Legends of The Enlightenment: The Life and Legacy of Voltaire
ISBN: 9781496145512
*Includes pictures.
*Includes Voltaire's quotes.
*Includes footnotes and a bibliography for further reading.
*Includes a table of contents.
“To hold a pen is to be at war.” – Voltaire
“All men are equal; it is not their birth, but virtue itself that makes the difference.” - Voltaire
The grand narrative of the Enlightenment, usually recounted and understood in terms of progress and modernity, generally appears as a simplified evolution from the trappings of superstition, feudalism, and everything “irrational” to a world more similar to today’s world. Alongside the Renaissance, the Enlightenment is credited for the transition to an adherence to reason, secularism, and promotion of values such as individual and collective freedom and liberty. At the heart of the movement in France was François-Marie Arouet, better known by the pen name Voltaire, whose voluminous writings advocated for greater liberalism, including the freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. In addition to the classic Candide, Voltaire was a biting polemic whose satirical attacks on the Catholic Church were among the fiercest of his day. He also understood the risks he was taking with these writings, at one point explaining, “It is dangerous to be right in matters where established men are wrong.”
*Includes Voltaire's quotes.
*Includes footnotes and a bibliography for further reading.
*Includes a table of contents.
“To hold a pen is to be at war.” – Voltaire
“All men are equal; it is not their birth, but virtue itself that makes the difference.” - Voltaire
The grand narrative of the Enlightenment, usually recounted and understood in terms of progress and modernity, generally appears as a simplified evolution from the trappings of superstition, feudalism, and everything “irrational” to a world more similar to today’s world. Alongside the Renaissance, the Enlightenment is credited for the transition to an adherence to reason, secularism, and promotion of values such as individual and collective freedom and liberty. At the heart of the movement in France was François-Marie Arouet, better known by the pen name Voltaire, whose voluminous writings advocated for greater liberalism, including the freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. In addition to the classic Candide, Voltaire was a biting polemic whose satirical attacks on the Catholic Church were among the fiercest of his day. He also understood the risks he was taking with these writings, at one point explaining, “It is dangerous to be right in matters where established men are wrong.”