18 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC MEN.
inherit a great name, but would never dishonour :hatwhich he bore. The chevalier angrily left the room,and took his revenge by causing him to be seized andstruck with a cane by his servants. Such were theprejudices then existent in the minds of the Frenchnoblesse, that though the duke de Sully esteemed andeven loved Voltaire , and held the chevalier de Rohanin contempt, yet the bourgeois birth of the former, andnoble blood of the latter, caused him to show himselfperfectly indifferent to the insult. Voltaire resolved toavenge himself. He secluded himself from all society,and practised fencing carefully. As soon as he con-sidered himself a match for his enemy, he sought himout at the opera, and demanded satisfaction. Thechevalier appointed time and place for a duel, and thenacquainted his family. The consequence was, theinstant arrest of his antagonist, and his imprisonmentfor six months in the Bastille ; to which was added thefurther injustice of an order of exile after his liberationfrom prison.
1728 . Voltaire took this opportunity to visit England. He
■35tat. been acquainted with lord and lady Bolingbroke in
. 34 . p rance- He appreciated the talents of the illustriousEnglishman, admired his various knowledge, and wasfascinated by the charms of his conversation. Althoughhe never appears to have at all understood the realfoundations of English liberty, yet he appreciated itseffects, especially at a moment when he was sufferingso grievously from an act of despotism. Liberty ofthought was in his eyes a blessing superior to everyother. He read the works of Locke with enthusiasm ;and while he lamented that such disquisitions were nottolerated in France , he became eager to impart to hiscountrymen the new range of ideas he acquired fromthe perusal. The discoveries of Newton also attractedhis attention. He exchanged the frivolities of Paris for serious philosophy. He became aware that free-dom from prejudice and the acquirement of know-ledge were noi mere luxuries intended for the few, but