The Portable Voltaire

Rating:
Summary: the basic English resource for my Voltaire comedy
Review: "At this moment, there are a hundred thousand madmen of our species wearing hats killing or being killed by a hundred thousand other animals wearing turbans and that over almost all the face of the earth this has been the custom from time immemorial?" Voltaire speaking, possibly on the Iraq crisis?--In fact, Voltaire has something to teach us all on practically every subject I could think of in my free-wheeling literary comedy, 3A Visit From Voltaire,2 (amazon.co.uk) and this book was one of the most basic texts I could find in English before moving on to the French originals. It1s helpful to have read a biography of Voltaire--and Ben Ray Redman's introduction is one of the best quickie bios available with real insight into the man's personality--in order to put all these riches of Voltaire1s thoughts and writings into some kind of political context. I shamefully abused and excused the Wigged One's sayings and witticisms in my novel, but especially students need this delightfully condensed resource with a reliable feel for translation.
Dinah Lee Küng

Rating:
Summary: The crusher of infamy
Review: "The Portable Voltaire" is an excellent compendium of the major works of the man who became the most famous iconoclast of the French Enlightenment. One of the attractions of this particular volume is the introduction by Ben Ray Redman, who delivers with witty, flowing prose an extremely interesting short biography and a summary of the man's philosophy. Normally I don't bother to mention a book's introduction in a review, but Redman's is so good I make a notable exception.

Voltaire was a man of contrasts. He was sickly and feeble but miraculously managed to extend his lifespan to eighty-four years, travel abroad, and survive in prison; he was made wealthy by various benefactors and seemed generally happy but could be very cynical and antagonistic in his writing; and most notoriously, he was a deist whose hatred of Christianity could make him appear to be an atheist. Most of what he hated about Christianity was the clergy--their hypocrisy, their adherence to practices he found absurd, their conceit that everything in the universe is made exclusively for man's consumption and amusement--and the superstition and fanaticism exhibited by the more extreme practitioners of the faith.

Nowhere are his themes more vigorously pronounced than in the novella "Candide," his most famous achievement. Candide is a simpleminded, ingenuous young man who, under the influence of his tutor Dr. Pangloss, apparently a caricature of the German mathematician-philosopher Leibnitz, steadfastly continues to believe the world as designed is optimal, where everything happens for the ultimate best, even while an endless string of ridiculous circumstances sends him on a series of adventures searching for his lost lover Cunegonde and forces him to bear witness to a theater of war, brutality, murder, rape, chaos, catastrophes, and nonsense, the only wordly haven being the utopian city of gold El Dorado in the mountains of Peru.

The other novella, "Zadig," is similar but paints a more optimistic picture of fate. Here, the Babylonian nobleman Zadig is a virtuous man whose every act of virtue brings him a new misfortune because of other people's avarice, jealousy, or foolishness, but who always succeeds because of his will and cleverness rather than divine justice. As in "Candide," its hero is cast into a world of picaresque adventure and fateful encounters, but he eventually meets a hermit who teaches him that evil events induce, in various and unintended ways, good acts in response. We live our lives and protect one another as well as we can, as though we could not rely on God to do so for us.

In the "Philosophical Dictionary," of which this volume contains a portion, Voltaire selects some terms and concepts from philosophy, religion, and politics, and writes a mini-essay on each that expresses his thoughts on the subject. For example, under "tolerance" he fires off a powerful indictment of bigots and those who think they are superior to others; under "government" he observes that no nation seems to be ruled by its own people, and the examples he gives are quite convincing.

Like most philosophers of his day, Voltaire looked back at history with a hard eye to see exactly how Europe had gotten itself into its current situation, and looked ahead to see that it had no hope for the triumph of reason as long as its people were under the yoke of a tyrannous church. He had no answer for the question "Why do bad things happen to good people?", but he would emphasize that neither does anyone else, no matter how much they pretend to.

Rating:
Summary: The crusher of infamy
Review: "The Portable Voltaire" is an excellent compendium of the major works of the man who became the most famous iconoclast of the French Enlightenment. One of the attractions of this particular volume is the introduction by Ben Ray Redman, who delivers with witty, flowing prose an extremely interesting short biography and a summary of the man's philosophy. Normally I don't bother to mention a book's introduction in a review, but Redman's is so good I make a notable exception.

