Philosophical Letters
In letters on the Quakers and England’s many sects, on Parliament, commerce, smallpox inoculation, Bacon, Locke, Newton and English literature, Voltaire turns a portrait of England into an indirect critique of France. A final letter contests Pascal’s picture of human misery and defends ordinary life.
Understanding the text
Drawn from his stay in England from 1726 to 1728, the letters appeared first in English in 1733, then in French in 1734. The Parlement of Paris had the book burned and Voltaire withdrew to Cirey; the portrait of England is deliberately idealized to serve a French argument.
Key points
- 01
Religious plurality
The coexistence of many sects, sustained by commerce, suggests that diversity of belief can pacify a society instead of tearing it apart.
- 02
Experience
The letter on Locke praises a modest philosophy that studies the soul through experience rather than claiming to know its essence.
- 03
Attraction
Set against Descartes’s vortices, Newtonian attraction becomes the model of a science that measures phenomena without inventing hidden causes.
Explore the ideas in depth
England as a mirror
Read the Philosophical Letters as an indirect critique of France through religion, commerce and science.
Situating the text
Drawn from his stay in England from 1726 to 1728, the letters appeared first in English in 1733, then in French in 1734. The Parlement of Paris had the book burned and Voltaire withdrew to Cirey; the portrait of England is deliberately idealized to serve a French argument. In letters on the Quakers and England’s many sects, on Parliament, commerce, smallpox inoculation, Bacon, Locke, Newton and English literature, Voltaire turns a portrait of England into an indirect critique of France. A final letter contests Pascal’s picture of human misery and defends ordinary life.
Following the arguments
Religious plurality : The coexistence of many sects, sustained by commerce, suggests that diversity of belief can pacify a society instead of tearing it apart. Experience : The letter on Locke praises a modest philosophy that studies the soul through experience rather than claiming to know its essence. Attraction : Set against Descartes’s vortices, Newtonian attraction becomes the model of a science that measures phenomena without inventing hidden causes.
Continuing the reading
Begin with the letters on the Quakers and on Locke, then read the one on Pascal’s Pensées; ask what each idealized English scene is meant to make French readers see at home. Drawn from his stay in England from 1726 to 1728, the letters appeared first in English in 1733, then in French in 1734. The Parlement of Paris had the book burned and Voltaire withdrew to Cirey; the portrait of England is deliberately idealized to serve a French argument.
Questions to carry into your reading
- What does the coexistence of sects in the letters suggest about the conditions of religious peace?
- Which features of England does Voltaire simplify in order to criticize France?
Praising another country can be a way of criticizing one’s own; the idealization must be read as a strategy.
How to read it
Begin with the letters on the Quakers and on Locke, then read the one on Pascal’s Pensées; ask what each idealized English scene is meant to make French readers see at home.
Editions & sources
Summaries and key points are original editorial interpretations. They accompany reading the work and do not replace an edition of the text. Editorial method ↗