''Précis du siècle de Louis XV'' (''Short history of the Age of Louis XV'') is a historical work by the French philosopher and author

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

, first published in its own right 1768. Celebrating the progress of Enlightenment ideas and the retreat of

prejudice Prejudice can be an affect (psychology), affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived In-group and out-group, social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classifi ...

, it comments on cultural, economic and technological progress made in the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

during the reign of

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

Background

The material for the ''Précis'' had previously been part of a history that Voltaire spent twenty years working on and which included '' Essai sur les mœurs et l'esprit des nations'' (''Essay on the customs and spirit of the nations'') and '' The Age of Louis XIV''. The ''Precis'' was introduced in 1762 as an appendix within this larger work, but later published separately.

Content

Voltaire comments on the trial of Thomas Arthur, comte de Lally; a case he had been following closely. Lally had been a successful military officer, and personally known to Voltaire. When Lally was involved at a military defeat, relinquishing the Indian town of

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

to the English, his fellow officers blamed him. On his return to France, Lally was imprisoned without charge, put on trial in which he was denied a lawyer, and finally executed. In his account of the case, Voltaire wrote, "His character made him detested by all who had to do with him. But that is not a reason for cutting off a man's head. The briefs both for and against him, which I have read attentively, contain nothing but insults, and not the least proof." The ''Precis'' also praises the courage of the Corsicans in defending against the French at the Battle of Ponte Novu. Voltaire writes:

The principal weapon of the Corsicans was their courage. This courage was so great that in one of these battles, near a river named Golo, they made a rampart of their dead in order to have the time to reload behind them before making a necessary retreat ��Bravery is found everywhere, but such actions aren’t seen except among free people.

References

External links

"Voltaire, Historian of Modernity"
The Voltaire Foundation, University of Oxford 1768 non-fiction books 18th-century history books Works by Voltaire Cultural depictions of Louis XV History books about the Kingdom of France {{nonfiction-book-stub