Editing Voltaire (section)

=== 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>