Who Is Francois Marie Arouet?

    Voltaire, whose real name was François-Marie Arouet, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit, his criticism of Christianity, especially the Catholic Church, as well as his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and separation of church and state. He was a versatile and prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, and historical and scientific works. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and more than 2,000 books and pamphlets.

    Voltaire was a versatile and prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, and historical and scientific works. He was an outspoken advocate of civil liberties, despite the risk this placed him in under the strict censorship laws of the time. He became famous for his wit and for his criticism of the Catholic Church and of the French monarchy.

    Voltaire’s most famous works include Candide, a satirical novel that mocked the optimism of the philosopher Leibniz and the idea that “all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds,” and his Philosophical Dictionary, a satirical work in which he critiqued various institutions and ideas of his time. Voltaire’s influence on the world of literature, as well as on the political and social landscape of his time, was immense. His ideas and works continue to be studied and celebrated to this day, and he is widely considered to be one of the greatest thinkers of the Enlightenment