Voltaire: Writer, Wit, Philosopher and Rebel

“I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” This extraordinarily perceptive and profound statement is the toast of liberals all over the world. Not only liberals but every reasonable human who believes in freedom of expression, takes it as an article of faith. Or, consider, “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.”, a statement that has kept the pot boiling on the existence of God ever since. Who, but a genius of exceptional talent can clothe these intensely stimulating thoughts into such brief, beautiful and befitting words!

An Enlightenment Writer
Born in Paris as François-Marie Arouet in 1694, the author of such insightful and impactful one-liners was to become a novelist, poet, dramatist, philosopher, satirist and historian. Writing under the pen-name Voltaire he was one of the greatest writers that France has produced. His caustic wit and unconventional ideas on religion, ethics and the State often got him into trouble. Ever smiling, ever reading, Voltaire wrote more than 2000 books, pamphlets and sundry pieces of serious writing.

An Enlightenment writer, a radical historian and a maverick philosopher known for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and the separation of church and state, places him as one among the foremost thinkers of modern era. Who could dare to write in those times, “This body which was called, and still is called, the Holy Roman Empire, was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.” And in his own life-time he had the satisfaction of witnessing his scathing searing observation on decadent Christianity stand vindicated.

Writer, Playwright, Thinker, Rebel
That he was prolific is nothing unique, but the body of his work is so overwhelmingly serious, perceptive, probing and diverse that on this count alone, he commands an irreplaceable place among the pantheon of writers. How many writers could claim to have written more than a thousand books?  Voltaire authored more than 2000, a feat unequalled and unheard of in modern human history.
And his wit and the perspicuity of his observations stood unchallenged for their depth, richness and range. It was only over hundred years later that another genius across the Channel, regaled the readers with his uncommonly sharp and scintillating wit. Among the English authors, Oscar Wilde is closest to him in clothing the thoughts in an extraordinary display of words. ‘There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about’., said he. Well, the world is not tired of talking about them. It is a different matter that apart from a rare witticism, there was nothing else common between them.

Voltaire was many things rolled into one: Writer, Wit, Philosopher and Rebel. And what a tumultuous and eventful life he led!  His books were burnt, he was incarcerated in Bastille, he was exiled but he remained defiant and rebellious till the end. He became famous while alive, and even more so after his death. And he was also rich. Such a combination of apparently contradictory circumstances and favours of destiny is rarely known.
Convictions often wilt and wither in the face of adversities. But not for him. As he lay dying on the 30th day of May 1775, the great French writer noticed that the lamp next to his bed was violently flickering and flaring up. “What? The flames already?” he quipped. These were the last words he reportedly spoke. The anecdotes may be apocryphal or of questionable authenticity but it so sharply and eloquently  defines the character of this man that few find such attribution diluted or attenuated  by hesitation or doubt..

His talent and flare for writing were best displayed by his plays and he wrote many, Oedipe, Brutus, Zaire and Candide being the better known ones. Candide, a satire was anonymously published in five countries with scandalous acclaim.

Rebel for a Cause
On 10th of March, 1762, his compatriot Huguenot Jean Calas, was wrongly convicted of killing his son, who had in fact, committed suicide. Calas was arrested, tortured and executed by the authorities in the name of law. This event deeply disturbed Voltaire and inspired him to begin a campaign for religious tolerance and legal reforms. Three years later following his public campaign, judges in Paris posthumously exonerated Jean Calas of murdering his son. The same year his book “Traité sur la tolérance” was banned.
Exiled But Persecuted
In 1716 he was exiled from Paris for a short term after writing poems that mocked the French Regent’s family. His banishment proved to be ineffective, however, because a year later he produced more verse suggesting that the Regent and his daughter enjoyed an incestuous relationship. As a result he was imprisoned in the Bastille for 11 months.

His run-ins with the government, however, did not abate and he chose to move to England, where he spent his next three years. The  French Government was nevertheless unrelenting in silencing this troublesome citizen. He was censored and much of his work was suppressed, even ordered to be burnt. Then came 1734, when Voltaire made a decisive break from France by moving to Switzerland where he was to spend much of his later life.

Financially Secure
A curious and interesting aspect of his life was that he was able to live a comfortable life, enjoying even some degree of extravagance despite his rebellious and anti-establishment attitudes and activities, It could happen because Voltaire had teamed with mathematician Charles Marie de La Condamine and other gamblers to exploit a loophole in the way the French Lottery was run so that their syndicate repeatedly won huge prizes and they all became very rich. This obviously did not endear him to the government.

Voltaire’s best comes out in his memorable and famous one-liners, a gift that he liberally shared with his friends and admirers. “It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.”, he wrote conceding his failure to make many see reason. And he famously regretted, “Every man is guilty of all the good he didn’t do.”. But for all the criticism, often scathing and blistering, and his long years of exile away from France, he was amply compensated by recognition, renown, respect and a rare glory even while away but decidedly so after his triumphant return to Paris.
Triumphant Return to Paris
After a hiatus of over 30 years, he had returned to Paris in 1778 to oversee the production of one of his plays. Within a few months of his return, he breathed his last. On his death, he was crowned with laurel wreath, an honour few got but passionately coveted.  

Catholic priests repeatedly visited this lifelong critic of organised religion in the hope of persuading him to retract his opinions and make a deathbed confession. They failed.
When a priest asked him to renounce Satan he refused, allegedly declaring: “This is no time to make any more enemies!”
30th May, Voltaire and Joan of Arc
Voltaire shares 30th of May, the date on which he died with another legend from France, popularly known as the Maid of Orleans. Jeanne D’Arc or Joan of Arc, the peasant girl, who inspired by the vision of God led the struggle against British occupation. She was only 19 when she was burnt at stake for heresy. She was declared innocent in a re-trial 25 years later and was canonised as a Saint almost 500 years later in 1920.
Voltaire was 83 when he died of old age and till today remains un- forgiven by the Catholic Church.