Ce diable d'homme S01E04 · Episode 4

Overview

Barred from Versailles, Voltaire has only one refuge left: Potsdam, where Frederick II invites him. He goes there, resolved to end his days at the sovereign’s court, and is welcomed with great honors. But things soon sour: Voltaire grumbles, demands favors, blunders repeatedly, speculates on currency, and attacks Maupertuis, one of Frederick’s protégés. He falls into disgrace. When he finally receives permission to leave Prussia, he takes Frederick’s mediocre poems to publish them and take revenge by making Europe laugh. Caught, he escapes, is seized again, imprisoned, and threatened with death. He eventually returns the poems and settles in Switzerland, far from tyrants. Barely has he arrived when news of the Lisbon earthquake spreads. The fanatically Catholic capital is destroyed. The catastrophe inspires his Poem on the Lisbon Disaster, the fiercest of his masterpieces.

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Episodes

1. 1 1. Episode 11978-05-04 · 55mIn 1704, François Arouet, ten years old, already displayed an uncommon blend of mischief and intelligence. After brilliant studies at the Lycée Louis‑le‑Grand, he decided to become
2. 2 2. Episode 21978-05-11 · 55mUnder public pressure, Voltaire’s imprisonment was commuted to exile. In 1726, he therefore landed in London, where he made a series of discoveries that would change his life. But
3. 3 3. Episode 31978-05-18 · 55mTrained in the school of English and French philosophers and fond of surrounding himself with brilliant minds, Frederick II spares no intrigue to enjoy Voltaire’s company. He manag
4. 4 4. Episode 41978-05-25 · 55mBarred from Versailles, Voltaire has only one refuge left: Potsdam, where Frederick II invites him. He goes there, resolved to end his days at the sovereign’s court, and is welcome
5. 5 5. Episode 51978-06-01 · 55mBetween Madame Denis, his niece and housekeeper — a strong woman whose charms he is not immune to — and Wagnière, his remarkable new secretary and friend, Voltaire sets out to writ
6. 6 6. Episode 61978-06-08 · 55mSixth and final episode. Voltaire has taken in the Calas family, but the Parliament of Languedoc threatens to revolt if the case goes to appeal. Voltaire publishes the Treatise on