Famous for his wit and his criticism of Christianity especially of the Roman Catholic Church and of slavery , Voltaire was an advocate of freedom of speech , freedom of religion , and separation of church and state. Voltaire was a versatile and prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays , poems, novels, essays, histories, and even scientific expositions. He wrote more than 20, letters and 2, books and pamphlets. He was an outspoken advocate of civil liberties and was at constant risk from the strict censorship laws of the Catholic French monarchy.
His polemics witheringly satirized intolerance and religious dogma , as well as the French institutions of his day. His best-known work and magnum opus , Candide , is a novella that comments on, criticizes, and ridicules many events, thinkers and philosophies of his time, most notably Gottfried Leibniz and his belief that our world is of necessity the "best of all possible worlds". By the time he left school, Voltaire had decided he wanted to be a writer, against the wishes of his father, who wanted him to become a lawyer.
When his father found out, he sent Voltaire to study law, this time in Caen , Normandy. But the young man continued to write, producing essays and historical studies. Voltaire's wit made him popular among some of the aristocratic families with whom he mixed. Most of Voltaire's early life revolved around Paris. From early on, Voltaire had trouble with the authorities for critiques of the government. As a result, he was twice sentenced to prison and once to temporary exile to England.
Voltaire mainly argued for religious tolerance and freedom of thought. He campaigned to eradicate priestly and aristo-monarchical authority, and supported a constitutional monarchy that protects people's rights. Arouet adopted the name Voltaire in , following his incarceration at the Bastille. Its origin is unclear. Richard Holmes [ 29 ] supports the anagrammatic derivation of the name, but adds that a writer such as Voltaire would have intended it to also convey connotations of speed and daring.
These come from associations with words such as voltige acrobatics on a trapeze or horse , volte-face a spinning about to face one's enemies , and volatile originally, any winged creature. In a letter to Jean-Baptiste Rousseau in March , Voltaire concludes by asking that, if Rousseau wishes to send him a return letter, he do so by addressing it to Monsieur de Voltaire. Voltaire is known also to have used at least separate pen names during his lifetime.
