabétiques (Articles pour l’Encyclopédie, Articles pour le Dictionnaire de l’Académie) OCV Œuvres complètes de Voltaire (Voltaire Foundation, Oxford, 1968- ) QE Questions sur l’Encyclopédie RC Romans et Contes, ed. Frédéric Deloffre et Jacques van den Heuvel (Paris, Gallimard [Pléiade], 1979) RHLF Revue d’histoire littéraire de la France (Presses universitaire de France) SVEC Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century (Voltaire Foundation) Vauger ‘Vauger’s lists of Voltaire’s writings, 1757-1785’ (D.app.161, OCV, vol.102, p.509-10) W72P Œuvres de M.
    [Show full text]
  • The Re- June, 1929
    by Iilnrgnret .Alice Gustnfson. AeB. University of Kansas. 19270 of Homunce T,nngunges and the l1'ncul"cy of the Graduate School of the Unive1,sity of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the re- quirements for the degree of f:iASTHH OF AHTS. Approved by: EG~ Hcnd of Depo.1,tnent June, 1929. ADflIE'NHE J~EGOUV HEUit IN DHfi.1.IJ\. ADHinnm r.;r::coUVRI:UH IN DHJ'if,TA INDEX page Lifo of t~dr')icnno Lecouvreu~."••o••·--··•·····•oo•• l Drnmnti~ntions of Her Lifeo o ... o ..... .,, ••••• ~ ... o • ..,. •. 21 0 n iHlrienne Lecouv1~cur by Be1.,aud o.nd Valo:r~y ••• D •• 26 "Adrionne T..1eoouvPetrrn 1Jy Scribe nncl Legouvefo•oeo 36 n Adrienne Locouv1.,eurn by Snrnh Be1'"7!luu~t •• •..... 56 conclusion• • • 9 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 -> e 0 II lit I> 0 0 0 0 • • 1lr llt o· 0 ., • G •• 0, • .. 78 Notes•••••••••••••••••••••~O•••••••••••••••••••• 93 Bibliogrnph:g'oo•••••••o••••••••••eo•••o•••••••••• 104 T,IFB OF ADRim:nm LEGOU\THEUH INTRODUCTION In this discussion of Adrienne Lecouvreur on the stnge the follm~.ring plays wil 1 be studied.~ "Ad-rienne T,ecouvreur" , lf130, by M. r.i. J\ ntony-Be'reucl and Va.lo ry,, "Adrienne Leoouvreur" , l849, · by M.u. Seribe nnd IJe- gouve, nn d "AdI'ienne Lecouvreurn, 1907, Mme Snra.h Bernhardt. Tho purpose of this study is not to con•· sider them from fl litHra:ry strmdpoint but to compnre the portrnynl of' Adrienne T,ecouvreur in ea.ch of the respoct:tve plays with the histo1~1cnl facts of he~ life.
    [Show full text]
  • Voltaire Et Le Sauvage Civilisé
    San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks Master's Theses Master's Theses and Graduate Research Spring 2010 Voltaire et le sauvage civilisé Christopher J. Barros San Jose State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses Recommended Citation Barros, Christopher J., "Voltaire et le sauvage civilisé" (2010). Master's Theses. 3747. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.883s-xa8q https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/3747 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses and Graduate Research at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. VOLTAIRE ET LE « SAUVAGE CIVILISÉ » A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of World Languages and Literatures San José State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree Master of Arts by Christopher J. Barros May 2010 © 2010 Christopher J. Barros ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The Designated Thesis Committee Approves the Thesis Titled VOLTAIRE ET LE « SAUVAGE CIVILISÉ » by Christopher Joseph Barros APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF WORLD LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY May 2010 Danielle Trudeau Department of World Languages and Literatures Jean-Luc Desalvo Department of World Languages and Literatures Dominique van Hooff Department of World Languages and Literatures ABSTRACT VOLTAIRE ET LE « SAUVAGE CIVILISÉ » by Christopher J. Barros This thesis explores Voltaire’s interpretation of human nature, society, and progress vis-à-vis the myth of the “noble savage,” an image that was widespread in the literature, imagination, and theater of the 17th and 18th centuries.
