Editing Voltaire (section)

== Career ==
=== Early fiction ===
Voltaire's next play, ''[[Artémire (tragedy)|Artémire]]'', set in ancient Macedonia, opened on 15 February 1720. It was a flop and only fragments of the text survive.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=54}} He instead turned to an epic poem about [[Henry IV of France]] that he had begun in early 1717.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=55}} Denied a licence to publish, in August 1722 Voltaire headed north to find a publisher outside France. On the journey, he was accompanied by his mistress, Marie-Marguerite de Rupelmonde, a young widow.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=57}}

At Brussels, Voltaire and Rousseau met up for a few days, before Voltaire and his mistress continued northwards. A publisher was eventually secured in The Hague.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=59}} In the Netherlands, Voltaire was struck and impressed by the openness and tolerance of Dutch society.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=60–61}} On his return to France, he secured a second publisher in [[Rouen]], who agreed to publish ''[[Henriade|La Henriade]]'' clandestinely.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=61}} After Voltaire's recovery from a month-long [[smallpox]] infection in November 1723, the first copies were smuggled into Paris and distributed.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=62}} While the poem was an instant success, Voltaire's new play, ''[[Hérode et Mariamne|Mariamne]]'', was a failure when it first opened in March 1724.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=64}} Heavily reworked, it opened at the ''Comédie-Française'' in April 1725 to a much-improved reception.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=64}} It was among the entertainments provided at the wedding of [[Louis XV]] and [[Marie Leszczyńska]] in September 1725.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=64}}

=== Exile in England ===

In early 1726, [[Guy Auguste de Rohan-Chabot]] taunted Voltaire about his name change, who retorted that his name would win the esteem of the world, while Rohan would sully his own.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=65}} A furious Rohan arranged for his servants to beat Voltaire a few days later.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=66}} Seeking redress, Voltaire challenged Rohan to a duel, but the powerful Rohan family arranged for Voltaire to be arrested and imprisoned without trial in the Bastille on 17 April 1726.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=66–67}}<ref name="The Life of Voltaire">{{cite web |title=The Life of Voltaire |url=http://thegreatdebate.org.uk/Voltaire.html |access-date=3 August 2009 |publisher=Thegreatdebate.org.uk}}</ref> Fearing indefinite imprisonment, Voltaire asked to be exiled to England as an alternative punishment, which the French authorities accepted.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Davidson |first=Ian |date=9 April 2010 |title=Voltaire in England |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/7567947/Voltaire-in-England.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/7567947/Voltaire-in-England.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On 2 May, he was escorted from the Bastille to [[Calais]] and embarked for England.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=67}}

[[File:Voltaire - Élémens de la philosophie de Neuton.png|thumb|''Elémens de la philosophie de Neuton'', 1738]]

In England, Voltaire lived largely in [[Wandsworth]], with acquaintances including [[Everard Fawkener]].{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=76, 80, 83}} From December 1727 to June 1728 he lodged at Maiden Lane, [[Covent Garden]], now commemorated by a plaque, to be nearer to his British publisher.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=82}} Voltaire circulated throughout English high society, meeting [[Alexander Pope]], [[John Gay]], [[Jonathan Swift]], [[Lady Mary Wortley Montagu]], [[Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough]], and many other members of the nobility and royalty.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=78–82}} Voltaire's exile in England greatly influenced his thinking. He was intrigued by Britain's [[constitutional monarchy]] in contrast to French [[Absolute monarchy|absolutism]], and by the country's greater freedom of speech and religion.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=69–70}} He was influenced by the writers of the time, and developed an interest in English literature, especially [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]], who was still little known in continental Europe.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=77}} Despite pointing out Shakespeare's deviations from neoclassical standards, Voltaire saw him as an example for French drama, which, though more polished, lacked on-stage action. Later, however, as Shakespeare's influence began growing in France, Voltaire tried to set a contrary example with his own plays, decrying what he considered Shakespeare's barbarities. Voltaire may have been present at the funeral of [[Isaac Newton]],{{efn|Dobre and Nyden suggest that there is no clear evidence that Voltaire was present; see {{Cite book |last=Mihnea Dobre, Tammy Nyden |title=Cartesian Empiricism |publisher=Springer |year=2013 |isbn=978-94-007-7690-6 |page=89}}}} and met Newton's niece [[Catherine Conduitt]].{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=82}} In 1727, Voltaire published two essays in English, ''Upon the Civil Wars of France, Extracted from Curious Manuscripts'' and ''Upon Epic Poetry of the European Nations, from [[Homer]] Down to [[John Milton|Milton]]''.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=82}} He also published a letter about the [[Quakers]] after attending one of their services.<ref>{{cite book|last=Betts |first=C. J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kjfwCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA245 |title=Early Deism in France: From the So-Called 'Déistes' of Lyon (1564) to Voltaire's ''Lettres philosophiques'' (1734) |publisher= Martinus Nijhoff |location=The Hague |date=1984 |page=245 |isbn=978-9400961166 |access-date=5 May 2022}}</ref>

