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Censorship. Consulting editors, Lawrence Amey et al.; project editor, R. Kent Rasmussen. Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press, c1997.
The brief article on Voltaire relates how his frequently-banned writings represented "a weapon aimed at the religious intolerance, feudal privileges, cruel wars, and irrationalities of France's Old Regime."
CALL NUMBER: Ref Z 658 .U5 C38 1997 -- v1-3
Darrow, Clarence.
"Voltaire." [ Online ] Available:
http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/darrow5.htm [Accessed 4 December 2000].
In passionate defense of Voltaire, Darrow writes: "Never again can savagery control the minds and thoughts of men. Never again can the prison thumbscrews and the rack be instruments to save men's souls. Among the illustrious heroes who have banished this sort of cruelty from the Western world no other name will stand so high and shine so bright as the illustrious name." Additional links included.
Encyclopedia of Ethics. Lawrence C. Becker, editor, Charlotte B. Becker, associate editor. New York: Garland, 1992.
The article sets out Voltaire's basic positions on equality, fairness, religious tolerance, and the innate benevolence and sense of justice that binds society together. A bibliography of primary and secondary sources follows.
CALL NUMBER: Ref BJ 63 .E45 1992
The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. by Paul Edwards. New York: Macmillan, 1967.
The article on Voltaire explores, among other things the author's views on religion--specifically, his convictions regarding God's indifference to human affairs and his faith in man's ability to improve human conditions, his refusal to accept the notion of the necessity of evil, his belief in man's instinctive sense of equality and benevolence, and his hostility toward Christianity. A bibliography follows the article. Also relevant for understanding Voltaire in context are the articles on:
- Deism
- Enlightenment
- Evil, The Problem of
- Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm
- Pope, Alexander
- Toleration
CALL NUMBER: Ref B 41 .E5
European Writers. William T.H. Jackson, editor, George Stade, editor in chief. New York: Scribner, 1983-c1991.
Jean Sareil describes Voltaire as "the most representative writer of his age" given that "he was involved in almost every important event of his time." This extended essay (Volume 4: pp. 367-392) deals with his life and work, including Candide, "the best-written and the most famous" of Voltaire's Contes philosophiques (Philosophical Tales). Highly selective bibliography included.
CALL NUMBER: PN501 .E9 1983 -- v.1-11
Levi, Anthony.
Guide to French Literature: Beginnings to 1789. Detroit: St.
James Press, c1994.
The extended essay on Voltaire's life and works credits him with shaping a new literary form--the philosophical tale--into the perfect vehicle for ridiculing the social, political, and religious injustices of his time.
CALL NUMBER: PQ226 .L470 1994
New Catholic Encyclopedia. Prepared by an editorial staff at the Catholic University of America. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967-
The article here credits Voltaire with paving the way for numerous social and legal reforms but also suggests that "the harsh measures taken against the Church may possibly be traced to his influence."
CALL NUMBER: BX841 .N44 1967 -- v.1-14, Supp 16-18
"Voltaire." Britannica Online. [ Online ] Available: http://search.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=108443&sctn=1 [Accessed 4 December 2000].
Available to members of the Union community via Britannica Online, this article offers background on Voltaire's life, his exile to England and return to France, his life with Mme du Ch’telet, and his efforts to bring about reform. The final assessment: "He bequeathed a lesson to humanity, which has lost nothing of its value. He taught men to think clearly; his was a mind at once precise and generous."
The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy. General editor, Robert Audi. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
A one-volume compendium containing 4,000 articles on major philosophers, technical terms and concepts, and important subdisciplines such as ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and logic.
CALL NUMBER: Ref B 41 .C35 1995
Dictionary of the History of Ideas; Studies of Selected Pivotal Ideas. Philip P. Wiener, editor in chief. New York: Scribner, 1973-74.
Among the articles relevant to an understanding of Voltaire are:
- Deism
- Enlightenment
- Equality
- Evil, Problem of
- God, Idea of, 1400-1800
- Religious Toleration
- Satire
CALL NUMBER: CB5 .D52 -- v.1-5
"European History and Culture: The great age of
monarchy, 1648-1789: THE
ENLIGHTENMENT: Man and society." Britannica Online. [ Online ] Available: http://search.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=108605&sctn=8#310942
[Accessed 4 December 2000].
Puts Candide into perspective vis-a-vis The Enlightenment.
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. James Fieser, editor. [ Online ] Available: http://www.utm.edu:80/research/iep/ [2000].
An online encyclopedia whose articles come from public domain sources adapted by the editor, from classroom materials (also by the editor), and from professional philosophers. Links to e-texts in philosophy are also available. Voltaire is covered within the context of "French Deism."
Books -- Online Catalog
The Online Catalog is a computerized listing of this library's materials--books, government documents, and sound recordings.
The Online Catalog may also be searched by keyword using combinations of terms for more precise search results.
Link to a more extensive listing of subject headings on Voltaire.
Comprehensive site on Voltaire, courtesy of Oxford University. Specializing in research and publications on the European Enlightenment.
Address: http://www.voltaire.ox.ac.uk/voltaire_english.html
The chief purpose of the Society "is to foster the spirit of the Enlightenment, tolerance and respect for the rights of the individual as exemplified by the life of Voltaire and as reflected in the beliefs of his contemporaries, the founders of the United States." Features of the site include: an account of efforts to save Ferney and current Society activities , press clips, images, a selection of Voltaire's poetry, first-person accounts of visitors to Ferney, a bibliography, and links to other Websites related to Voltaire.
Address:
http://humanities.uchicago.edu/homes/VSA/
Links to essays and biographical sketches on Voltaire, e-texts of his writings, Voltaire in art and literature, and Voltaire organizations..
Address:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7308/
Hanover College of History presents the complete text from the 1924 edition of this work.
Address: http://history.hanover.edu/texts/voltaire/volindex.htm
Courtesy of the Open Directory Project. Includes a variety of e-text.
Address: http://dmoz.org/Arts/Literature/Authors/V/Voltaire/Online_Text_Archives/
Maintained by Jack Lynch of the English Dept. at the University of Pennsylvania, the site provides contextual background on 18th century art and architecture, history, literature, music, philosophy, religion, science, and other areas. There are also links to the home pages of other academics teaching and conducting research in the 18th century.
Address:
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/18th/
| For information on evaluating Web sites see: |
Scholarly periodical databases give a researcher access to articles on specific subjects that have appeared in variety of periodicals. Such databases may cover a broad area of study the way Humanities Abstracts and Arts and Humanities Search do. Others, such as Philosopher's Index and MLA Bibliography, focus more sharply on one discipline. Most journal articles listed are written by scholars and aimed at other researchers in that field, making them particularly important research sources. Searching a database will give the researcher the bibliographic citation needed to identify and locate a specific work on a topic: author, title of article, journal title, volume and issue number, date, and pages. An abstract briefly summarizes an article's contents.
Some online databases-- H.W. Wilson Select Full Text in FirstSearch, and Project Muse, JSTOR--include the full text of at least some of the articles online. Databases are accessible via the Library's Electronic Resources Page.
Relevant online databases for research on Voltaire and his times include:
- Modern Language Association Bibliography -- literature
- JSTOR
- PCI Web
- Historical Abstracts
- Philosopher's Index
- Literature Online
OCLC FirstSearch Databases:
- Arts and Humanities Search - citation database
- Humanities Abstracts
- WorldCat - books and other library materials
Last revised on July 18, 2007