"Mistress history": Lighting the light of enlightenment! Voltaire's mistress, Erin.

Women fans edit this month's key selection:

"Mistress History", spanning 4,000 years of Mistress Territory, the story of 70 mistresses, the flip of the history of female third party. The Economist once commented: " This book is not so much history as a mistress anthology, so that the long shadow of these women into the sun. (Recommended reading:"Power is my Mistress," Napoleon's Eternal Love )

Following the Mistress role in the first literary work: theScarlet Letter of the sea Ster Bai Lan , then take you to see the author of the goddess of the Samuels. The mistress of Voltaire, the French philosopher, Elena. Duke Chatelet Emilie du Châtelet, Voltaire was recognized as an important driver of the Enlightenment, but he had more than once publicly admitted that if it were not for Emily, he would never have completed his philosophical studies, or even said " Rather than being the muse that inspired his writing, she was more of a scribe than she was, and she was not only his companion, but also his common companion in his knowledge.

If Voltaire had lit the light of enlightenment for the history of mankind, Emily. Duke Chatelet was walking before him, turning back to illuminate his beam.

And Voltaire's love and hate entanglements, so that Emily wrote "On Happiness" a book, as early as 18th century, there is such a sentence "Happiness does not come from others, but from the academic knowledge of swimming swimming and enthusiasm." But life in the world, should be the pursuit of happiness as the highest guiding principle. "Sadly, feelings are hard to write as rationally as they are." To spy on Voltaire's private passions and listen to the story of Erin.

A gift may be a blessing or a curse, and those with extraordinary talents rarely live in plain, thin years. In every society, creative people, men, in particular, attract admiration and cause some emotion: a small group of particularly enthusiastic admirers will turn their admiration into sensual passions, hoping to feed the genius of the flesh, to unite with his soul and become his muse.

These women are often creators themselves, or aspire to be creators. They even have an exclusive name: The Shadow Artist (shadow artist). Writer Rose Mary. Rosemary Sullivan, who described these "notorious, clinging to male artists", thought they were "passionate about literature and art, but not talented enough to be self-reliant, worried about failure, or just unable to find a way out." "(note a) is a fear, so that the shadow artist's mistress and their talented lovers close together." Sometimes this awe is close to reverence and includes a startling degree of self-sacrifice.

Not all mistresses are the shadow artists who willingly sacrifice themselves for the gift of their lover. Some women, knowing that they also have talent, require a reciprocal status in relationships. In a few cases, a couple realizes the idea and becomes the muse that inspires each other. More rarely, men are willing to dedicate themselves to his lover as a source of inspiration for women's creations. The fact is that a number of famous women writers and mistresses, perhaps most of them, adore their talented lovers as idols, and regard their interests, needs and status as the most important thing in the world. Because of this, these shadow artists suppressed their personal desires and even sacrificed their own rights, they willingly sacrificed themselves to fulfill their lover's creative talent.

Voltaire's mistress: Elena. Duke Chatelet

Emily. Duke Chatelet (Émilie du Châtelet) was the mistress of Voltaire, and she had an astonishing similarity in three things with her: her ingenuity was extraordinary, her education was extraordinary, and she became the mistress of a renowned philosopher. The similarities, however, are over, for she is the son of the Age of Enlightenment, and her lover is an enlightened and progressive thinker.

December 17, 1706, Gabri son. Emily. Doppler Donnielles. German Bredeuil (Gabrielleémilie Le tonnelier de Breteuil) was born in a family of noble scholars in Paris. Her elderly father, Lewis-Nicholas, saw the daughter as intelligent and precocious, taught her Latin and Italian, hired a tutor to teach her English, maths, and science, and let her indulge in her vast collection of books. When she was a teenager, she was able to translate the works of the ancient Roman poet Virgil (Aeneid) into French Virgil. Then, as her powerful intellect matured, her focus was on physics, literature, drama, opera, and political thought, including the startling proposition that women should have equal rights with men. (Recommended reading:"Love feminism" everyone is a gender equality force )

As an adult, she swept off her clumsy, coarse-footed feet and became a beautiful woman, and she was called "Belle-mi." Her head is very tall, under the curved eyebrows, has a pair of soft sea green eyes. The person who belittled her mocked her for wearing too much clothing, but then Voltaire would have thought it fascinating and nicknamed his mistress "Pompom".