After two and a half years in exile, Voltaire returned to France, and after a few months in [[Dieppe]], the authorities permitted him to return to Paris.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=85}} At a dinner, French mathematician [[Charles Marie de La Condamine]] proposed buying up the lottery that was organized by the French government to pay off its debts, and Voltaire joined the consortium, earning perhaps a million [[French livre|livres]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shank |first=J. B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BBusxgu8-AAC |title=The Newton Wars |publisher=U of Chicago Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-226-74947-1 |page=260}}</ref> He invested the money cleverly and on this basis managed to convince the [[Court of Finances]] of his responsible conduct, allowing him to take control of a trust fund inherited from his father. He was now indisputably rich.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davidson |first=Ian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CZtxit17DSsC |title=Voltaire: A Life |publisher=Profile Books, London |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-84668-226-1 |page=76}}</ref>{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=87}}

Further success followed in 1732 with his play ''[[Zaïre (play)|Zaïre]]'', which when published in 1733 carried a dedication to Fawkener praising English liberty and commerce.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=92–93, 95}} He published his admiring essays on British government, literature, religion, and science in ''[[Letters on the English|Letters Concerning the English Nation]]'' (London, 1733).{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=97}} In 1734, they were published in Rouen as ''Lettres philosophiques'', causing a huge scandal.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=99}}{{efn|Contrary to the idea that Voltaire wrote the ''Letters'' in English, they were written in French and then translated into English by [[John Lockman (author)|John Lockman]].{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=97}}}} Published without approval of the royal censor, the essays lauded British constitutional monarchy as more developed and more respectful of human rights than its French counterpart, particularly regarding religious tolerance. The book was [[Book burning|publicly burnt]] and banned, and Voltaire was again forced to flee Paris.<ref name="Shank">{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2009 |title=Voltaire |encyclopedia=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/voltaire/#NewWar173 |last=Shank |first=J. B.}}</ref>

=== Château de Cirey ===
[[File:Voltaire Philosophy of Newton frontispiece.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|In the frontispiece to Voltaire's book on Newton's philosophy, [[Émilie du Châtelet]] appears as Voltaire's muse, reflecting Newton's heavenly insights down to Voltaire.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shank |first=J. B. |url=https://archive.org/details/newtonwarsbeginn00shan |title=The Newton Wars and the Beginning of the French Enlightenment |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-226-74945-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newtonwarsbeginn00shan/page/n376 366] |url-access=limited}}</ref>]]

In 1733, Voltaire met [[Émilie du Châtelet]] (Marquise du Châtelet), a mathematician and married mother of three, who was 12 years his junior and with whom he was to have an affair for 16 years.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schiff |first=Stacy |author-link=Stacy Schiff |title='Voltaire In Love': An Ardent, Intellectual Affair |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/07/14/132740102/voltaire-in-love-an-ardent-intellectual-affair |access-date=22 June 2014 |website=npr books|date=13 January 2011 }}</ref> To avoid arrest after the publication of ''Lettres'', Voltaire took refuge at her husband's château at [[Chateau de Cirey|Cirey]] on the borders of [[Champagne, France|Champagne]] and [[Lorraine (région)|Lorraine]].{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=117–21}} Voltaire paid for the building's renovation,{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=122}} and Émilie's husband sometimes stayed at the château with his wife and her lover.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=155, 157}} The intellectual paramours collected around 21,000 books, an enormous number for the time.<ref>{{cite web |title=Voltaire and Emilie du Chatelet |url=https://www.visitvoltaire.com/love_story_voltaire.htm |access-date=5 November 2018 |website=Château de Cirey – Residence of Voltaire| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106132215/https://www.visitvoltaire.com/love_story_voltaire.htm |archive-date=6 November 2018}}</ref> Together, they studied these books and performed scientific experiments at Cirey, including an attempt to determine the nature of fire.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=128, 138–39}}

