# Voltaire

## Biography

François-Marie Arouet, universally known by his pen name Voltaire, was a towering figure of the French Enlightenment. Born in Paris in 1694, he became a prolific and versatile writer, producing influential works across nearly every literary form including plays, poems, novels, essays, histories, and pamphlets. Though trained in law, he abandoned that path to pursue a literary career, which often brought him into conflict with French authorities and the Catholic Church due to his sharp wit and biting satire. Voltaire was a fierce advocate for civil liberties, passionately championing freedom of speech, religious tolerance, and the separation of church and state. His unwavering criticism of tyranny, bigotry, and cruelty led to imprisonments and periods of exile, notably in England and later at Ferney. Among his most famous works are the satirical novella *Candide* and the philosophical *Letters concerning the English Nation*. Voltaire's ideas profoundly impacted European thought and later inspired the American and French Revolutions. He died in 1778, returning to Paris to a hero's welcome shortly before his death.

## Books

- [Micromegas](https://samolit.com/books/96640)
- [Candide](https://samolit.com/books/95837)