Letters on England pdf

弗朗索瓦-玛丽·阿鲁埃（François-Marie Arouet，1694 年 11 月 21 日 - 1778 年 5 月 30 日）是法国启蒙运动作家、历史学家和哲学家。他以他的化名伏尔泰而闻名，他以机智和对基督教——尤其是罗马天主教会——和奴隶制的批评而闻名。伏尔泰是言论自由、宗教自由和政教分离的倡导者。

伏尔泰是一位多才多艺且多产的作家，创作了几乎所有文学形式的作品，包括戏剧、诗歌、小说、散文、历史和科学论述。他写了 20,000 多封信件和 2,000 本书和小册子。伏尔泰是第一批在国际上享有盛誉并在商业上取得成功的作家之一。他是公民自由的直言不讳的倡导者，并且不断受到法国天主教君主制严格审查法的威胁。他的论战讽刺了当时的偏执、宗教教条和法国制度。他最著名的作品和巨著《老实人》是一部中篇小说，它评论、批评和嘲笑他那个时代的许多事件、思想家和哲学。

Letters on England pdf 伏尔泰

After his three-year exile to England (1726-9) following imprisonment in the Bastille for his satirical writings, Voltaire wrote a series of letters offering the French public a panoramic view of English culture. He was full of enthusiasm and freedom - as opposed to the tyrannical feudal society of his homeland. Letters on England discusses English religious sects, politics, scientists and writers with great admiration, yet the clever Voltaire also flattered his French readers with humorous references to the old-fashioned clothes and speech of the Quakers and to antics in the House of Commons. At first banned in France, this intriguing and often comic account of a culture viewed through foreign eyes was to prove highly influential in shaping French attitudes to England.
Leonard Tancock's translation brilliantly captures Voltaire's ironic tone, and is accompanied by an introduction discussing his depiction of England and the events that led to his exile. This edition also includes notes, new further reading and chronology, and an appendix on Voltaire's verse translation of English works.