In Praise of Reason

Voltaire

2024년 5월 · The Collected Works of Voltaire 9권 · Marchen Verlag

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Cast in the form of an academic address “pronounced in a provincial academy” by a fictional Monsieur de Chambon, this work reads like a prize-giving speech where the awardee is none other than Reason personified. Voltaire wrote it in 1774 during a moment of optimism: the death of the long-reigning Louis XV and the ascension of a new monarch had intellectuals hoping for enlightened reforms. Rather than directly lampooning the old regime or the Church as he often did, Voltaire here adopts a positive, laudatory tone – a tactical inversion of his usual approach. The text takes the reader on a brisk tour of human history, highlighting moments when reason illuminated the darkness. In a quasi-ceremonial style, Voltaire’s narrator praises the ancient philosophers who questioned myth, the scientists like Galileo and Newton who expanded humanity’s understanding, and the thinkers of Voltaire’s own era who challenged fanaticism. The speech is “historical” in that it charts reason’s progress from antiquity to modern times, but it’s also a manifesto in disguise: each historical vignette underscores the values Voltaire holds dear (tolerance, empirical inquiry, human betterment) and implicitly critiques their opposites (bigotry, superstition, tyranny).

This modern Critical Reader’s Edition includes an illuminating afterword tracing Voltaire’s intellectual relationships with Enlightenment thinkers and philosophers (including Locke, Diderot, Rousseau and Newton), containing unique research into his influences and economic attachments, a comprehensive timeline of his life and works, a glossary of Enlightenment terminology, and a detailed index of all of Voltaire’s writings. This unique professional translation renders Voltaire’s sharp, satirical prose into modern language to preserve the original clarity and movement of the text. Combined with the scholarly amplifying material, this edition is a groundbreaking exploration of Voltaire’s classic works and his enduring artistic and philosophical influence, and influence on modern Protestant-Atheistic Theology.

The writing is effusive and ornate, mimicking the high-flown rhetoric of official eulogies—except the usual subject of praise (a recently deceased dignitary) is replaced with an abstraction. This clever twist allowed Voltaire to laud Enlightenment ideals under the pretext of a harmless compliment to an idea. At times, the Éloge carries a playful irony, as when “M. de Chambon” solemnly credits Reason for miracles far more impressive than any found in scripture. Yet for all the light touch, the sentiment is sincere: Voltaire truly is paying tribute to the power of critical thought to improve the human condition.

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Voltaire (1694-1778), born François-Marie Arouet, was a towering figure in the European Enlightenment, renowned for his wit, satirical genius, and fierce advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion and free trade. Born on November 21, 1694, in Paris, Voltaire was educated by the Jesuits at the Collège Louis-le-Grand, where he demonstrated an early talent in literature and theater. Despite a brief stint studying law, he devoted himself to writing, rapidly gaining fame for his sharp wit and eloquence. Voltaire's literary career was marked by numerous conflicts with French authorities, leading to periods of imprisonment and exile. His most famous stay at the Bastille prison was due to his satirical verse, which mocked the French Regent. This propensity for critique often saw him in conflict with the establishment, but it also earned him a reputation as a champion of the oppressed and a critic of religious and political dogma, including the Atheistic dogmatism of the French Revolution.