Julia+Voltaire+2009-10


 * Voltaire**



Born: 21. November 1694 Died: 30. May 1778

Francois-Marie Arouet, also known as Voltaire was a French Enlightenment poet, historian, essayist, and philospher who wrote with cutting sarcasm and sharp wit. He frequently made use of his works to criticize the Catholic Church dogma and the French instituions of his day. Two times Voltaire was sent to the Bastille prison to his criticism of French authorities and he was eventually banned from Paris. After some time, Voltaire was able to return to France, he wrote about political and religious freedom. With Montesquieu, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau was Voltaire one of those several Enlightman figures. Those works and ideas influenced important thinkers of both the American and French Revolutions. Voltaire spent his life fighting enemis of freedom, such as ignorance, superstition, and intolerance.

"Common sense is not so common.“ - From Philosophical Dictionary by Voltaire

" Anything that is too stupid to be spoken is sung."

"Chance is a word void of sense; nothing can exist without a cause."

"Clever tyrants are never punished."

__1. What did Voltaire attack in his writing? 2. Was Voltaire ever in the prison? 3. Did Voltaire like the absolutism or not?__