Francois Marie Arouet, known by his pen name, Voltaire, was born in Paris of wealthy bourgeois parents. Trained in law, he chose instead to follow his literary talents. His writing tended towards the satirical and ironic and, as a result, he was frequently in trouble with those in power. To escape censorship and prosecution, he set up his home in Switzerland--just across the border from France in Geneva.
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| Voltaire's house in Geneva. |
His most famous work, Candide, excerpted here, clearly exhibits his satirical skills as well as his wit. On the surface, it is an amusing tale of a young innocent, Candide, learning about the evil ways of the world. But in the course of the story Voltaire manages to mock many of the beliefs and institutions of his day. He particularly satirizes the German philosopher Leibniz' assertion that to explain the problem of evil we must recognize that "this is the best of all possible worlds." (Click here for Candide.)
From Forrest Baird, Human Thought and Action (University Press of America, © 1992)