Voltaire was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit, his criticism of Christianity, especially the Roman Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and separation of church and state. He was a versatile writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, and historical and scientific works. His best-known works include the satirical novel Candide, and the philosophical letters on religious tolerance, Treatise on Tolerance. His thinking on freedom of expression and separation of powers influenced modern Western democracies.

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