Voltaire: A Study of His Works & Writing Advice

“To hold a pen is to be at war.” - Voltaire

This is merely one of many philosophical and ideological quotes in Voltaire’s lengthy and storied repertoire, but it is perhaps the most indicative of who Voltaire himself was as a writer and ideologist. Voltaire was, and remains to be, one of the most influential writers and thinkers of the Enlightenment period, and his significance has only grown since his death over two-hundred and forty-five years ago. Born in Paris on either the twenty-first of November or the twentieth of February 1694 (depending on who you ask), Voltaire lived to the age of eighty-three when he died in the same city as his birth in 1778, a great many years older than the average life expectancy for the time. Today we will look at Voltaire’s most influential and significant pieces of writing, his writing style, who influenced him, and ultimately how he influenced the literary industry both past and present.

Voltaire: A Brief History

M. de Voltaire, or more commonly simply Voltaire, is a penname for the man who was born François-Marie Arouet, the youngest of five to a family in the lowest rank of French nobility. His early life was marked by the Catholic church, christened shortly after his birth and educated at the Collège Louis-le-Grand by Jesuits, who are a religious order of Roman Catholics. There he was taught Latin, rhetoric, and theology, but by the end of his time at school, he’d already decided he wanted to become a writer against anything else, including the demands of his father to study law and become a lawyer in his footsteps.

His life was punctuated by time spent in prison and threats of censorship for the subjects of which he wrote about, which were majorly critical of the French establishment, laws, and Catholic Church. His dissent from the norm and willingness to openly critique led him to be both a figurehead and target, perhaps most notably from his rival, writer and thinker Rousseau. It has also been established that outside of his writing in his work as an investor and merchant, Voltaire himself invested in companies such as the French East India Company, which was a corporation built on the exploitation of Africans, something that has become more notable as modern historians reflect on him and his influence.

Voltaire established his reputation amongst Europe as a writer and thinker with his first play, Œdipe, which was a commercial and critical success. Following this beginning of his career, Voltaire would go on to write in almost every literary form, including novellas, plays, poetry, histories, essays, and scientific expositions. Throughout his lifetime, he purportedly wrote more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 pamphlets and books across a variety of genres.

Writing Style

Though his style changed with the forms of media he produced, Voltaire is notable for his mastery of satire, irony, and his predilection for blending philosophy and fiction to create pieces both entertaining and educational. His wit has been called biting and his ability to explain complex ideas and theories succinctly as commanding, and he was masterful at combining factual information with prose in order to make his work that much more compelling. Voltaire was known to prefer simplicity and directness over complex or flowery language, making his work accessible and more easily understood. His use of satire, irony, and philosophical and sociopolitical commentary will be explored further in the following study of some of his most prominent works.

Candide

Candide, a satirical novella, was first published in 1759 and is considered one of – if not the most – famous and influential works of Voltaire. Candide critiques many aspects of society and human nature, including the follies of religion, the abuses of power, the irrationality of optimism, and the prevalence of suffering and injustice in the world, and satire, humor, and irony are Voltaire’s primary tools of craft in conveying these critiques. The novella is a positively biting critique of the prevailing ideas and institutions of his time; namely, organized religion.

The story follows the adventures of the young and naive Candide, who is taught to believe that "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds," which is derived from the ideology of prominent philosopher Leibniz and is repeatedly challenged and contradicted throughout the story. Candide embarks on a series of misadventures and encounters with various characters who suffer and endure hardships when he is expelled from his comfortable home, and it is through his misadventures and encounters that Candide witnesses the hypocrisy, cruelty, and absurdity of the world, which opposes his simplistic Leibnizian worldview.

The novella is known for its witty and humorous style and is a classic example of the satire genre. Candide remains a widely studied and discussed work, and its themes and messages continue to be relevant and thought-provoking to this day.

Letters Concerning the English Nation

Letters Concerning the English Nation (Lettres philosophiques sur les Anglais), also known as Letters on England, is a collection of essays originally published in 1733, and is considered one of Voltaire's most significant contributions to Enlightenment literature.

In Letters Concerning the English Nation, Voltaire reflects on his experiences and observations during his stay in England from 1726 to 1728, and the book itself is made up of a series of letters addressed to various correspondents covering a wide range of topics related to English society, culture, politics, and philosophy. Voltaire's sharp wit and satirical style are evident throughout the letters, as he contrasts the virtues he finds in England with the shortcomings and absurdities he observes in other European countries, especially that of France.

As was often a topic during Enlightenment, Voltaire speaks on the religious culture of England, and praises the religious tolerance he observed there, especially in comparison to the religious intolerance and persecution that was prevalent in many parts of Europe during his time. He admires the separation of church and state and the freedom of religious expression in England, especially for those of differing denominations of Christianity.