Having learned from his previous brushes with the authorities, Voltaire began his habit of avoiding open confrontation with the authorities and denying any awkward responsibility.{{sfn|Saintsbury|1911|p=201}} He continued to write plays, such as ''[[Mérope]]'' (or ''La Mérope française'') and began his long researches into science and history. Again, a main source of inspiration for Voltaire were the years of his British exile, during which he had been strongly influenced by Newton's works. Voltaire strongly believed in Newton's theories; he performed experiments in [[optics]] at Cirey,{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=138}} and was one of the promulgators of the famous story of Newton's inspiration from the falling apple, which he had learned from Newton's niece in London and first mentioned in his ''Letters''.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=82}}

[[File:Maurice Quentin de La Tour, portrait de Voltaire (1735) avec agrandissement.jpg|thumb|190px|Pastel by [[Maurice Quentin de La Tour]], 1735]]

In the fall of 1735, Voltaire was visited by [[Francesco Algarotti]], who was preparing a book about Newton in Italian.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=137}} Partly inspired by the visit, the Marquise translated Newton's Latin ''Principia'' into French, which remained the definitive French version into the 21st century.<ref name="Shank" /> Both she and Voltaire were also curious about the philosophy of [[Gottfried Leibniz]], a contemporary and rival of Newton. While Voltaire remained a firm Newtonian, the Marquise adopted certain aspects of Leibniz's critiques.<ref name="Shank" />{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=153}} Voltaire's own book ''[[Elements of the Philosophy of Newton]]'' made the great scientist accessible to a far greater public, and the Marquise wrote a celebratory review in the {{lang|fr|[[Journal des savants]]}}.<ref name="Shank" />{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=140–41}} Voltaire's work was instrumental in bringing about general acceptance of Newton's optical and gravitational theories in France, in contrast to the theories of [[René Descartes|Descartes]].<ref name="Shank" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bryant |first=Walter W. |url=https://archive.org/stream/AHistoryOfAstronomy/Bryant-AHistoryOfAstronomy#page/n75 |title=A History of Astronomy |year=1907 |page=53}}</ref>

Voltaire and the Marquise also studied history, particularly the great contributors to civilization. Voltaire's second essay in English had been "Essay upon the Civil Wars in France". It was followed by ''La Henriade'', an epic poem on the French [[King Henri IV]], glorifying his attempt to end the Catholic-Protestant massacres with the [[Edict of Nantes]], which established religious toleration. There followed a historical novel on King [[Charles XII of Sweden]]. These, along with his ''Letters on the English'', mark the beginning of Voltaire's open criticism of intolerance and established religions.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}} Voltaire and the Marquise also explored philosophy, particularly [[metaphysics|metaphysical]] questions concerning the existence of God and the soul. Voltaire and the Marquise analyzed the Bible and concluded that much of its content was dubious.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=129–30}} Voltaire's critical views on religion led to his belief in [[separation of church and state]] and religious freedom, ideas that he had formed after his stay in England.

In August 1736, [[Frederick the Great]], then Crown Prince of [[Prussia]] and a great admirer of Voltaire, initiated a correspondence with him.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=143–44}} That December, Voltaire moved to [[Holland]] for two months and became acquainted with the scientists [[Herman Boerhaave]] and [[Willem 's Gravesande]].{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=151–52}} From mid-1739 to mid-1740 Voltaire lived largely in Brussels, at first with the Marquise, who was unsuccessfully attempting to pursue a 60-year-old family legal case regarding the ownership of two estates in [[Limburg (Belgium)|Limburg]].{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=162–64}} In July 1740, he traveled to the Hague on behalf of Frederick in an attempt to dissuade a dubious publisher, van Duren, from printing without permission Frederick's ''[[Anti-Machiavel]]''.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=166}} In September Voltaire and Frederick (now King) met for the first time in [[Moyland Castle]] near [[Cleves]] and in November Voltaire was Frederick's guest in Berlin for two weeks,{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=167–70}} followed by a meeting in September 1742 at [[Aix-la-Chapelle]].{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=173}} Voltaire was sent to Frederick's court in 1743 by the French government as an envoy and spy to gauge Frederick's military intentions in the [[War of the Austrian Succession]].{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=175–77}}