    [Show full text]
  • Voltaire's Candide
    CANDIDE Voltaire 1759 © 1998, Electronic Scholarly Publishing Project http://www.esp.org This electronic edition is made freely available for scholarly or educational purposes, provided that this copyright notice is included. The manuscript may not be reprinted or redistributed for commercial purposes without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1.....................................................................................1 How Candide Was Brought Up in a Magnificent Castle and How He Was Driven Thence CHAPTER 2.....................................................................................3 What Befell Candide among the Bulgarians CHAPTER 3.....................................................................................6 How Candide Escaped from the Bulgarians and What Befell Him Afterward CHAPTER 4.....................................................................................8 How Candide Found His Old Master Pangloss Again and What CHAPTER 5...................................................................................11 A Tempest, a Shipwreck, an Earthquake, and What Else Befell Dr. Pangloss, Candide, and James, the Anabaptist CHAPTER 6...................................................................................14 How the Portuguese Made a Superb Auto-De-Fe to Prevent Any Future Earthquakes, and How Candide Underwent Public Flagellation CHAPTER 7...................................................................................16 How the Old Woman Took Care Of Candide, and How He Found the Object of
    [Show full text]
  • Ee . Lord Chamberlain's Plays, 1852
    52929 A - EE. LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S PLAYS, 1852 - 1866. January - February 1852. A. ‘My sister from India’, farce in one act by Charles Selby. Licence sent 31 December 1851 for performance at the Strand 1 January 1852. Includes performances of the songs ‘Youth in wrinkles’, and ‘Soldiers, comrades.’ The latter is noted in the text to be from the play Frederick of Prussia, also by Charles Selby (Add. 42948 (9), licensed 24 July 1837). Published in French's, vol. 108, no. 1612. Keywords: British Empire, servants, family relationships. ff. 31. B. ‘An organic affection’ (‘An organic affection, or, An affection of the heart’), farce in one act by Mrs. Alfred Philips. Licence sent 9 January for performance at the Royal Olympic 12 January 1852. Signed by W. Farren. Includes performances of a number of songs, one of which contains the phrase ‘affection of the heart.’ LCO Day Book Add. 53703 records the stipulation that the word ‘damn’ be omitted. Published in Lacy’s, vol. 5, no. 75. Keywords: French influence, theatre, doctors and medicine, disfigurement. ff. 14. C. ‘A duel in the dark’, farce in one act by J. S. Coyne. Licence sent 12 January for performance at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket 14 January 1852. Request for licence written and signed by Benjamin Webster. LCO Day Book Add. 53703 records the stipulation that the word ‘damn’ be omitted. Published in Lacy’s, vol. 6, no. 76. Keywords: French influence, duelling, theatre, impersonation, murder, adultery, food and dining. ff. 23. D. ‘Extremes are bad’ (‘The juvenile party’), farce in one act.
    [Show full text]
  • Candide; Or Optimism
    (3) Voltaire, Candide. a. Text. Translation in the pubic domain. VOLTAIRE Candide; or Optimism translated from the German of DoctorRalph with the additions which were found in the Doctor=s pocket when he died at Minden1 in the Year of our Lord 1759 [An anonymous translation, edited and adapted by A.C. Kibel] Chapter 1 - How Candide Was Brought Up in a Magnificent Castle and How He Was Driven Out of It In the country of Westphalia, in the castle of the most noble Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh, lived a youth whom Nature had endowed with a most sweet disposition. His face was the true index of his mind. He had a solid judgment joined to the most unaffected simplicity; and hence, I presume, he had his name of Candide. The old servants of the house suspected him to have been the son of the Baron's sister, by a very good sort of a gentleman of the neighborhood, whom that young lady refused to marry, because he could produce no more than seventy-one quarterings2 in his arms; the rest of the genealogical tree belonging to the family having been lost through the injuries of time. The Baron was one of the most powerful lords in Westphalia, for his castle had not only a gate, but even windows, and his great hall was hung with tapestry. He used to hunt with his mastiffs and spaniels instead of greyhounds; his groom served him for huntsman; and the parson of the parish officiated as his grand almoner. He was called AMy Lord@ by all his people, who laughed at all his jokes.
    [Show full text]
  • FRANÇOIS MARIE AROUET DE VOLTAIRE (1694-1778) Author: George Saintsbury, D.C.L., LL.D
    FRANÇOIS MARIE AROUET DE VOLTAIRE (1694-1778) Author: George Saintsbury, D.C.L., LL.D. Encyclopedia Britannica (New York 1911) vol. 28: 199-205. Electronic Text edited, modified & paginated by Dr Robert A. Hatch© VOLTAIRE, FRANCOIS MARIE AROUET DE. French philosopher, historian, dramatist and man of letters, whose real name was François Marie Arouet simply, was born on the 21st of November 1694 at Paris, and was baptized the next day. His father was François Arouet, a notary; his mother was Marie Marguerite Daumart or D’Aumard. Both father and mother were of Poitevin extraction, but the Arouets had been for two generations established in Paris, the grandfather being a prosperous tradesman. The family appear to have always belonged to the yeoman-tradesman class; their special home was the town of Saint-Loup. Voltaire was the fifth child of his parents—twin boys (of whom one survived), a girl, Marguerite Catherine, and another boy who died young, having preceded him. Not very much is known of the mother, who died when Voltaire was but seven years old. She pretty certainly was the chief cause of his early introduction to good society, the Abbé de Châteauneuf (his sponsor in more ways than one) having been her friend. The father appears to have been somewhat peremptory in temper, but neither inhospitable nor tyrannical. Marguerite Arouet, of whom her younger brother was very fond, married early, her husbands name being Mignot; the elder brother, Armand, was a strong Jansenist, and there never was any kind of sympathy between him and François. The Abbé do Châteauneuf instructed him early in belles lettres and deism, and he showed when a child the unsurpassed faculty for facile verse-making which always distinguished him.
