Micromégas

Written by Voltaire

Narrated by Alain Couchot

"Dans une de ces planètes qui tournent autour de l'étoile nommée Sirius, il y avait un jeune homme de beaucoup d'esprit, que j'ai eu l'honneur de connaître dans le dernier voyage qu'il fit sur notre petite fourmilière ; il s'appelait Micromégas, nom qui convient fort à tous les grands. Il avait huit lieues de haut : j'entends, par huit lieues, vingt-quatre mille pas géométriques de cinq pieds chacun."
Micromégas est un conte philosophique de Voltaire qui s'inscrit dans la lignée des voyages extraordinaires. Le récit du merveilleux voyage sur la planète Terre effectué par Micromégas, habitant de l'étoile Sirius, et par son compagnon, habitant de Saturne, est le prétexte à des critiques sociales, religieuses, morales et philosophiques. C'est aussi une invitation à prendre conscience de la relativité de la place de l'homme dans l'univers.

• Language: Français
• Publisher: Audiolude
• Release date: Mar 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9791090054257

Voltaire

Born in Paris in 1694, François-Marie Arouet, who would later go by the nom-de-plume Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment philosopher, poet, historian, and author. Voltaire’s writing was often controversial, and in 1715 he was sent into his first exile in Tulle after a writing a satirical piece about the Duke of Orleans, the Regent of France. It was during this time that he produced his first major work, the play Oedipus. Although allowed to return to Paris a year later, Voltaire’s writing continued to land him in trouble. He was jailed in the Bastille two more times and was exiled from Paris for a good portion of his life. Throughout these troubles, Voltaire continued to write, producing works of poetry, a number of plays, and some historical and political texts. His most famous work is the satirical novel Candide, and many of his plays, including Oedipus and Socrates, are still performed today. Voltaire died in 1778.