Voltaire: A Biographical Sketch

by Mildred Lewis Rutherford

Originally published in 1906 as a portion of the author’s larger “French A Handbook of French Literature,” this Kindle edition, equivalent in length to a physical book of approximately 20 pages, describes the life and work of 18th century French writer, historian, and philosopher Voltaire. Sample personal appearance Voltaire was exceedingly ugly; he was so thin that his thinness has become proverbial; he was a mere skeleton with a long nose and eyes of unusual brilliancy which peered from beneath his wig. He never took exercise; he slept only four hours out of the twenty-four; drank very little wine, but used coffee immoderately, and this was supposed to have made him very nervous. As long as he was not crossed, he was amiable; he was generous to his dependents; was inordinately vain, and totally unscrupulous in gaining money or attacking an enemy. He did not hesitate to tell a lie or to take money not his own, and no weapons were too foul to use to gain his end.“Candide” is possibly the least objectionable of all his works, and yet that is “vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” The lesson it teaches is that there is no virtue anywhere, no good, no happiness, life is a cheat, the love of life is a cruelty and beyond life is nothing. But old Dr. Johnson, who despised Voltaire, and refused to shake hands with a skeptic, said that the style of “Candide” was easy and graceful and the tale full of wit and humor.About the Lewis Rutherford (1851-1928) was an American historian, educator, and author. Other works include “English A Handbook of English Literature” and “American A Handbook of American Literature.”

14 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 9, 2012