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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 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets. [7] Voltaire was one of the first authors to become renowned and commercially successful internationally.
Voltaire despised democracy and said the absolute monarch must be enlightened and must act as dictated by reason and justice—in other words, be a "philosopher-king." [ 63 ] In several nations, rulers welcomed leaders of the Enlightenment at court and asked them to help design laws and programs to reform the system, typically to build stronger ...
Candide, ou l'optimisme (Candide, or Optimism; 1758) by Voltaire, contains a number of references to the story of Sindbâd the Seaman, notably the underground river in Eldorado, where in Candide the heroes are picked up by a machine. In his introduction to Zadig, Voltaire wrote (NB the sultan referred to is Ulugh Beg in English transcription):
Candide, ou l'Optimisme (/ k ɒ n ˈ d iː d / kon-DEED, [5] French: ⓘ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, [6] first published in 1759. . The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best (1759); Candide: or, The Optimist (1762); and Candide: Optimism (1947)
1. “Better is the enemy of good.” 2. “I cannot imagine how the clockwork of the universe can exist without a clockmaker.” 3. “Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will ...
By the middle of the 19th century, the memory of the French Revolution was fading and so was the influence of Romanticism. In this optimistic age of science and industry, there were few critics of the Enlightenment, and few explicit defenders. Friedrich Nietzsche is a notable and highly influential exception. After an initial defence of the ...
Voltaire, who had been imprisoned and maltreated by the French government, [citation needed] was eager to accept Frederick's invitation to live at his palace. [ citation needed ] Frederick explained, "My principal occupation is to combat ignorance and prejudice ... to enlighten minds, cultivate morality, and to make people as happy as it suits ...
Voltaire presents his readers with the famous "To be, or not to be" soliloquy in Hamlet along with a translation into French rhyming verse. He also cites a passage from John Dryden and gives a translation. In Letter 19, Voltaire addresses British comedy, citing William Wycherley, John Vanbrugh and William Congreve.