History Creator / Voltaire

* DoubleStandard: His beliefs on Judaism are very much this. He believed that Christians should be tolerant of other peoples and religions, but Voltaire himself '''hated''' Jews and [[ValuesDissonance once wrote that all of them should be punished]]. Ouch.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: Candide.

-->''"Allons, mon bon monsieur, ce n'est point le moment de nous faire des ennemis."'' ("Now, my good sir, now is not the time to make enemies.")

* HypocriticalHumor: Once responded to debaters who use style over substance by saying "A witty saying proves nothing," but [[LogicBomb this is itself a witty saying]].

* RunForTheBorder: His writing was not always appreciated.

!!Stuff by Voltaire:

Probably shouldn't be confused with [[Music/{{Voltaire}} the musician]].

* ComesGreatResponsibility: The TropeNamer, hundreds of years before Creator/StanLee wrote the same line in ''[[ComicBook/Spider-Man Amazing Fantasy 15]]''.

* ''Literature/La Princesse de Babylone'', 1768

* AlienInvasion: ''Micromégas'' may be the UrExample.

Real name François Marie Arouet. French dude, 1694-1778. [[DeadpanSnarker Satirical]] [[ThePhilosopher philosopher]]. He is best known for his witty defense of civil liberties, freedom of religion, and free trade (he had staunch liberal views on economic issues). His views earned him one year in the Bastille at the time of the Régence, where he gained his penname. [[WarForFunAndProfit He would later make a huge fortune in military furnitures]] and gain great influence in the French and Prussian royal courts under kings Louis XV and Frederick II the Great. He would go on to inspire multiple philosophers and satirical authors, especially amongst those who supported his views. His writings also inspired both the [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution French]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution American]] revolutions. He was also an historian and a scientist who published multiple essays. Prolific, as he published more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets. [[FunWithAcronyms The name Voltaire comes from ''Arouet le jeune'' ("Arouet the Young"), converted to Latin script where U=V and J=I; AROVET L I -> VOLTAIRE]]. He is [[AuthorsOfQuote eminently quotable]], and [[BeamMeUpScotty mis-quotable]]. His [[{{Archenemy}} favourite target]] was Creator/JeanJacquesRousseau.[[note]]Ironically, both died the same year and rest in front of each other in the same crypt of the Pantheon in Paris; both are considered the spiritual fathers of the French Revolution, despite their personal enmity and clashing views.[[/note]]

** Likewise, while many people invoke Voltaire as a free-speech icon in the 21st Century, Voltaire himself could be censorious, such as publishing libel tracts against authors he disagreed with and persecuting Creator/JeanJacquesRousseau by making many false accusations to discredit him.

* ForeignCultureFetish: He had a bit of a thing for the English, particularly their [[UsefulNotes/BritishPoliticalSystem political institutions]], he was a bit more ambivalent about their tragedies (he didn't really "get" Creator/WilliamShakespeare) but loved their comedies and their tradition of satire. As he notes in his "Letters on England":

->''"Allons, mon bon monsieur, ce n'est point le moment de nous faire des ennemis."'' ("Now, my good sir, now is not the time to make enemies.")

Real name '''François Marie Arouet'''. French dude, 1694-1778. [[DeadpanSnarker Satirical]] [[ThePhilosopher philosopher]]. He is best known for his witty defense of civil liberties, freedom of religion, and free trade (he had staunch liberal views on economic issues). His views earned him one year in the Bastille at the time of the Régence, where he gained his penname. [[WarForFunAndProfit He would later make a huge fortune in military furnitures]] and gain great influence in the French and Prussian royal courts under kings Louis XV and Frederick II the Great. He would go on to inspire multiple philosophers and satirical authors, especially amongst those who supported his views. His writings also inspired both the [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution French]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution American]] revolutions. He was also an historian and a scientist who published multiple essays. Prolific, as he published more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets. [[FunWithAcronyms The name Voltaire comes from ''Arouet le jeune'' ("Arouet the Young"), converted to Latin script where U=V and J=I; AROVET L I -> VOLTAIRE]]. He is [[AuthorsOfQuote eminently quotable]], and [[BeamMeUpScotty mis-quotable]]. His [[{{Archenemy}} favourite target]] was Creator/JeanJacquesRousseau.[[note]]Ironically, both died the same year and rest in front of each other in the same crypt of the Pantheon in Paris; both are considered the spiritual fathers of the French Revolution, despite their personal enmity and clashing views.[[/note]]

