Voltaire

Voltaire is a French philosopher and writer whose works epitomize the Age of Enlightenment, often attacking injustice and intolerance. His original name was name was Arouet. Young Francois Marie received his education at "Louis-le-Grand," a Jesuit college in Paris where he said he learned nothing but "Latin and the Stupidities." He left school at 17 and soon made friends among the Parisian aristocrats. In 1717, his sharp wit got him into trouble with the authorities. In 1759, Voltaire …

…in Champagne. In 1791 his remains were moved to a resting place at the Pantheon in Paris. In religion Voltaire felt that Christianity was a good thing for chambermaids and tailors to believe in, but for the use of the elite he advocated a simple deism. He opposed the atheism and materialism of Helvétius and Holbach. His line, "If God did not exist, he would have to be invented," has become proverbial.