When she was 19 years old, she was arranged at home, with Florence special. Claude Duke Chatelet (Florent Claude du Châtelet) the Marquis married. Chatelet is a Colonel officer of the Infantry Regiment, an old-school aristocratic family, a kind and courteous person, Buey 12 years older. This marriage is not only the same, but also widely blessed, the new married soon after the birth of a son and a woman. For most of her marriage, she stayed in her husband's residence in Paris, while Florence had almost all the time in the barracks. Since such marriages are a marriage between aristocratic families, romantic feelings play a small, or almost no, role in them, and it is acceptable to have a spouse who has been born heir, so that she has made a lover. She believes that a good wife's loyalty to her husband is to associate with a level and cautious lover, a typical idea in the aristocratic circle of her time.

When she met the witty Voltaire, he was nearly 40 and was chased by many women who wanted to meet the most famous French writer and dip into the light of the important Enlightenment leader. The Enlightenment aims to reassess everything in terms of human experience, in accordance with human "reason" and "reason". In addition to proving the truth of the world, their goal is to compile a voluminous encyclopedia of human knowledge. The cause attracted the public eye and placed them in the opposite of the Holy See and the royal family. In the end, the enlightenment sparked a wave of thought that led to the French Revolution. Many of the Enlightenment leaders exchanged among themselves in a number of salons created by the people of Paris. It was in these places that Erin and Voltaire developed their deep emotional relationship.

When she was a child, she saw Voltaire in her father's mansion. They met again, in May 1733, in the Opera House, when it was not long before Emily gave birth to a third child, and in less than three months they became lovers.

With a poetic, Voltaire said of his new mistress: "This is Emily," he wrote to his friend, "The beautiful, is also a good friend/imaginative and accurate/her mind is not only lively, but also noble/sometimes, there are too many Jifeng witty." /She has a rare genius/I can swear that she is indeed comparable to Newton. Voltaire was right about the "energetic and determined" attitude of Elena. She loved physics, deeply fascinated by the theories of Leibniz (Leibniz), Newton and others, and she studied the extent of the knowledge, so that scholars, including Voltaire, were ashamed of it. She can also make time to dine with friends, attend social events and aristocratic circles, and--alas! Play a little on the table (sometimes, gambling is not small).

Just as Voltaire fell in love with Emily, she was also influenced by Pierre-Louis, the Enlightenment thinker and scientist. Maupertuis (Pierre-louis Moreau de Maupertuis) of the favor. Maupertuis admires her beauty, and she has a "superior" view of things that is usually confined to men, and he appreciates the breadth of her mind, the lack of a sinister machine (which he believes), which makes her more prominent than any other woman.

The sex life of Erin and Voltaire is not perfect. Voltaire has long suffered from chronic digestive diseases, including diarrhea, which affects his sexual performance and often makes him unable to go to bed and love. "It is like telling me that I am not born to be passionate about love," he laments, once, to a disappointed mistress. But even though Voltaire's sexual performance was weak (and perhaps because of that), he seemed extremely jealous when he suspected that she was having an affair with other men.

It was really the beginning of their relationship, when she had some sort of maupertuis. Voltaire warned her that, although his rival was a scientist, he could never be devoted to her and bring her happy and happy love. A few months past, Maupertuis in the emotional or not to her single-minded, Elena will slowly all their love, poured into Voltaire.

Elena and Voltaire began to travel together. In the 1734, they settled in Sirey (Cirey), living in the property of her husband's house, a deserted Villa estate has been dumped. This arrangement was greatly facilitated by her husband, Florence. He occasionally visits his wife and her lover, but most of the time, he sleeps with her in a separate room, while at dinner he eats with his son and governess. After all, he was delighted that the couple was willing to pay for the cost of the entire villa, and that Voltaire was lending at low interest rates to make him renovate and decorate the house.