Real name '''François Marie Arouet'''. French dude, 1694-1778. [[DeadpanSnarker Satirical]] [[ThePhilosopher philosopher]]. He is best known for his witty defense of civil liberties, freedom of religion, and free trade (he had staunch liberal views on economic issues). His views earned him one year in the Bastille at the time of the Régence, where he gained his penname. [[WarForFunAndProfit He would later make a huge fortune in military furnitures]] and gain great influence in the French and Prussian royal courts under kings Louis XV and Frederick II the Great. He would go on to inspire multiple philosophers and satirical authors, especially amongst those who supported his views. His writings also inspired both the [[TheFrenchRevolution French]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution American]] revolutions. He was also an historian and a scientist who published multiple essays. Prolific, as he published more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets. [[FunWithAcronyms The name Voltaire comes from ''Arouet le jeune'' ("Arouet the Young"), converted to Latin script where U=V and J=I; AROVET L I -> VOLTAIRE]]. He is [[AuthorsOfQuote eminently quotable]], and [[BeamMeUpScotty mis-quotable]]. His [[{{Archenemy}} favourite target]] was Creator/JeanJacquesRousseau.[[note]]Ironically, both died the same year and rest in front of each other in the same crypt of the Pantheon in Paris; both are considered the spiritual fathers of the French Revolution, despite their personal enmity and clashing views.[[/note]]

** He explicitly vowed to destroy Christianism (either Catholicism and Protestantism) in some of his correspondances with Jean le Rond D'Alembert, one of the authors of ''L'Encyclopédie'', because he thought they were continuations of Judaism. On the other hand, he was a firm deist who also opposed atheism, hence the page quote.
** Likewise, while many people invoke Voltaire as a free-speech icon in the 21st Century, Voltaire himself could be censorious, such as publishing libel tracts against authors he disagreed and persecuting Creator/JeanJacquesRousseau by invoking many false accusations on him so as to discredit him.

--> ''The English have reaped very great benefit from the writers of our nation, and therefore (since they have not scrupled to be in our debt) we ought to borrow from them. Both the English and [The French] came after [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance the Italians]], who have been our instructors in all the arts, and whom we have surpassed in some. I cannot determine which of the three nations ought to be honoured with the palm; but happy the writer who could display their various merits.

* ForeignCultureFetish: He had a bit of a thing for the English, particularly their [[UsefulNotes/BritishPoliticalSystem political institutions]].

* DeadpanSnarker

* {{Satire}}

* TakeThat: "I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: Oh Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny And God granted it.]]"

* BadassBookworm: Candide and many other characters

Real name '''François Marie Arouet'''. French dude, 1694-1778. [[DeadpanSnarker Satirical]] [[ThePhilosopher philosopher]]. He is best known for his witty defense of civil liberties, freedom of religion, and free trade (he had staunch liberal views on economic issues). His views earned him one year in the Bastille at the time of the Régence, where he gained his penname. [[WarForFunAndProfit He would later make a huge fortune in military furnitures]] and gain great influence in the French and Prussian royal courts under kings Louis XV and Frederick II the Great. He would go on to inspire multiple philosophers and satirical authors, especially amongst those who supported his views. His writings also inspired both the [[TheFrenchRevolution French]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution American]] revolutions. He was also an historian and a scientist who published multiple essays. Prolific, as he published more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets. [[FunWithAcronyms The name Voltaire comes from ''Arouet le jeune'' ("Arouet the Young"), converted to Latin script where U=V and J=I; AROVET L I -> VOLTAIRE]]. He is [[AuthorsOfQuote eminently quotable]], and [[BeamMeUpScotty mis-quotable]]. His [[{{Archenemy}} favourite target]] was Creator/JeanJacquesRousseau.[[note]]Ironically, both died the same year and rest in front of each other in the same crypt of the Pantheon in Paris.[[/note]]

* ''The Ingenue'', 1767

* SkilledButNaive: Candide and l'Ingénu both have names which means "naive". Indeed, they are skilled in many ways, especially books, but very ignorant towards the reality of their world.

* HypocriticalHumor: Once responded to those using the StyleOverSubstanceFallacy by saying "A witty saying proves nothing," but [[LogicBomb this is itself a witty saying]].

* PunnyName: Loads of them, particularly in ''Candide'' starting with Candide himself ("candid", due to him starting out as a quite honest {{wide eyed idealist}}) to his mentor Pangloss ("all tongue" in Latin) and lastly Pococurante ("caring little" in Italian).

** He explicitly vowed to destroy Christianism (either Catholicism and Protestantism) in some of his correspondances with Jean le Rond D'Alembert, one of the authors of ''L'Encyclopédie'', because he thought they were continuations of Judaism.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Rather cynicism, but with some idealist hints.