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François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778), known by his ''nom de plume'' Voltaire (;〔("Voltaire" ). ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.〕 ), was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and separation of church and state. Voltaire was a versatile writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, and historical and scientific works. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and more than 2,000 books and pamphlets. He was an outspoken advocate of several liberties, despite the risk this placed him in under the strict censorship laws of the time. As a satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma, and the French institutions of his day. == Biography == François-Marie Arouet was born in Paris, the youngest of the five children〔Wright, (p 505 ).〕 (three of whom survived) of François Arouet (1650 – 1 January 1722), a lawyer who was a minor treasury official, and his wife, Marie Marguerite d'Aumart (ca. 1660 – 13 July 1701), from a noble family of the province of Poitou. Some speculation surrounds his date of birth, which Voltaire always claimed to be 20 February 1694. Voltaire was educated by the Jesuits at the Collège Louis-le-Grand (1704–1711), where he learned Latin and Greek; later in life he became fluent in Italian, Spanish, and English. By the time he left school, Voltaire had decided he wanted to be a writer, against the wishes of his father, who wanted him to become a lawyer. Voltaire, pretending to work in Paris as an assistant to a notary, spent much of his time writing poetry. When his father found out, he sent Voltaire to study law, this time in Caen, Normandy. Nevertheless, he continued to write, producing essays and historical studies. Voltaire's wit made him popular among some of the aristocratic families with whom he mixed. His father then obtained a job for him as a secretary to the French ambassador in the Netherlands, where Voltaire fell in love with a French Protestant refugee named Catherine Olympe Dunoyer. Their scandalous elopement was foiled by Voltaire's father and he was forced to return to France.〔Davidson, Ian. ''Voltaire: A Life,'' p. 7–9, Profile Books, London: 2010〕 Most of Voltaire's early life revolved around Paris. From early on, Voltaire had trouble with the authorities for critiques of the government and religious intolerance. These activities were to result in numerous〔Numerous, in this context, means two.〕 imprisonments and exiles. One satirical verse about the Régent, in which Voltaire accused the Régent of incest with his own daughter, led to his imprisonment in the Bastille for eleven months.〔Fitzpatrick, Martin (2000). "Toleration and the Enlightenment Movement" in Grell/Porter, ''Toleration in Enlightenment Europe'', p. 64, footnote 91, Cambridge University Press〕 While there, he wrote his debut play, ''Œdipe''. Its success established his reputation. He mainly argued for religious tolerance and freedom of thought. He campaigned to eradicate priestly and aristo-monarchical authority, and supported a constitutional monarchy that protects people's rights.〔〔Marvin Perry et al (2015), Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics, and Society, Volume II, ISBN 978-1-305-09142-9, page 427〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Voltaire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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