One of France’s most renowned philosophers, Voltaire published his “Treatise on Tolerance” in 1763. It was an appeal for religious tolerance, within and between faiths.
The French publisher Folio says sales of the “Treatise” have increased significantly since the Charlie Hebdo attacks. Between 2003 and the beginning of this year, Folio had sold 120,000 copies of the book — roughly 10,000 a year. From January 12 to 14, immediately after the rally in Paris in support of free speech and tolerance, some 7,000 copies were sold.
Folio said another 20,000 new copies would be made available to cope with demand. Online orders on Amazon and Kindle have also spiked.
When first published, the “Treatise” was a revolutionary creed, and one that landed Voltaire in trouble with the French government and especially powerful religious interests, such as the Jesuits.
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Voltaire never actually said that. The phrase was invented by his English biographer many years later.
But he did write this, in “A Treatise on Tolerance”: “The fewer dogmas, the fewer disputes; the fewer disputes, the fewer miseries: If this is not true, then I’m wrong.”
Two-hundred-fifty years later, the words have new resonance.
