Voltaire the Freethinker Who Fought for Everybody's Freedom

Category: French Culture

When Voltaire the Freethinker died on May 30th 1778 in Paris at age 83, he was at the height of his popularity with most people, yet the Catholic Church denied him a proper burial. By 1778 he had produced work of every genre: plays, poems, essays, satire, novels, history, and even scientific observations. He was prolific, more than 20,000 letters as well as 2,000 books and pamphlets are credited to him.

Voltaire the Freethinker was popular with the people, so 3 years after his death, after the French Revolution too, his body was moved to the Pantheon where his epitaph reads: "Il combattit les athées et les fanatiques. Il inspira la tolérance, il réclama les droits de l'homme contre la servitude de la féodalité. Poète, historien, philosophe, il agrandit l'esprit humain, et lui apprit à être libre." In English it means:

He fought against atheists and fanatics. He inspired tolerance. He promoted human rights against the servitude of feudalism. He was a poet, historian and philosopher. He broadened human mind and taught them how to be free.

French Tip of the Week

Here's a fun French phrase for you: Je suis une pipelette = I am a chatterbox.

Episode Highlights

Voltaire the freethinker was Born François-Marie Arouet in Paris on November 21, 1694
Voltaire was educated at a High School that still exists today: Louis-le-Grand
He joins the "Société du Temple" which espouses freethinking and libertine ideals
His mother was progressive but his father was very conservative
Imprisonments at the Bastille
Voltaire, a prolific author
Exile to England, major works
Calling for social reform
Working against a corrupt Judicial system
Censorship in France
Voltaire didn't get rich from books
Cirey-sur-Blaise
Voltaire's popularity
Summary of the Jean Calas scandal in Toulouse
The Lisbon earthquake and how it affected Voltaire