Great men and famous women : a series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in history Volume 7 . VOLTAIRE * By M. C. Lockwood, (1694-1 778) IN order to justly estimate the life, charac-ter, and genius of a man it is necessaryto possess some knowledge of the environ-ments and heredity which generated study of Voltaire which ignores theseinfluences will fail not only in doing himjustice, but in comprehending his uniqueand exceptionlil place in history. The mostcareful examination of these, together withthe voluminous bibliography r
Great men and famous women : a series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in history Volume 7 . VOLTAIRE * By M. C. Lockwood, (1694-1 778) IN order to justly estimate the life, charac-ter, and genius of a man it is necessaryto possess some knowledge of the environ-ments and heredity which generated study of Voltaire which ignores theseinfluences will fail not only in doing himjustice, but in comprehending his uniqueand exceptionlil place in history. The mostcareful examination of these, together withthe voluminous bibliography relating toVoltaire provided by French, German, andEnglish literature, still will leave him some-thing of an enigma. The stage properties and scenery wereprepared for the great Frenchman long before he appeared, as is always the casewith the famous actors in the drama of history. The time in which he was born * Copyright, 1894. by Selmar VOLTAIRE 93 was that of Louis XIV., king by divine right, whose history is that of one whowas more the tinsel-robed actor, strutting in the semblance of royalty, and lessthe king than many A poor playerWho struts and frets his hour upon the stage,And then is heard no more. Louis XIV. wore all the outward guise of regal office, in his bearing, polite-ness, address, magnificence, and high-heeled dignity, but he was sensual, ferocious,ignorant, profligate, and superstitious. His greatness was fictitious, his splendorsuperficial, and his character false. The king was the state, but his mistressesgoverned. A court thus constituted led the fashions and formed the manners ofthe people. It stamped the age with that type of character which belongs tothe adventurer and devotee. The splendors of the court were maintained at theexpense of-the people. The glory of Versailles rose above the darkness of thenation. The voluptuous and luxurious pleasures of the nobility were the measureof the poverty
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbiography, bookyear18