The reason why Voltaire went out on a long journey was due to political trouble. The administration's prosecutors have ordered several times, publicly burning his revolutionary philosophical correspondence (Letters philisophiques), imprisoned for the book-maker of Voltaire, and even Voltaire himself in a dangerous situation. Sirey is an ideal refuge, where there are hiding places, and is very close to Lorraine, and once Voltaire is in danger of being arrested, he can flee to Lorraine at any time. Lorraine

At first, Voltaire lived alone in Sirey, because she was reluctant to leave the Salon party in Paris, and many colorful of excitement. She knew, however, that unless she lived with Voltaire, his jealousy would be getting worse, so she arrived in Sirey with hundreds of suitcases of luggage and went into the renovation of the house. She changed Voltaire's original plan: The staircase was located in the original fireplace, and the window in place of the door. More importantly, she and Voltaire began a period of research and literary creation, this time (1733-49), later called Voltaire's Sirey stage (Cirey Period).

She is now a publicly recognised mistress of Voltaire, and she runs their relationship as if she were going to continue her lifelong attitude. However, and in 18th century most of the extramarital affairs are carefully looking for the name, in order to deceive different, and Elena and Voltaire do not do, they come out double into pairs, living together. In fact, it took a number of thoughts. Whenever she was forced to spend some time with her husband, she respected him with her heartfelt love and affection. In fact, the presence of Florence helped to obscure the fact that she was actually concubinage with Voltaire, and he offered such a sense of legitimacy, which all three wanted.

The most routine and orderly life of the Elena, for the rest of the rather rambling Voltaire to establish a set of research plans. Their day began in Voltaire's room, near noon, two people drank coffee together, and discussed the work. At noon, Erin and Voltaire would sometimes go out and greet her son (who was born with her husband) with her family teacher for lunch, and then go back to her room and immerse herself in the work. Occasionally, they nap, use snacks, chat with each other, and then go back to Reading. At nine O ' Night, they had dinner together, enjoying a leisurely meal, followed by an exchange of views, discussing dramas in their own little theater, and reading poems aloud. In the middle of the night, they split their efforts. Emily will work until about five o'clock in the morning. When she returned to her own yellow and blue bedroom (all the items in the room were of the two colours, even her dog-lined, yellow and blue), she would sleep for four hours to regain her spirit. If she had set a deadline for herself, she would have reduced her sleep time to one hours and put her hands in the ice water to make herself sober.

Image source:Emilie Du Chatlet

Erin's research program, usually associated with Voltaire. His masterpiece, the Louis 14 era (siècle de Louis XIV), and his "Essays on Morality" (Essai sur les moeurs), most of the first drafts, were completed in Sirey. He also created "Zaire" (Alzire), Sea Ropo (Mérope), Mohammed (Mahomet) and other dramas, as well as an opera.

Under the direction of erudition, Voltaire absorbed many theories from physics (but never mastered them), especially the laws proposed by Leibniz and Newton, and incorporated them into the core of his own ideology. He generously acknowledged the influence of Erin on herself, dedicating her to the Eléments de la philosophie de Newton, the subject of Newton's philosophy, published in 1738.

He even hinted that she was more of a scribe than a delusion that inspired his writing. "

And on her side, she worked to translate Newton's analytical solution (analytic Solution) into French. In 1748, she wrote her version of a brief interpretation of Newton's system of the World (exposition abrégéédu système du monde), a work that many experts and scholars considered more sensitive than Voltaire's interpretation of Newton. She clips the commentary on the translation of Bernard. Mandeville (Bernard Mendeville) 's work, "The Parable of the Bees" (Fable of the Bees), was translated into French, some of which were literally cited by Voltaire in his Book of Metaphysics (Treatise on Metaphysics). She was also on the Old Testament Bible. Genesis and the New Testament text analysis, the work of her daily with Voltaire to study the Bible, and become easier. Unlike Voltaire, most of her writings were written by hand, and in her lifetime only a brief explanation of Newton's system of the world and a handful of scientific papers were published. Until her sudden death, she had been involved in the translation and interpretation of Newton's mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (Principia).