Though deeply committed to the Marquise, Voltaire by 1744 found life at her château confining. On a visit to Paris that year, he found a new love—his niece. At first, his attraction to [[Marie Louise Mignot]] was clearly sexual, as evidenced by his letters to her (only discovered in 1957).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davidson |first=Ian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99Rnph1FGxcC&pg=PA6 |title=Voltaire in Exile |publisher=Grove Press |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-8021-4236-8 |page=6}}</ref>{{sfn|Durant|Durant|1980|p=392}} Much later, they lived together, perhaps platonically, and remained together until Voltaire's death. Meanwhile, the Marquise also took a lover, the [[Jean François de Saint-Lambert|Marquis de Saint-Lambert]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davidson |first=Ian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99Rnph1FGxcC&pg=PA7 |title=Voltaire in Exile |publisher=Grove Press |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-8021-4236-8 |page=7}}</ref>

=== Prussia ===
[[File:Tafelrunde.PNG|thumb|upright=1.2|''Die Tafelrunde'' by [[Adolph von Menzel]]: guests of Frederick the Great at [[Sanssouci]], including members of the [[Prussian Academy of Sciences]] and Voltaire (third from left)]]

After the death of the Marquise in childbirth in September 1749, Voltaire briefly returned to Paris and in mid-1750 moved to [[Potsdam]], Prussia, at the invitation of Frederick the Great.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=214–17}} The Prussian king (with the permission of Louis XV) made him a chamberlain in his household, appointed him to the [[Pour le Mérite|Order of Merit]], and gave him a salary of 20,000 [[French livre]]s a year.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=218}} He had rooms at [[Sanssouci]] and [[Charlottenburg Palace]].{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=219}} Life went well for Voltaire at first,{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=217}} and in 1751 he completed ''[[Micromégas]]'', a piece of science fiction involving ambassadors from another planet witnessing the follies of humankind.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=220–21}} However, his relationship with Frederick began to deteriorate after he was accused of theft and forgery by a Jewish financier, Abraham Hirschel, who had invested in Saxon government bonds on behalf of Voltaire at a time when Frederick was involved in sensitive diplomatic negotiations with [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxony]].{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=221–22}}

He encountered other difficulties: an argument with [[Pierre Louis Maupertuis|Maupertuis]], the president of the [[Berlin Academy of Science]] and a former rival for Émilie's affections, provoked Voltaire's ''[[Doctor Akakia|Diatribe du docteur Akakia]]'' ("Diatribe of Doctor Akakia"), which satirized some of Maupertuis's theories and his persecutions of a mutual acquaintance, [[Johann Samuel König]]. This greatly angered Frederick, who ordered all copies of the document burned.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=225–29}} On 1 January 1752, Voltaire offered to resign as chamberlain and return his insignia of the Order of Merit; at first, Frederick refused until eventually permitting Voltaire to leave in March.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=229–30}} On a slow journey back to France, Voltaire stayed at [[Leipzig]] and [[Gotha]] for a month each, and [[Kassel]] for two weeks, arriving at [[Frankfurt]] on 31 May. The following morning, he was detained at an inn by Frederick's agents, who held him in the city for over three weeks while Voltaire and Frederick argued by letter over the return of a satirical book of poetry Frederick had lent to Voltaire. Marie Louise joined him on 9 June. She and her uncle only left Frankfurt in July after she had defended herself from the unwanted advances of one of Frederick's agents, and Voltaire's luggage had been ransacked and valuable items taken.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=232–35}}

Voltaire's attempts to vilify Frederick for his agents' actions at Frankfurt were largely unsuccessful, including his ''Mémoires pour Servir à la Vie de M. de Voltaire,'' published posthumously, in which he also explicitly made mention of Frederick's homosexuality, when he described how the king regularly invited pages, young cadets or lieutenants from his regiment to have coffee with him and then withdrew with the favourite for a quickie.<ref>Tim Blanning, ''Frederick the Great: King of Prussia'' (Penguin edition, 2016), p. 446.</ref><ref>Bernd Krysmanski, "Evidence for the homosexuality and the anal erotic desires of the Prussian king" in ''Does Hogarth depict Old Fritz truthfully with a crooked beak?: the pictures familiar to us from Pesne to Menzel don't show this'', ''ART-Dok'' (Heidelberg University: arthistoricum.net, 2022), pp. 27–28. {{doi|10.11588/artdok.00008019}}.</ref> However, the correspondence between them continued, and though they never met in person again, after the [[Seven Years' War]] they largely reconciled.<ref>Mitford, Nancy (1970) ''Frederick the Great'' pp. 184–85, 269</ref>

=== Geneva and Ferney ===
[[File:Château de Voltaire à Ferney 3.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|Voltaire's ''[[château]]'' at [[Ferney]], France]]