Voltaire was a man of contrasts. He was sickly and feeble but miraculously managed to extend his lifespan to eighty-four years, travel abroad, and survive in prison; he was made wealthy by various benefactors and seemed generally happy but could be very cynical and antagonistic in his writing; and most notoriously, he was a deist whose hatred of Christianity could make him appear to be an atheist. Most of what he hated about Christianity was the clergy--their hypocrisy, their adherence to practices he found absurd, their conceit that everything in the universe is made exclusively for man's consumption and amusement--and the superstition and fanaticism exhibited by the more extreme practitioners of the faith.

Nowhere are his themes more vigorously pronounced than in the novella "Candide," his most famous achievement. Candide is a simpleminded, ingenuous young man who, under the influence of his tutor Dr. Pangloss, apparently a caricature of the German mathematician-philosopher Leibnitz, steadfastly continues to believe the world as designed is optimal, where everything happens for the ultimate best, even while an endless string of ridiculous circumstances sends him on a series of adventures searching for his lost lover Cunegonde and forces him to bear witness to a theater of war, brutality, murder, rape, chaos, catastrophes, and nonsense, the only wordly haven being the utopian city of gold El Dorado in the mountains of Peru.

The other novella, "Zadig," is similar but paints a more optimistic picture of fate. Here, the Babylonian nobleman Zadig is a virtuous man whose every act of virtue brings him a new misfortune because of other people's avarice, jealousy, or foolishness, but who always succeeds because of his will and cleverness rather than divine justice. As in "Candide," its hero is cast into a world of picaresque adventure and fateful encounters, but he eventually meets a hermit who teaches him that evil events induce, in various and unintended ways, good acts in response. We live our lives and protect one another as well as we can, as though we could not rely on God to do so for us.

In the "Philosophical Dictionary," of which this volume contains a portion, Voltaire selects some terms and concepts from philosophy, religion, and politics, and writes a mini-essay on each that expresses his thoughts on the subject. For example, under "tolerance" he fires off a powerful indictment of bigots and those who think they are superior to others; under "government" he observes that no nation seems to be ruled by its own people, and the examples he gives are quite convincing.

Like most philosophers of his day, Voltaire looked back at history with a hard eye to see exactly how Europe had gotten itself into its current situation, and looked ahead to see that it had no hope for the triumph of reason as long as its people were under the yoke of a tyrannous church. He had no answer for the question "Why do bad things happen to good people?", but he would emphasize that neither does anyone else, no matter how much they pretend to.

Rating:
Summary: A great collection of Voltaire's work.
Review: I had heard of Voltaire being one of the greatest critics, satirists and philosophers of the Age of Reason; Now I see why. He tore apart many of the myths religions used to justify promoting *their* religion as the right one while bashing those others. He points out that a religion claiming to be free of superstitions and claiming to be against the same is hypocritical if it still sees Satan as effecting in "bad" behavior and similar un-Christian things. He points out that there is no such thing as going against one's will; If one does, one is simply adhering to the demands of another will, a will to do something different, and hence going against will when given choice is impossible. Read this book; It will inspire, educate and enlighten you!

Rating:
Summary: theportablevoltaire
Review: this anthology contains:

a editor's introduction (kind of a biography)

a timeline of voltaire's life

short bibliography

excerpts from philosophical dictonary (probably most of the book)

candide (whole)

zadig (whole)

micromegas (whole)

story of a good brahmin (whole, very short, about 2 pages)

letters to frederick the great (not sure if its complete, but then again i dunno if its a book either, but it has about 30 pages, im guessing off the top of my head, regardless, its a lot of stuff)

misc letters (alot of letters)

english letters (excerpts from, not complete)

lisbon earthquake (whole thing, its a poem)

