SOURCE: "Job," in Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary, Volume III, translated by William F. Fleming, 1903. Reprint by The Lamb Publishing Company, 1910, pp. 314-19.

[A principal figure of the French Enlightenment, Voltaire promoted the highest ideals of the Age of Reason, particularly

the ideal of faith in man's ability to perfect himself He was also a formidable satirist who was both feared and denigrated by the victims of his biting wit. Voltaire's works encompass diverse genres including drama, poetry, history, essays, literary criticism, political and social treatises, autobiography, and contes—short adventure tales. Also among his esteemed works are philosophical works including Letters philosophiques (1734; Letters Concerning the English Nation) and Dictionaire philosophique (1764; Philosophical Dictionary). The following is an excerpt from the Philosophical Dictionary, in which Voltaire...