Voltaire, Tolerance, Indifférence, and the Limits of Free Speech John R. Iverson (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. © Chappatte in Le Temps, Switzerland (20 September 2012), http://www.globecartoon.com As this cartoon by Patrick Chappatte shows, even prior to the murderous attacks of January 2015, Voltaire was closely associated with Charlie Hebdo and with its editors’ efforts to fend off accusations of defamation and blasphemy (fig. 1). Although the famous quotation that he utters here was in fact fabricated by Evelyn Beatrice Hall (using the pseudonym, S. G. Tallentyre), it has been broadly accepted as an accurate characterization of Voltaire’s attitude in matters of philosophical protest.1 Originated in English and long limited to the Anglo-Saxon world, today the saying has great currency even in Voltaire’s native France. The philosophe has thus acquired emblematic status as an unconditional champion of free speech. It was this facet of Voltaire that gave him such prominence in recent outpourings of support for the embattled satirical magazine. Nonetheless, this iconic perspective ignores the fact that Voltaire was an activist interested primarily in the efficacy of his works, rather than in the [End Page 261] defense of abstract ideals. This was, after all, the man who boasted, when comparing himself with Rousseau, “Jean Jacques n’écrit que pour écrire et moy j’écris pour agir.”2 While he certainly advocated the free circulation of ideas and frequently said things in defiance of those who wished to silence him, he understood and was willing to invest great energies in navigating an arcane system of privilege and censorship, closely tailoring his message, in terms both of form and content, to fit specific circumstances. Given this attitude, Voltaire seemed to consider freedom of expression less as an absolute individual liberty, than as an intellectual power that ought to be exercised strategically. Specifically, in the context of his struggle to promote religious toleration, Voltaire was mindful of the fact that, in urging others to accept principles that they found repugnant, he had to moderate his discourse. Toleration would spread only if he avoided alienating the faithful and succeeded in rendering them indifferent to the idea of religious diversity. In this perilous endeavor, whether Voltaire was free to say precisely what he thought was not the issue; of even greater importance was his need to communicate ideas in ways that could be digested even by his adversaries. One key factor in determining this attitude was Voltaire’s assessment that true tolerance was not limited to a willingness to allow others to maintain unorthodox beliefs but, at a deeper level, also required a weakening of religious conviction, actual indifférence in matters of belief, an attitude that accorded all faiths equal respect. In early 1764, as he anxiously awaited circumstances propitious to the circulation of his Traité sur la tolérance, Voltaire articulated this idea with remarkable lucidity. Soliciting feedback from his friend d’Alembert, he explained that, rather than simply preaching indulgence and charity, his text leaned toward indifférence and thus challenged the fundamental beliefs of his readers because “on n’obtiendra jamais des hommes qu’ils soient indulgens dans le fanatisme, et qu’il faut leur apprendre à mépriser, à regarder même avec horreur les opinions pour lesquelles ils combattent.”3 Or, as Voltaire more succinctly stated later that year, “Le fanatisme, qui a tant désolé le monde, ne peut être adouci que par la tolérance, et la tolérance ne peut être amenée que par l’indifférence.”4 In his reply, d’Alembert concurred but also warned it would be extremely counterproductive to address the idea of religious indifference openly. Prudent, measured words were essential. Voltaire and d’Alembert knew that, in conservative Catholic circles, toleration—often termed “tolérantisme” by their critics—was deemed inadmissible insofar as Church members were bound by faith to correct the “error” of those who strayed from Christian orthodoxy. In his recently published Instruction pastorale. . . sur la prétendue philosophie des incrédules modernes, the bishop of Le Puy, Jean-George [sic] Le Franc [End Page 262] de Pompignan (brother of the poet, Jean-Jacques), had railed against...