Mrs. Eddy Mentioned Them October 12, 1957 Issue

François Marie Arouet de Voltaire, 1694-1778

[Mentioned in The People's Idea of God, p. 6]

Voltaire , man of letters, philosopher, and defender of the oppressed, led a life which was as full of extremes as his character was full of contradictions. Born in Paris of middle-class parents, he attended a Jesuit college where he acquired such a love of literature and the theater that he submitted only briefly to his father's plans that he follow him in the legal profession.

Voltaire was determined to be a man of letters. His facility in writing rhymed epigrams, especially satirical ones against the Regent, led to an eleven-month imprisonment in the Bastille. Here he wrote the greater part of an epic poem which had Henry IV for its hero and eulogized Admiral Coligny. Voltaire was then exiled from Paris for eleven months. During this period the tremendous success of one of his plays at the Comédie Française helped to smooth his path. He now assumed the name of "Voltaire," perhaps an abbreviation of the nickname, "le volontaire," which he had as a child.

Voltaire was again imprisoned when he challenged to a duel a nobleman who insulted him. On his request that he be allowed to go to England, Voltaire was released. This visit was the most important incident in his life. He met Swift, Pope, Congreve, and Gay, was welcome at court, investigated scientific theories, and enjoyed the English spirit of tolerance and inquiry. His literary work was now both in English and in French.

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October 12, 1957
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