Voltaire , we know probably from high school, as the author of "Candide" and some other kind of philosophical stories.
Voltaire and Rousseau both believed in God, although they had no use for scripture.
Voltaire said first define your terms.
Voltaire was the one who said first define your terms.
What Voltaire and virtually everybody else did not know was that Diderot had actually written an astonishing range of improbably modern books
But Voltaire was the first person to do this-- those of you who are philosophers or readers.
When Voltaire had said, "If God did not exist, that man would have to invent him."
She wanted to lure Voltaire there, and d'Alembert there-- the other co-editor of the "Encyclopédie"-- and Diderot.
we forget that Voltaire said, judge a man by his questions, not by his answers.
And this is a Voltaire 250 years ago, and Iím afraid itís not much different today.
And just as someone asked Voltaire once, when they were asking about past lives and reincarnation said, isn't it strange that we live multiple times?
He went way beyond what Rousseau or Voltaire were writing about during his era.
But that's not what Voltaire meant.
Uh you know, Voltaire , right, was impressive because he created, you know, this much literature.
But there's one big difference between Rousseau and Voltaire on the one hand and Diderot on the other.
I mean, Voltaire , centuries ago said, if God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.
But let's go to a quote from Voltaire in his book Candide, on the last page.
they began putting to put the bones of Voltaire in there and then came Descartes and they had this huge debate in the French uh in the French
As was often the case, the sharp-tongued Voltaire , who both admired and distrusted Diderot, came up with the cleverest remark on the subject.
But he introduced me to the Smiths and the Smithereens and Revolting Cocks and Cabaret Voltaire and things like that.
The other 18th century great is, of course, Voltaire .
And getting back to the Age of Reason, it was Voltaire who said, those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.
Rousseau, Voltaire , you know?
You are a practitioner of Whig history, a naive optimist, a Pollyanna, and of course, a Pangloss alluding to the Voltaire character who declared
Today is the day on the front page of The New York Times, The Encyclopedia Britannica, after 244 years, thatís the same time when Voltaire were saying that we didnít know
So, I just, the whole thing putting it together, we have this old Voltaire medicine today.
As Voltaire said in this era, those who can make you believe leave absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
In fact, Voltaire said, "God created