[In 1762 Jean Calas, a Protestant of Toulouse, was
done to death by torture on the wheel on the false
charge of having slain his son, a suicide. His widow
and children were put to the torture to extort a
confession, in utter lack of evidence. Voltaire
devoted years of unremitting labor to agitating the
terrible crime and raising money compensation for the
victims. His pamphlets aroused substantial sympathy
and protests in England and over the Continent. His
efforts led to the writing of over one hundred plays,
poems, and pamphlets on the case. Voltaire had the
satisfaction of witnessing the triumph of his long
struggle. He narrates the facts in this Treatise,
which expands into a sweeping exposure of the
cruelties committed in the name of religion, in all
ages and countries.]