The portrait of an intellectual as a Mafioso

I am taking this social philosophy class called "The History of Modern Thought:The 17th and the 18th centuries" which, other than giving me 15 units of Honors (for completing the three courses in this year-long sequence), also happens to be one of the most imaginative classes I have ever taken in my whole life.

Since hyperbole seems to be the general theme of today's post, it is time to talk about one of the most greatest philosophers of all eternities, who also happened to be one of the most exaggerating fellas ever: François-Marie Arouet, or as we better know him, Voltaire.

Voltaire was born in the general mass of time that we now call the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries and he lived an absurdly long life of 84 years.He wrote a lot of stuff in his lifetime and was known for his patent (U.S. Patent number 55-3442A) wit and hyperbole.Most importantly, he did much to prove that an intellectual's life could assume a number of extremely fascinating dimensions generally associated with the Mafia, that dark realm of the Godfathers.

My meticulous research regarding this connection brought up the following:

1. In his early literary career (probably somewhere around the 1730's) he ran into some Aristocrat.We neither know what Voltaire did to get on this bloke's nerves, nor do we know his identity.But what we do know is this:

That dude got together a bunch of his cronies, and beat Voltaire up in a darkened alley one fine evening and left him there.

2. Later on, Voltaire visited England and was so fascinated by the political and social system that he became an Anglophile and began circulating among the highest social circles, leading some to speculate that he was a spy for the English against the French.

3. Even much later (in the 1770's), Voltaire was so revered in France, that he was actually considered one of the cultural living legends. Yet, this skeptic intellectual, (by now well-versed in the techniques of deception) chose to live real close to the Swiss border, just in case he needed to flee from the French authorities.

4. It is also speculated that his name might come from a number of clever Latin puns, including volte-face (spinning to face your enemies)


Is that what this smile is about?



P.S. Tyler Jensen, one of my buddies from last year (AP Bio and AP Lang) apparently sustained serious head injuries while playing football against Alexandria.There is a Facebook group dedicated to his speedy recovery.Shocking business this.