It's impossible to sum up the man, Voltaire, short of writing a biography of some length. This particular book provides a detailed narration of his life, from beginning to end. It really paints a picture of his life and times and provides a rich perspective of what Voltaire saw, heard, read, learned and experienced. It describes the man.
What it did not do was provide detail on his works. It provides a background on what was going on in his life, what led to the work and why he wrote it, but it does not detail the work itself. Fair enough, it's a biography of the man, not his works.
In many ways this was refreshing, as it showed the man as just that, a man, who struggled with all of the same emotions, issues, setbacks, crossroads and failures that everyone experiences. You might expect the most influential man of 18th century Europe, the man who played the largest single role in pushing France to revolution, and Europe to modernity, to somehow rise above personal struggles. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Voltaire was a thinker and a writer. He developed ideas and wrote about them with illuminating clarity that propelled the age forward. He didn't create the Enlightenment, but he made it happen sooner, spread faster, and run deeper
Voltaire broke with the establishment. His life and writings were about breaking tradition with the ancien regime and setting civilization on a new, modern course.
Voltaire pissed off virtually all of the French establishment, both church and state. He was thrown in the Bastille twice and was eventually forced into exile for the last few decades of his life.
He fled to the progressive Prussian state under the protection of Frederick the Great (a term coined by Voltaire), until he pissed Frederick off to the point that he had to flee again to Switzerland.
Voltaire lived at the intersection of faith and reason. Voltaire was not an atheist. He believed in God, but he also believed in science, learning, advancement and free thinking. He believed states should support all religions. He believed science should drive industry through innovation. He believed science and advancement would improve society, life and society. Voltaire advanced all of these ideas through his writings.
Voltaire believed that the role of government was to help bring about the greatest degree of happiness for the greatest possible number of people. Almost everyone in power fought against this new idea.
Voltaire believed in justice. Towards the end of his life he intervened in several cases of gross injustice, using his personal notoriety, writing talents and connections to overturn a number of high profile cases. He also worked towards general improvements in the judicial system in France.
Voltaire was really a funny man who loved to live life to the fullest. He partied hard, entertained thousands of guests in his various homes, often staying up all night staging plays, playing games and generally having fun.
He never married, and he never had kids.
Voltaire wrote essays, plays, books, dictionaries and contributed many articles to Diderot's Encyclopedia. He even wrote a libretto for the opera, although he didn't like collaborating with the composer. Voltaire wrote letters, thousands of them, many of which are still preserved, adding rich detail to his biography.
Voltaire was a symbol of the Enlightenment, an age he personified, propelled, absorbed and amplified. His role was part cause and part effect. He sensed the Enlightenment before it happened, and it eventually passed him by. By the last decade of his life he was considered old fashion, out of style. He died before the French Revolution began, yet it wouldn't have happened without him.
He died something of a rock star. When he finally returned to Paris for the final weeks of his life, some 300 of Paris' elite showed up at his door the first day to meet the man.
I admire Voltaire's originality, his ability to grasp new ideas and make them a reality. I take from him an increased desire to learn, think, and act towards the advancement of humanity. And to do it without taking oneself too seriously, with great laughter and with plenty of fun along the way.
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