Voltaire also uses the English’s commitment to freedom of speech and the press to draw a stark contrast between that of the censorship and suppression of ideas in France, which he personally had been afflicted by. In fact, Letters Concerning the English Nation faced censorship and condemnation in France after its publishing due to its criticism of the French government and the Catholic Church.

As is his wheelhouse, Voltaire also discusses the influence of English philosophers on the development of Enlightenment thought and pays particular attention and tribute to John Locke. He appreciates the empiricism and emphasis on reason found in English philosophical traditions, and also the commitment to the empirical method found in English achievements in science and technology, particularly from the work of figures like Sir Isaac Newton.

Ultimately, Letters Concerning the English Nation is as much a compliment to England as it is a degradation to France and its shortcomings, and it had a significant impact on Enlightenment thought and a pivotal role in the spreading of Enlightenment ideas in Europe. This work had a lasting influence on the development of modern political and philosophical thought, emphasizing the importance of reason, tolerance, and individual rights, and it is still referenced, as much of Voltaire’s work is, by philosophers today.

Philosophical Dictionary

Philosophical Dictionary (Dictionnaire philosophique) is a compendium of philosophical and critical essays from Voltaire and was first published in 1764, though it was written over a period of several decades. It comprises a collection of over a thousand articles or entries covering numerous topics and important debates of the time, including philosophy, religion, politics, science, literature, and social issues, and each entry is a relatively short essay that offers Voltaire's thoughts, criticisms, and reflections on the subject at hand. These works are, like much of his works, characterized by Voltaire's wit, satire, and skepticism, making them highly critical of established institutions, traditional beliefs, and superstitions.

Many entries are reminiscent of the sentiments posed in Letters on the English Nation. Voltaire discusses religious topics, challenging dogma, clerical abuses, and religious intolerance, and gives a strong critique of organized religion, particularly of the Catholic Church, championing the separation of church and state and the importance of individual liberty. Voltaire also speaks further as an advocate for freedom of thought and expression without government censorship.

Voltaire examines the arts and culture in his Philosophical Dictionary, offering his opinions on various literary works, authors, and societal trends of the period, along with scientific and philosophical concerns. And, like he did in Letters on the English Nation, Voltaire emphasizes the importance of reason and the scientific method.

The Philosophical Dictionary was widely read and influential during the Enlightenment, and it had a significant impact on shaping public opinion in Europe. It was also a controversial work that faced censorship and condemnation from religious authorities and government officials due to its radical and critical content, but regardless of its stifling in the past, it remains an important text in the history of Western thought and continues to be studied for its role in promoting Enlightenment ideals and its influence on the development of modern secular, rational, and humanistic thought.

Voltaire’s Legacy

For his painstaking and utterly committed work as a writer and thinker, Voltaire had thoroughly solidified his place in the annals of history and philosophy as a leading voice during the Enlightenment Period and in Europe by the time of his death.

Of the great many contributions in thought and writing he produced, in the words of the Voltaire Foundation, it was “Voltaire’s literary and rhetorical contributions to the Enlightenment which were truly unique. [...] Voltaire was fundamentally a man of language. Through force of style, through skillful choice of literary genre, and through the accomplished manipulation of the book market, he found means of popularizing and promulgating ideas which until then had generally been clandestine.”

His works fundamentally altered the Enlightenment Period and Western philosophy forever, and his attention to issues and critiques gave way to a broader comprehension of what they were on a grand scale. His ideas helped shape the principles of religious freedom and the secular state that are central to modern democracies, and his writing style and narrative techniques influenced countless prominent authors and satirists, including Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, and Jonathan Swift. His emphasis on reason, individualism, and human rights contributed to the development of Enlightenment ideals that continue to shape modern thought, and his ideas laid the groundwork for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the advancement of civil rights and social justice movements of the period.

In short, Voltaire could be called the epitome of the Enlightenment Period itself. His utter commitment to his positions made for a breadth of work that is as tireless as he was.

Voltaire’s Writing Advice & What We Can Take from His Craft

Though he was known for putting on many voices or masks in his writing, several aspects stand through them all– chief among them, a commitment to directness and simplicity. This commitment allowed his works to be far more accessible and convey the complex ideas of the time that up until then had not been communicated on a broad scale for a public audience. Perhaps taking from this inspiration, and also his great examples of how to blend fact/educational materials with fiction, could be extremely useful for modern writers wishing to convey complicated socio-political or philosophical ideas in their creative works.

In a response letter to his then-protege who had asked for writing advice, Voltaire notes that you should never write for commercial success and the pleasing of an audience instead of for and from true creative vision. As he is known for, he also says that every word must be in the right place, every simile must ring true, and you must pay close attention to all details of your writing– no doubt a tiresome and scrupulous task, but one that proved to serve Voltaire himself quite well throughout his life, and one we should take good care to consider.