I've been fascinated with voltaire for awhile, and have started collecting all the works of him that i can find (i just started, so all i have is candide, 5 short stories of his, and this book), i want to find more of his short stories if there is anymore, i think thats what voltaire did best. I havent completed this whole book yet (ive read all but the the last half of the letters section). The introduction was great, basically a biography of voltaire. the timeline of voltaire was very helpful, especially when you get to reading the letters, you can trace the date to the timeline, which makes it all the more interesting (especially with the Fredrick the great letters). I have to admit essays never appealed to me, i cant get into them, almost no matter what. I did read the whole selection from the philosophical dictionary, which weren't bad, but i dont have the taste for it. Voltaire's novels/short stories are what sparked my obsession. I cant read ideas/arguements unless they are presented in an interesting way, like in a moral story. voltaire excels at that, and he is FAR from being boring, his works are adventurous and fast-pased, and extremely comical (youve heard this before, but for emphasis, ill repeat it). Candide which could be summarized (summarized is the key word, youd be missing out by doing that) by reading the epigraphs under each chapter title, it remains a great read beside that fact, maybe my favorite "classic", runnerup for favorite book. Zadig, which is also a great read, not soo much as candide, but very close, also very alike ot candide, not in a repetitive way, but if youd read them both you'd know what i mean. i'd probably say Zadig's more clever/witty than Candide (the stories i mean, the characters also, for that matter). Micromegas is different from the other two aforementioned stories, i enjoyed it, although it seems to end too abruptly, not before it makes its point however, but i am hard to please. The letters which i don't like as much as the stories, but more than the essays (philosophical dictonary), were interesting in that you could trace the date of the letter to the timeline, and made the letters all the more intimate. I thought voltaire's flattering of frederickthegreat was un-voltaireish, but then im sure if voltaire was alive to stand up for himself, he could whip up a clever explaination for that, and my ignorance. misc letters were good also, i didn't know who some of the recipients of the letters were, oh well.

Havent read engllish letters, but i assume its nothing that would make me want to cahgne my mind on this review (if so, i will write another, but i doubt it, i trust in voltaires quality of work)

as for the "lisbon earthquake", i don't care much for translated poetry, and im not tooooo much of a poetry fan anyways, although i have read a few poems that i enjoyed. i have no idea what all was lost in translation in this/or any translated poem. i have never read the french version of the poem, and i dont understand but maybe 3 words in french, and since the translator had to keep rhyme in mind, we have no idea how the original translation was manipulated, so i just stay away from the stuff. Especially when it comes to works like voltaire where this is little room for misinterpretation, translated novels dont have this problem (to that extent anyways), maybe some of the wit and cleverness is lost (but much is still retained). I did read the poem, if that wasn't clear, i will say the footnotes were well done, even though they seemed kinda off, maybe thats because of the "lsot in translation" bit. oh well.

Bottom line:

id recommend this to about anyone with a sense of humor and openmind (kinda of a cliche, but that cliche was MADE for voltaire [thats probably another cliche])

i forget where but someone placed a review saying voltaire was VERY french, which i dont really see, aside from the titles: M. Mme. monseignour(however you spell it, i told you i dont know any french, and dont claim to) etc, he seemed like an englishman to me, maybe its the way it was translated.

Read candide FIRST, if this is your introduction to voltaire, then zadig, then his biography, then you will be entranced enough to plow through his other works in any particular order.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction
Review: This volume provides a wonderful introduction to the writings and thought of one of the great cynics of the ages. Voltaire exemplifies the age of reason in his questioning of both authority and the prevailing beliefs of his day. His writing as presented here is very accessable and this book can be picked up and opened to any selection and read with enjoyment. An excellent intro for the general reader.

Rating:
Summary: o beloved french prose
Review: voltaire is basically my favorite philosopher his french prose is beautiful whilst being deep philosophic meaning. He is very down to earth, crystal clear, and just plain awesome. PLus, his satire is mocking and hillarious. Even more, he was a sickly person that never stopped producing brilliant works under his famous pen name, voltaire. Meet the genius from the French revolution that proved himself so well that on his gravestone all it said was "here lies voltaire"

Rating:
Summary: a basic source I used for my own book
Review: With a shelf-full of books about the man to work from, this was my most dogged-eared English-language source for his many quips used and abused in my literary comedy, A Visit from Voltaire" (amazon.co.uk) because I needed to know how he actually sounded, to complement in-depth research into his struggle to Ecrasez-infame! It's well-organized, and checking the translations, I found they captured the spirit of Voltaire very well.
Voltaire afficionado
Dinah Lee Küng