Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet)

French essayist Voltaire provoked the wrath of his government by explaining how England was superior to every European state including the Roman Empire.

François-Marie Arouet (1694-1778) spent the years 1726 to 1729 in England. In 1733, he published a series of essays under the name ‘Voltaire’ sharing his observations on English life, chiefly on matters of religion and politics. He had noticed that English people often tried to compare their country with ancient Rome, which he thought rather absurd, especially as in one respect England was much better.

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