theistic views in some measure anticipated those of Mr Mill, he went by no means so far as that philosopher in doubt and denial. But as time went on, and his hostility to the priesthood became more and more strongly pronounced, his mode of impressing and reiterating his opinions was such as to render them specially obnoxious; and in this country he was, and has continued to be, chiefly a name of evil import.
The prejudice thus created extended to all the works of Voltaire. Few of his multifarious writings have been translated into English; and none of these, as a translation, has become much known among us. But in France he was famous not only as the most extraordinary man of letters that the nation could boast, of a versatility absolutely unbounded, a miracle of productiveness, and unrivalled in expression; beyond all this, he was regarded, with a gratitude which cast a reflected lustre on his writings, as the champion of freedom of thought. That thought had come to need a liberator was owing to the peculiar conditions of the French monarchy. With the accession of Louis XIV., the disputes between Crown and Parliament, and the power of that assembly, had come to an end. The young king did not forget the humiliations and privations to which it had compelled him to submit in the days of the Fronde. On the first occasion when, after his consecration, the Parliament attempted to discuss some of his edicts, he appeared before it in hunting-dress with a whip in his hand, and ordered the debate to cease. Henceforward the business of the Parliament was to register his decrees. He was absolute—the liberty and lives of the highest dignitaries of the kingdom were at his disposal; it was
