Excerpt from The Philosophy of the History of the Louisiana Purchase Voltaire had been the companion of the German in fidel King Frederick. The companion and at the same time his menial, he surrendered his own manhood for the sovereign patronage. The superior sagacity and powers Of the German monarch gave to Voltaire audac ity in his attack upon the French hierarchy. But the French hierarchy was the corner stone Of the French monarchy. The feudal system was its citadel. The church, the military and royalty, were the trinity of tyrants, who must stand or fall together. Under the ferocious attack of Voltaire a skepticism spread every where through the French Empire. The people, who had no voice in the government, yet by nature born of God and ordained to self-government, combined in secret societies for self-improvement, self-government, and the protection of their families, and the right to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These societies spread, grew in numbers, knowledge and power, until there was a government within the government stronger than the government itself. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.