    [Show full text]
  • Candide and Other Stories (Oxford World's Classics)
    oxford world’ s classics CANDIDE and other stories Voltaire was the assumed name of François-Marie Arouet (1694– 1778). Born into a well-to-do Parisian family, he was educated at the leading Jesuit college in Paris. Having refused to follow his father and elder brother into the legal profession he soon won widespread acclaim for Œdipe (1718), the first of some twenty-seven tragedies which he continued to write until the end of his life. His national epic La Henriade (1723) confirmed his reputation as the leading French literary figure of his generation. Following a quarrel with the worthless but influential aristocrat, the Chevalier de Rohan, he was forced into exile in England. This period (1726–8) was particularly formative, and his Letters concern- ing the English Nation (1733) constitute the first major expression of Voltaire’s deism and his subsequent lifelong opposition to religious and political oppression. Following the happy years (1734–43) spent at Cirey with his mistress Mme du Châtelet in the shared pursuit of several intellectual enthusiasms, notably the work of Isaac Newton, he enjoyed a brief interval of favour at court during which he was appointed Historiographer to the King. After the death of Mme du Châtelet in 1749 he finally accepted an invitation to the court of Frederick of Prussia, but left in 1753 when life with this particular enlightened despot became intolerable. In 1755, after temporary sojourn in Colmar, he settled at Les Délices on the outskirts of Geneva. He then moved to nearby Ferney in 1759, the year Candide was published.
    [Show full text]
  • Literary Criticism (1400-1800): Candide, Voltaire - Arthur Scherr (Essay Date Spring 1993)
    Literary Criticism (1400-1800): Candide, Voltaire - Arthur Scherr (essay date spring 1993) Candide, Voltaire - Arthur Scherr (essay date spring 1993) ©2011 eNotes.com, Inc. or its Licensors. Please see copyright information at the end of this document. Arthur Scherr (essay date spring 1993) SOURCE: Scherr, Arthur. “Voltaire's Candide: A Tale of Women's Equality.” Midwest Quarterly 34, no. 3 (spring 1993): 261-82. [In the following essay, Scherr lauds Candide as a classic and perennially popular work of literature, and examines its exploration of gender relationships, arguing that the play makes a case for the interdependent nature of male-female relationships.] Candide, Voltaire's great philosophical conte, is undoubtedly among the most popular and perennial of literary works; as such it has received an enormous share of frequently esoteric critical attention. Invariably stressing the climactic final chapter, concluding with Candide's decisive pronouncement, “il faut cultiver notre jardin [we must cultivate our garden],” many interpretations center on the issue of theodicy and the extent to which Voltaire and his protagonist recommend active struggle against evil, oppression, and war rather than isolated, selfish withdrawal from an inhumane society. Though these questions are important, Candide may be read on a parallel level as an examination of gender relationships and as Voltaire's paean to the beauty, common sense, intelligence, and resourcefulness of women. An argument for the moral, intellectual, and physical equality of women and men, interdependent composites of strength and frailty confronting an indifferent, often harsh natural environment and a brutal, indeed malevolent social one, is among its themes. In Voltaire's own life women played a far greater role than men.
