Chapter 25 Voltaire's grandeur

He knew more history than mathematicians, more physics than historians, and more literature than physicists. Voltaire, the enlightener of the French Revolution, is known as the urchin of the European intellectual circles. He received a good education in his childhood, learned extensively by memorizing, and was prone to discussing.His middle school teacher once said: He likes to weigh the big problems in Europe on his small scale.He knew almost everything, but he chose a literati as his career. He wrote poems, novels, commentaries, plays, philosophical dictionaries, calculus mathematics, observed the stars with binoculars, advocated the nascent science, cared about religion but opposed it, and served the poor. Build standard houses, open textile factories and watch factories for the unemployed, and try to sell the products.

He dealt with beauties and princes and nobles, and built his house on the border between France and Switzerland in order to quickly escape arrest from France.From this place, he sent out countless pamphlets, which shook the deaf and enlightened people, and shattered the hypocrisy and hypocrisy in the world with mocking and ironic laughter. His life was full of romance, noise and climaxes.He has read countless books, contacted countless people, done countless things, and expressed countless opinions. He is not only the enlightener of the French Revolution, but also one of the enlighteners of modern European thought.

But strictly speaking, Voltaire's thoughts are not profound, and they are full of contradictions.He ridiculed the emperor but flattered the emperor, called people magnanimous but never let his enemies go, although he tried his best to eliminate the needless tragedies of human beings, he showed an unusual tolerance for war.Of the philosophers of the eighteenth century he was the least philosophic.Curious about everything, he knew more history than mathematicians, more physics than historians, and more classical literature than physicists.Such omniscience does not mean that he may be ignorant, but each of his knowledge lacks depth.

Voltaire was a broad man, but this does not mean that broad is inferior to profound.Although Voltaire was not the builder of a philosophical system, the discoverer or inventor of science, or the creator of political theories, he only had a taste of these, but he was able to grasp the spirit of them and express them clearly.In fact, many people can enter the threshold of profound knowledge only through the guidance of great masters.