Voltaire – French Writer
Men are equal; it is not birth but virtue that makes the
difference. - Voltaire
Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) (1694-1778) was a French
Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, his
attacks on the established Catholic Church, his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of
expression, and separation of church and state.
Voltaire was a versatile 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.
He was an outspoken advocate, despite the risk this placed
him in under the strict censorship laws of the time. As a satirical polemicist,
he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma,
and the French institutions of his day. – Wikipedia