In both the public and private spheres of life, Voltaire was the first to realize that his mistress was both a sexual partner and an informed partner. Every day he read aloud to her what he had written, and eagerly awaited her criticism. Her keen mind convinced him that all the things a man could do could be done by women. In a letter to a friend, Voltaire gave her the highest admiration: "Without this lady, I am (unable to) live, and I see her as a great man and the most reliable and admirable friend." She knows Newton's mind; she despises superstition, in short, she makes me happy. (same field Gayon: My Love, will make you happy?) )

She also deeply thinks about the nature of men and women. On one occasion, she disguised himself as a man and sneaked into a café salon where only men entered. She laments that women have not been able to write a good tragedy, poetry, short stories, paintings or physics papers simply because they have never been trained to think about it. She added that if she were the king, she would encourage women to take part in all areas, especially the intellectual level, to correct the mistake. On most levels, Elena, who is the mistress of Voltaire, actually has a history of being equal to men and women. (Recommended reading:101 years ago today!) The beginning of Asian women's right to higher education

But in their relationship, jealousy or insecurity cannot be eradicated. Elena and Voltaire eat each other's vinegar, and their respective infidelity, they constantly shake the foundation of this relationship. When Voltaire left Sirey, she trembled in fear, fearing that he would be gone forever. "This heart has lost its customary love," she wrote sadly.

When Voltaire ended his five-month visit to Berlin, Sirey's mistress's career also entered a new stage: sex disappeared during this period-at least from the life of Voltaire. He claims that he is too old to spend much of his health, so it is better to be her close friend than to be her lover. She reluctantly consented to the new arrangement, but perhaps, in order to divert her anxiety and anxieties, she would be more feverish and reckless with reckless gambling.

Elena and Voltaire began to return to Paris, where Voltaire was again appreciated. At this point he has been nominated as a Royal historian and has been given a mansion in Versailles (though the house smells strong and is close to the most polluted toilet in the palace). Even the Pope accepted Voltaire's offer of "Muhammad" to him. The same is true of Emily's attention. His Majesty the King approved the publication of her Newton paper, and it was several years before she finished. The Bologna Institute, a research institute in Italy (Bologna Institute), also commissioned her as a researcher.

At the same time, Voltaire was with his niece, Lois. Dinnis (Louis Denis) breeding love seedlings. "On your plump breasts, on your enchanted hips, and on your whole body, which often makes me feel strong and caught in a happy curve, I'll give you 1000 kisses," he said cheerfully, in a letter to Dinnis.

Now, since Edgar's breasts and hips are no longer able to captivate Voltaire's eyes, he can look more objectively at her. After his loss of "sexual" interest in Emily, her gambling habits are getting worse, which makes him very disgusted. For years, Voltaire had been trying to save Emily's pension for fear that she might die before her. Suddenly, between Voltaire's own finances and his mistress's debt to the mountains, he began to draw a line.

Not only did Voltaire lose her "sexual" interest in Emily, she was dismayed by the financial withdrawal of her legs. In the process of reflecting on and thinking about your own pain and struggle to adapt, Emily looks back on her life and examines the same situation of many women, writing "on Happiness" (Discours sur le bonheur); this is a copy of the manuscript, which tries to define what happiness is, and as a woman, And how to get happiness. Happiness, she writes, should not be dependent on others, but should be derived from research and enthusiasm for the search for knowledge. (Recommended reading: try to ask yourself, are you really happy?) )

Other elements of happiness include freedom from prejudice (especially religion), a healthy body, clear taste and interest, and, ultimately, enthusiasm (although the usual enthusiasm can lead to painful consequences). After all, she thinks, those who are most interested are unhappy, and because they suffer so much pain, they can be the source of drama and tragedy. Finally, she summed up the full text with a spirit of rationalism: "We are born in the world, should be to obtain happiness as the sole purpose." 」

But while she was so advocating, she could not do it herself, for she was desperate enough to fill the void in the heart of Voltaire's departure, and she turned into another man's arms. Emily fell in love with Saint Lambert Marquis, still-Francois (Jean-françois, marquis de Saint-Lambert), a young palace poet, who later became notorious for his fornication with many women. The Marquis began to be interested in Emily, but then began to alienate the elderly woman who had taken the initiative. She was so persuasive, and sometimes he was tempted. One time they in Sirey Tryst, Voltaire broke into her bedroom, impressively found St. Lambert Marquis incredibly naked, lying on the body of Eddie, buttocks are up and down the ups and downs! Although Voltaire himself was in a relationship with Lois, he was still jealous, loudly scolded Edgar and the Marquis, and threatened to disown her.

