SOURCE: Gordon, Daniel. “Introduction: The Paradoxes of Voltaire.” In Candide, pp. 1-30. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's Press, 1999.

In this excerpt, Gordon examines the cultural and philosophical background of Voltaire's work, focusing on Voltaire's complex relationship with aristocracy, his disagreement with Leibniz, and his changing thoughts on religion.

Eighteenth-century Europe is often called the Age of Voltaire. What is astonishing is that this expression was already common in Voltaire's lifetime.¹ He was the first writer to become the symbol of his age—to his age. As a young man, he was hailed by the French literary establishment as the most gifted poet in the nation. In his middle years, he turned against authority and became the first critic of religious extremism, the first defender of human rights, to appeal to a mass audience in several countries. As an elderly man, this impious crusader became the object of a cult...