The Arouet Foundation takes its name from the famous French author and social activist Voltaire, whose real name was FRANCOIS-MARIE AROUET (1694-1778).
Voltaire was famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties. Voltaire long thought only an enlightened monarch could bring about change, given the social structures of the time and the extremely high rates of illiteracy, and that it was in the king's rational interest to improve the education and welfare of his subjects. But his disappointments and disillusions with Frederick the Great changed his philosophy somewhat, and soon gave birth to one of his most enduring works, his novella, Candide, ou l'Optimisme (Candide, or Optimism, 1759), which ends with a new conclusion: "It is up to us to cultivate our garden".
