I honestly didn't know this about Voltaire. I find it hilarious because all I knew of him was Candide. It's a great book, one of the only "classics" forced upon me in high school and college to make me genuinely laugh. It tackles both the inadequate nature of optimism and the uselessness of philosophical thinking. In one part an earthquake has candide being crushed by rubble and his companion Pangloss decides to help by considering why an earthquake might happen rather than assisting him out of the mess. Yet Voltaire manages to use this wit he has in real life to take action and game the systems he mocked in this book and find financial comfort to become a "great philosopher" and yet he spent only 3 days writing such a book. That's crazy thanks for the info, he might be one of the most interesting historical figures ever and I had no clue.