外國人最想和你聊的名人話題：伏爾泰
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About Voltaire 關于伏爾泰
Francois-Marie Arouet, better known by the pen name Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion and free trade. Voltaire was a prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form including plays, poetry, novels, essays, and historical and scientific works. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and more than 2,000 books and pamphlets. He was an outspoken supporter of social reform, despite strict censorship laws and harsh penalties for those who broke them. As a satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma and the French institutions of his day.Francois-Marie Arouet was born in Paris, the youngest of the five children (only three of whom survived) of Francois Arouet (1650-1722), a notary who was a minor treasury official, and his wife, Marie Marguerite d'Aumart (ca. 1660 - 13 July 1701), from a noble family of the province of Poitou. Voltaire was educated by Jesuits at the Collège Louis-le-Grand (1704-1711), where he learned Latin and Greek; later in life he became fluent in Italian, Spanish and English.
From an early age, Voltaire displayed a talent for writing verse and his first published work was poetry. He wrote two book-long epic poems, including the first ever written in French, the Henriade, and later, The Maid of Orleans, besides many other smaller pieces.
Voltaire was one of several Enlightenment figures (along with Montesquieu, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and émilie du Chatelet) whose works and ideas influenced important thinkers of both the American and French Revolutions.
伏爾泰不僅在哲學上有卓越成就，也以捍衛(wèi)公民自由，特別是信仰自由和司法公正而聞名。他曾兩次被捕入獄，主張開明的民主制度，強調自由和平等。盡管在他所處的時代審查制度十分嚴厲，伏爾泰仍然公開支持社會改革。他的論說以諷刺見長，常常抨擊基督教會的教條和當時的法國教育制度。雨果曾評價說："伏爾泰的名字所代表的不是一個人，而是整整一個時代。"他提倡盧梭所倡導的天賦人權，認為人生來就是自由和平等的，一切人都具有追求生存、追求幸福的權利，這種權利是天賦予的，不能被剝奪，這就是天賦人權思想。
伏爾泰信奉自然權利說，認為"人們本質上是平等的"，要求人人享有"自然權利"。他主張人人在法律面前平等，但又認為財產權利的不平等是不可避免的。他把英國的君主立憲制理想化了，認為最理想的是由"開明"的君主按哲學家的意見來治理國家。伏爾泰在啟蒙運動的思想家中，反映上層資產階級的利益，主張開明君主制。他在哲學上信奉英國唯物主義哲學家洛克的經驗論。在哲學上，他承認物質世界的客觀存在，肯定認識來源于感覺經驗，但他又認為神是宇宙的"第一推動者"。他對勞動人民是十分鄙視的，認為他們只能干粗活，不能思考，說"當庶民都思考時，那一切都完了"。伏爾泰在反封建的啟蒙運動中作出的巨大的貢獻，是值得人們永遠紀念的。
In my younger days I read Voltaire's writings.
我年輕的時候讀過伏爾泰的著作。
Voltaire used the earthquake to attack deistic optimism.
伏爾泰用地震來攻擊那些自然神論樂觀主義者。
Voltaire made sport of Needham, and he was wrong, for Needham's eels prove that God is useless.
伏爾泰嘲笑過尼登，他不應當那么做，因為尼登的鱔魚已經證明上帝的無用了。
For Voltaire, to be vulgarization is to find a truth and a universal theory separated from the religious.
對于他來說，是發(fā)現(xiàn)了另一種真理，一種既有普遍性，又獨立于宗教之外的理論。
I was inspired by an observation by Voltaire to make my resolution"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good."
我從伏爾泰的觀測中受到了啟發(fā)，確定了我的觀點"不要讓完美成為阻礙。"
The French philosopher Voltaire wrote: there are some that only employ words for the purports of disguising their thoughts.
法國哲學家伏爾泰寫道：有些人利用辭令來掩蓋內心的真實想法。
What Voltaire hated more than others was the tyranny of organized religion.
伏爾泰最憎恨的就是有組織的宗教專制統(tǒng)治。
Voltaire held that it is only a very slight line of separation that divides the man of genius from the man of ordinary mould.
伏爾泰認為區(qū)分天才和一般類型的人的界線是非常細微的。
If you could write lucidly, simply, euphoniously and yet with liveliness, you would write perfectly, you would write like Voltaire.
你要是能寫得清楚、簡潔、和諧而又生動，那就到了爐火純青的地步，可以與伏爾泰相媲美了。
Voltaire influenced many political theorists, philosophers, educators and historians.
伏爾泰影響了大批政治論者、哲學家、教育家、歷史學家。
Voltaire is one of the most celebrated citizens in the history of France.
伏爾泰是法國歷史上最著名的人之一。
There were busts of the heroes of antiquity, such as Molière, Racine, Corneille, Voltaire, etc.
那兒擺著古代英雄的半身塑像，諸如莫里哀、拉辛、柯奈、伏爾泰之流。
Western philosophers have always looked toward ancient cultures such as Greek and Hebrew for enlightenment. Since Voltaire, Eastern philosophy has become another source of inspiration for them.
西方哲學家常常仰望古老文化諸如希臘、希伯來，以獲得啟示，從伏爾泰開始，東方哲學逐漸成為另一個啟示他們的來源。
Birth-order scholars often observe that some of history's great satirists-Voltaire, Jonathan Swift, Mark Twain-were among the youngest members of large families, a pattern that continues today.
出生順序的學者們常常發(fā)現(xiàn)在歷史上有一些偉大的諷刺作家--伏爾泰，喬納森·斯威夫特，馬克·吐溫--都是一個大家庭中的年紀最小的成員。
Mike: What are you reading?
麥克：你在讀什么呢?
Daisy: I'm reading Voltaire's writings.
黛西：我在讀伏爾泰的著作。
Mike: Do you like Voltaire?
麥克：你喜歡伏爾泰嗎？
Daisy: Yes, he is my favorite writer.
黛西：是的，他是我最喜歡的作家。
Mike: Isn't he a philosopher?
麥克：他不是個哲學家嗎？
Daisy: Yes, philosophers are always writers too.
黛西：是的，哲學家通常也是作家。
Mike: I remember he believes liberty.
麥克：我記得他信仰自由。
Daisy: That's true. I really admire that.
黛西：是的，我很敬仰他這一點。
Mike: What kind of works does he write?
麥克：他寫的是哪種類型的作品？
Daisy: Various kinds. Essays, novels, plays etc.
黛西：各種各樣的作品。散文，小說，戲劇等等。
Mike: I've only read his essay on a textbook.
麥克：我只在教科書上看過他一篇散文。
Daisy: I'm reading his novel, it's very good too, very interesting.
黛西：我在看他的小說，寫得不錯，很有意思。
Mike: Maybe I'll read it sometime.
麥克：我有時間看看。
