s which Richelieu had founded, made Gentleman
of the Chamber, and Historiographer of France.

It was well in those times to write for royal favour, though the
subjects of the drama must be limited to those which would add glory to
the Church or State. Yet Voltaire did not need the patronage which was
essential for poor men of genius like the playwrights of the famous
generation preceding his own. He had private means which he invested
profitably, being little anxious to endure the insults commonly
directed at poverty and learning. He lived in a quiet chateau at
Cirey, industrious and independent, though he looked toward the
Marquise du Chatelet for that admiration which a literary man craves.
It was the Marquise who shared with Frederick the Great the tribute
paid by the witty man of letters, _i.e._ that there were but two great
men in his time and one of them wore petticoats. She differed from the
frivolous women of court life in her earnest pursuit of intellectual
pleasures. Her whole day was given up to the study of writers such as
Leibnitz and Newton, the philosopher. She rarely wasted time, and
could certainly claim originality in that her working hours were never
broken by social interruptions. She was unamiable, but had no love for
slander, though she was herself the object of much spiteful gossip from
women who passed as wits in the corrupt court life of Versailles.

Voltaire came and went, moving up and down Europe, often the object of
virulent attacks which made flight a necessity, but for fifteen years
he returned regularly {160} to the solitary chateau of Cirey, where he
could depend upon seclusion for the active prosecution of his studies.
He was a man with a wide range of interests, dabbling in science and
performing experiments for his own profit. He wrote history, in
addition to plays and poetry, and later, in his attacks upon the
Church, proved himself a skilful and unscrupulous controversialist.

In 1750, Madame du Chatelet being dead, Voltaire accepted the
invitation which had been sent to him from Berlin by the King of
Prussia. He was installed sumptuously at Potsdam, where the court of
Frederick the Great was situated. There he could live in familiar
intercourse with "the king who had won five battles." He loved to take
an active part in life, and moved from one place to another, showing a
keen interest in novelty, although his movements might also be inspired
by fear of the merciless a