The situation was rather awkward, but Eddie knew how to Pacify Voltaire. When Voltaire stormed out of the door, she followed. She reminded Voltaire that it was him, not her, who wanted to cut off the intimacy of the two people, and that she still had urgent physical needs and desires that, if not met, would impair her health. Finding a poet who can satisfy the above needs (this man or a friend of Voltaire) is clearly an ideal solution. Voltaire accepted her explanation and forgave her. "Oh, Madame, you are always right!" But since it must be so, "he continued," You should have seen that such a scene should not have happened before my eyes. (Recommended reading: sex screwed everything up?) The love of Grace )

Then she was dismayed to find that she was pregnant at nearly 44 years of age. Voltaire helped her to come up with a plan and put it into practice. They first drew her husband to Sirey, and the two joined together to flatter and delight him, and to seduce him (this part could only depend on Emily). Voltaire tried his best to keep the gag on. Emily wears the most curvy gown and wears a dazzling diamond. Before daybreak, she slept with her husband. When she later told him that he was pregnant with their children, Florence was ecstatic, no doubt, that he was the father of the child. (However, French court courtiers joked that she was anxious to see her husband, just a pregnant woman's tricks.) ）

Emily was freed from the ugly name of "illegitimate child". At this time, she had an ominous feeling in her heart, often repeating that the production would kill her. So she pushed herself to complete the translation of Newton's Mathematical principles of natural philosophy, and in the latter paragraph she slept only one or two hours every night for months. Voltaire was always with her, but she could not refrain from writing to the Marquis of St. Lambert. In the letter, she confided that her love was not Newton but his, but because of the sense of responsibility and reason, she must complete the translation work. Two days before she gave birth to her daughter, Emily completed her "Commentary edition of the Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" (commentary on the Mathematical principles of Newton), and sent a copy to the French National Library (Bibliothèque Nationale) book registry.

A few days after the production, she made up the date on the manuscript she had just completed-September 10, 1749. A few hours later, she was unconscious in a coma. Then, under the ring of Florence, Voltaire and Saint Lambert, Emily. Duke Chatelet died. Voltaire was grieved. He staggered out of the room, with tears in his eyes, covered his sight, flung himself down, and hit the ground with his head. When the Marquis of St. Lambert came to his arm, Voltaire rebuked him loudly, all because he had made her pregnant and she would have died.

Then Voltaire went back to Sirey with Florence to mourn the death of Emily. Newborn baby girl, sent to the nurse to take care of, but in a few days later died. A friend suggested to Voltaire that the ring on her finger should be taken off, and that the ring would be back to Florence after the portrait of the Holy Lambert Marquis was embedded inside. Voltaire took it, and made up such a paragraph with fatalism: "St. Lambert replaced me." Changjiang. That's how the world works. "In Sirey, Voltaire canceled the original home decoration loan rate, and the remaining repayment amount reduced to the original One-fourth." He said to his mistress's mourning husband that friendship is more valuable than money.

Emily. Duke Chatelet's story is full of inspiration, including the achievement of the goals of life, the reciprocal rewards of love, and (usually) the Revenge of the Passions. The limitations on her-publishers rejected her memoirs, but the rush to publish her translation of a man's work-was a common difficulty for all women. Even at this time, she and her contemporaries knew that it was not her astonishing talent, but her mistress of Voltaire, that made her known in history.

The emotional relationship between Erin and Voltaire is widely known. Voltaire repeatedly mentioned her great contribution to her writings, and in her private correspondence with the top European thinkers, Voltaire repeated the important assistance he had received from Emily. Elena and Voltaire are the enlightened couple in the age of Enlightenment, and because of the age of their life, is the most liberal era in the history of the society, and Voltaire's emotional relationship, can promote the reputation of Erin.