Bonaparte is probably much more famous than Voltaire. Apart from "Candide", no one bothers with Voltaire's literary works any more. Yes, he was a leading force in the Enlightenment and he has had some influence on French thought, but Napoleon's influence upon the whole of Europe was far more profound. I suppose that you could compare Napoleon to Hitler, as in some ways Napoleon was responsible for a series of wars that affected the whole of Europe, from the gates of Moscow to Madrid. On the other hand, Napoleon was not a racist and certainly never even contemplated genocide. To be fair to Napoleon, it is true to say that the old monarchies of Europe were very unhappy with the appearance of republican France and therefore they set out to squash the Revolution by force of arms. So Napoleon did not start the wars that dragged on until 1815, but he certainly continued them, very successfuly for a long while, and his final defeat also meant the end of the Revolution and the return of the Bourbons.
Bonaparte is probably much more famous than Voltaire. Apart from "Candide", no one bothers with Voltaire's literary works any more. Yes, he was a leading force in the Enlightenment and he has had some influence on French thought, but Napoleon's influence upon the whole of Europe was far more profound. I suppose that you could compare Napoleon to Hitler, as in some ways Napoleon was responsible for a series of wars that affected the whole of Europe, from the gates of Moscow to Madrid. On the other hand, Napoleon was not a racist and certainly never even contemplated genocide. To be fair to Napoleon, it is true to say that the old monarchies of Europe were very unhappy with the appearance of republican France and therefore they set out to squash the Revolution by force of arms. So Napoleon did not start the wars that dragged on until 1815, but he certainly continued them, very successfuly for a long while, and his final defeat also meant the end of the Revolution and the return of the Bourbons.