The evening leader. (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) 191?-19??, 1919-03-17

Voltaire was the intellectual king of
his time.
He brought on the French revolution
with his pen.
He was present and one of the two
actors in an event which, in the light
of very recent history, has been prov
en- to be one of the most dramatic of
all time.
I His writings include all the literary
forms of his time: poetry. the drama,
the essay, history, biography and
nine-volume philosophical dictionary.
He introduced Shakespeare to con-
tinental Europe by translation and
comment
He wrote under more than one hun
dred different names.
He expressed his real views under
one name, denied that he had written
them, or expressed opposite views, I'M
der his own name, applying the most
cunning sophistry.
All this to escape punishment; he
did escape execution, kept out of jail
most of the time and out of exile some
of the time.
And then while he may not have de-
signed it so, yet the expression Of his
real views and then the opposite
views, did have the effect Of making
people think-think for themselves.
That most of his life was in exile is
evidenced by the fact that while he
was born in Paris and was most fond
of lbs native city, yet his biographers
estimate that he did not spend more
than eight years of his very long life
!. there, a..
With all his reform and general lit
erary work he managed, by. shrewd
bargaining and speculation, to aecun,-
ulate an immense fortune. He was a
scientific farmer on a vast and profta-
BILE scale, and operated a large watch
/ factory.
If the science of eugenics had exist
ed in Voltaire's day he would not have
been born; for he was a physical
weakling and did most OF his work in
bed.
The science of eugenics finds it's ex-
ception in Voltaire; for none of his
ancestors, as far back as the research
of his most painstaking biographers
can trace them, possessed any of the
genius, talent or even ability of which
he was the embodiment.
Voltaire was born during the reign
of Louis XIV.
France was bankrupted through
long line of profigte kings.
No one of any ability did any really
productive work. The educational
system was that of pure culture and
the few who were educated lived for
show under the patronage of the roy
atty and nobility and at the expense
Of the peasants on the farms of
France, who, in their ignorance, were
kept bending over the soil by the fear
of power an dsuperstition.
Doctors practiced by charms.
Lawyers saw to it that the criminal
code was long and cruel-a man could
be put to death for his beliefs.
Each caste or class or social grade
was ruled by someone in the next sue
ceeding class. The king traded the
privilege of graft for power. each ac-
cording to his influence, and thus all
were answerable to the king, and who
was finally ruled by women.
In this social condition of his coun-
try Voltaire was born and reared.
His education completed, he began
his attacks on social caste and the
union of church and state.
Voltaire received everything he
sought. He was received at court, Sc
cured his election to every intellectual
organization of prominence in Europe,
and through his friendship with Ma
dam Pompadour he obtained the en-
dorsement of both the king of France
and the pope, and was appointed a
member of the French academy.
VOltaire's correspondence with Fred
erick the Great of Germany extended
through many years and is very vol
luminous.
That monarch had him as frequent
guest and offered him royal honors to
become resident of Berlin, but VOL
taire suspected that Frederick sought
his presence in order to teach him to
write poetry and Voltaire told him he
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