On Enlightenment
Lillian Chen
4/24/97
period 6
Honors humanities
François Marie Arouet
The enlightenment was an era of great thinkers who reasoned and connected to the science evolving around them. As the wealthy and accomplished personnel took control over the poor slaves in France, the noblemen lead their country into corruption. One enlightened man of this time was François Marie Arouet, who changed his name to Voltaire in 1718, in hopes to brighten his future.
Born on November 21, 1694, during a time of political and economical troubles, Voltaire was a sickly, frail child. Because of his poor conditions, Voltaire's parents gave him to a priest named Chateauneuf. This priest was irreligious and profoundly skeptical and bright, but cared for Voltaire, his godson, with much kindness. At age 10, Voltaire attended a Jesuit boys' school, where he learned Latin, but did not act normal like the other boys. Surprising his teachers, he would refuse to play sports, and astonished them even more when they read his clever verses. As he grew older, Voltaire grew more and more independent, as he refused to follow in his father's footsteps in law practice and decided to dedicate his life to literature.
By 1715, King Louis XIV had died, and Voltaire had become famous for his witty and clever epigrams and poetry. He was accepted into many salons, and soon came to criticizing that French government in his writings. His first charge against government forced him to be exiled to Sully. When he returned in 1717, the government charged him of writing more satiric poems, of which none were written by him, and he was exiled again to the Bastille. In prison, Voltaire wrote his first play, Oedipe, which was produced in Paris after he was released from prison. It brought him much success as a playwright, but the money he received from the noblemen did not keep his mouth shut. Again in 1826, Voltaire was sent to the Bastille because of his criticism of a contemptuous nobleman. But instead of staying in the Bastille, the government allowed him to be exiled to England.
While living in England, Voltaire learned new ideas from John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton, and found that he would try for the rest of his life to fight for liberty against human suffering and tyranny. In 1729 he returned to France and discovered his long time fr