Editing Voltaire (section)

== Death and burial ==
[[File:Jean-Antoine Houdon, Voltaire, 1778, NGA 1266.jpg|thumb|left|Jean-Antoine Houdon, ''Voltaire'', 1778, [[National Gallery of Art]]]]

In February 1778, Voltaire returned to Paris for the first time in over 25 years, partly to see the opening of his latest tragedy, [[Irène (tragedy)|''Irene'']].{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=364–65, 371–72}} The five-day journey was too much for the 83-year-old, and he believed he was about to die on 28 February, writing "I die adoring God, loving my friends, not hating my enemies, and detesting superstition." However, he recovered, and in March he saw a performance of ''Irene'', where he was treated by the audience as a returning hero.<ref name="The Life of Voltaire" />

He soon became ill again and died on 30 May 1778. The accounts of his deathbed have been numerous and varying, and it has not been possible to establish the details of what precisely occurred. His enemies related that he repented and accepted the last rites from a Catholic priest, or that he died in agony of body and soul, while his adherents told of his defiance to his last breath.<ref>Peter Gay, ''The Enlightenment – An Interpretation, Volume 2: The Science of Freedom'', Wildwood House, London, 1973, pp. 88–89.</ref> According to one story of his last words, when the priest urged him to renounce Satan, he replied, "This is no time to make new enemies."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bulston |first=Michael E |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qq4eY3IrT1kC&q=voltaire+last+words+making+enemies&pg=PA105 |title=Teach What You Believe |publisher=Paulist Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8091-4481-5 |page=105}}</ref>

Because of his well-known criticism of the Church, which he had refused to retract before his death, Voltaire was denied a Christian burial in Paris,{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=386–87}} but friends and relations managed to bury his body secretly at the {{ill|Abbey of Scellières|fr|Abbaye de Sellières}} in [[Champagne (region)|Champagne]], where Marie Louise's brother was ''[[abbé]]''.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=388–89}} His heart and brain were embalmed separately.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=388, 391}}

[[File:Tombeau et statue de Voltaire, Paris 8 juin 2014.jpg|thumb|Voltaire's tomb in the Paris [[Panthéon]]]]
[[File:TombofVoltaire.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Voltaire in the Pantheon in Paris]]

On 11 July 1791, the [[National Constituent Assembly (France)|National Assembly of France]], regarding Voltaire as a forerunner of the [[French Revolution]], had his remains brought back to Paris and enshrined in the [[Panthéon]].{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=411–16}}{{efn|It was rumoured that in May 1814, his and Rousseau's bones were removed from the Panthéon and discarded on the outskirts of Paris by supporters of the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]]. Both tombs were opened in 1897, and the remains were still there.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=416–17}} Nevertheless, some modern historians have published the rumor as fact.{{sfn|Durant|Durant|1967|p=926}}}} An estimated million people attended the procession, which stretched throughout Paris. There was an elaborate ceremony, including music composed for the event by [[André Grétry]].<ref>Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed, 1954; "Cornu" article</ref>