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Sunday, May 16, 2021

Voltaire

It was on this day in 1717 that the French playwright and poet Voltaire was imprisoned in the Bastille for insulting the government (books by this author). He was a young man at the time and a relatively unknown writer. His father had encouraged him to become a lawyer, but Voltaire hated practicing law, so he spent all his time writing satirical poetry instead, poking fun at his political enemies, including the Duke of Orleans. When the Duke read one of the privately circulated poems he had Voltaire thrown into prison for 11 months.

Voltaire used the opportunity to begin writing his first play, and when he got out of prison a year later he produced a series of successful plays that made him one of the most popular writers in Europe. He spent the rest of his life in and out of exile from France, speaking out against political and religious repression.

He said, “People who believe in absurdities will eventually commit atrocities.”

On this date in 1763, James Boswell (books by this author) and Samuel Johnson (books by this author) met for the first time... WA

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