Voltaire's slow progress toward Paris continued through [[Mainz]], [[Mannheim]], [[Strasbourg]], and [[Colmar]],{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=236–37}} but in January 1754 [[Louis XV of France|Louis XV]] banned him from Paris,{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=238}} and he turned for [[Geneva]], near which he bought a large estate (''[[Les Délices]]'') in early 1755.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=244–45}} Though he was received openly at first, the law in Geneva, which banned theatrical performances, and the publication of ''[[The Maid of Orleans (poem)|The Maid of Orleans]]'' against his will soured his relationship with Calvinist Genevans.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=247}} In late 1758, he bought an even larger estate at [[Ferney]], on the French side of the [[Franco-Swiss border]].{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=263–64}} The town would adopt his name, calling itself Ferney-Voltaire, and this became its official name in 1878.<ref>{{cite web |last=Le Royer |first=Élie |date=23 November 1878 |title=Décret du Président de la République française n°6148 du 23 novembre 1878 |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k2141069 |access-date=6 May 2021 |website=Gallica |language=FR}}</ref>

Early in 1759, Voltaire completed and published ''[[Candide|Candide, ou l'Optimisme]]'' (''Candide, or Optimism''). This satire on Leibniz's philosophy of optimistic determinism remains Voltaire's best-known work. He would stay in Ferney for most of the remaining 20 years of his life, frequently entertaining distinguished guests, such as [[James Boswell]] (who recorded their conversations in his journal and memoranda),<ref name=Boswell>{{cite book |last1=Boswell |first1=James |author1-link = James Boswell |editor-first = Frederick A. | editor-last=Pottle |url-access = registration | oclc = 868987 | series = [[Yale University|Yale]] editions of the private papers of James Boswell |title=Boswell on the grand tour : Germany and Switzerland, 1764 |date=1953 |publisher=[[McGraw Hill Education|McGraw-Hill]] |location=New York |pages=279–281, 293–294, 298–301, 303–304 |url=https://archive.org/details/boswellongrandto00bosw/page/279/mode/1up?view=theater |access-date=30 June 2024}}</ref> [[Adam Smith]], [[Giacomo Casanova]], and [[Edward Gibbon]]. In 1764, he published one of his best-known philosophical works, the ''[[Dictionnaire philosophique]]'', a series of articles mainly on Christian history and dogmas, a few of which were originally written in Berlin.<ref name="The Life of Voltaire" />

From 1762, as an unmatched intellectual celebrity, he began to champion unjustly persecuted individuals, most famously the [[Huguenot]] merchant [[Jean Calas]].<ref name="The Life of Voltaire" /> Calas had been tortured to death in 1763, supposedly because he had murdered his eldest son for wanting to convert to Catholicism. His possessions were confiscated, and his two daughters were taken from his widow and forced into Catholic convents. Voltaire, seeing this as a clear case of religious persecution, managed to overturn the conviction in 1765.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=284–90}}

Voltaire was initiated into [[Freemasonry]] a little over a month before his death. On 4 April 1778, he attended ''[[Les Neuf Sœurs|la Loge des Neuf Sœurs]]'' in Paris, and became an [[Entered Apprentice]] Freemason. According to some sources, "Benjamin Franklin&nbsp;... urged Voltaire to become a freemason; and Voltaire agreed, perhaps only to please Franklin."<ref name="Ridley2011">{{Cite book |last=Jasper Ridley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h7q3VIZCiwQC&pg=PT141 |title=The Freemasons: A History of the World's Most Powerful Secret Society |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing Inc. |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-61145-010-1 |page=141}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=I did not know that: Mason Facts |url=http://www.americanmason.com/didntARC.ihtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070112071055/http://www.americanmason.com/didntARC.ihtml |archive-date=12 January 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/voltaire/voltaire.html|title=Voltaire|website=freemasonry.bcy.ca}}</ref> However, Franklin was merely a visitor at the time Voltaire was initiated, the two only met a month before Voltaire's death, and their interactions with each other were brief.<ref>{{cite web |last=Young |first=Adrian |date=19 July 2010 |title=When Franklin Met Voltaire |url=http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/exclusive-when-franklin-met-voltaire |publisher=Family Security Matters |access-date=25 June 2018 |archive-date=8 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808085518/http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/exclusive-when-franklin-met-voltaire |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Voltaire-last-house.jpg|thumb|House in Paris where Voltaire died]]