ABSTRACT
Everyone who takes an interest in literature and the changes of the human mind knows the name of Voltaire, and has at least a vague idea of his personality and work. Voltaire, the authors say, was a “European figure” or “Voltaire is the eighteenth century”. Voltaire—life, personality, writings, influence —is an immense subject ; the aim of the writer is to provide a guide-book to the continent of Voltaire. A few echoes, a few vague memories, remain in the public mind; a few of Voltaire’s numerous books are still commonly read. Like all men of real eminence, Voltaire has acquired a certain traditional reputation, a legende. Voltaire found partisans and enjoyed great praise in England, but those who best understood him were not popular in the semi-puritan society of the last century and some who have written effectively about him were too severe to his faults as a man and writer or have praised him for political motives.
