Matt Herring AP European History, Set 5 1/18/00 Extra Credit Assignment - Voltaire Francois Marie Arouet was born on November 21, 1694 in Paris. He was the son of a notary. The name most people know Francois by is his pen name, Voltaire. Voltaire was a French author, philosopher, and apostle of free thought, he was also one of the most influential figures during the French age of Enlightenment. Voltaire received an excellent education at a Jesuit school called …showed first 75 words of 934 total…

…showed last 75 words of 934 total…this satirical work, that Voltaire is focusing mainly on remodeling the mental limitations of man's outlook on life. It quickly becomes evident that the target of his satire, as the title suggests, is the concept of philosophical optimism. His exaggerated tales of the horrors which his characters endure, attack the idea that "everything always happens for the best." These attacks on the pleasantness of life are accompanied by the absolute extremes of existence and government.