    [Show full text]
  • Voltaires Le Mondain Oder Die Satire Der Satire
    ULRICH SCHULZ-BUSCHHAUS Das Aufsatzwerk Institut für Romanistik | Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz Permalink: http://gams.uni-graz.at/o:usb-067-217 Voltaires Le Mondain oder die Satire der Satire I Wie ein Jahrhundert später Flauberts Madame Bovary oder Baudelaires Les Fleurs du Mal gehört auch Voltaires kleine Verssatire Le Mondain aus dem Jahr 1736 zu den literarischen Texten, denen der Erfolg des Skandals beschieden war. Jedenfalls erschien das Stück anstößig genug, um das Mißfallen der Obrigkeit zu erregen und seinen Autor zu der Vorsichtsmaßnahme eines (freilich nur zwei Monate 1 währenden) Exils in Holland zu veranlassen. So offenkundig demnach die einst (und möglicherweise auch heute noch) skandalisierende Wirkung des Textes zutage liegt, so problematisch ist es dagegen um seine sensu strictiori satirische Wirkung bestellt. Gemeinhin erwarten wir ja, daß die gattungsgerechte Satire eine Tendenz verfolgt, welche sich „negativ und implizierend“ gegen Phänomene der aktuellen 2 Wirklichkeit richtet. Anders Voltaires „Badinage“, das er selbst als „très-philosophique et très-utile“ 3 empfahl , während es seinen Gegnern unmoralisch, ja blasphemisch erscheinen mochte: In ihm wird gegenwärtiges Leben nicht bloß impliziert, sondern mit prononciertem Behagen dargestellt und überdies derart positiviert, daß sich das Hic et Nunc für den Sprecher der Satire am Ende in ein Bild des Paradieses 4 verwandelt: „Le paradis terrestre est où je suis.“ Man könnte hier also – unter poetologischen wie rezeptionsästhetischen Aspekten – von einem Oxymoron sprechen: Es gibt einen Skandal, der aus einem „badinage agréable“ erwächst, und beides hat mit einer Satire zu tun, die als laus temporis praesentis – geradezu enkomiastisch – die Wirklichkeit rühmt. Dies Oxymoron zu kommentieren und womöglich zu erklären, soll das Ziel der folgenden 1 Vgl.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Download
    Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich Journal of Global Theatre History Theatrescapes Global Media and Translocal Publics (1850-1950) Editors Christopher Balme and Nic Leonhardt Volume 1, Number 2, 2016 Editorial Office Gwendolin Lehnerer Gero Toegl Editorial Board Helen Gilbert (Royal Holloway London) Gordon Winder (Munich), Derek Miller (Harvard), Kati Röttger (Amsterdam), Stanca Scholz-Cionca (Trier/Munich), Marlis Schweitzer (York University, Toronto) Roland Wenzlhuemer (Heidelberg), Published under the Creative Commons License CC-BY 4.0 All rights reserved by the Authors. Journal of Global Theatre History Volume 1, Number 2, 2016 Table of Contents Nic Leonhardt Editorial .............................................................................................................................................III Monize Oliveira Moura Sarah Bernhardt in Brazil (1886 and 1893) ................................................................................................................................................1 Catherine Vance Yeh Experimenting with Dance Drama: Peking Opera Modernity, Kabuki Theater Reform and the Denishawn’s Tour of the Far East .............................................................................................................................................28 Johanna Dupré "Die erste Jockey-Reiterin der Welt, aus Süd-Amerika": Rosita de la Plata, Global Imaginaries and the Media .............................................................................................................................................38
    [Show full text]
  • Rousseau Et Voltaire: Une Comparaison
    The Corinthian Volume 8 Article 12 2007 Rousseau et Voltaire: Une comparaison Rita Howard Georgia College & State University Follow this and additional works at: https://kb.gcsu.edu/thecorinthian Part of the French and Francophone Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Howard, Rita (2007) "Rousseau et Voltaire: Une comparaison," The Corinthian: Vol. 8 , Article 12. Available at: https://kb.gcsu.edu/thecorinthian/vol8/iss1/12 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate Research at Knowledge Box. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Corinthian by an authorized editor of Knowledge Box. Rousseau et Voltaire: Une Comparaison Ro~u et Voltaire: Une oomparaison Rita Howard Dr. Hedwig Fraunhofer Faculty Sponsor Le XVIIIe siecle est avant tout l'age de la raison marque par un mouve­ ment intellectuel reformateur en Europe a la recherche du bonheur. C'est le siecle des Lumieres et de l'Encyclopedie. Les philosophes s'unissent pour liberer le public des traditions, superstitions et des idees medievales fausses. Ils defendent entre autres la liberte, la raison, la tolerance, la justice, l'egal­ ite, le progres, et denoncent les abus de pouvoir. C'est le siecle de la critique religieuse, sociale et politique avec Voltaire et Rousseau qui contestent la societe de privilegies issus du Moyen Age. Meme si Voltaire et Rousseau sont consideres comme des philosophes du Siecle des Lumieres, leurs styles et leurs points de vue sont differents sur presque tous les sujets. Jean-Jacques Rousseau utilise la sensibilite pour comprendre le monde; sa pensee philosophique est profonde et originale.
    [Show full text]