Re: Voltaire's beliefs - a deist, is what biographers generally go with, meaning he believed in the existence of a Supreme Being but did not adher to any of the professed faiths, and, as gets debated in this exchange with Boswell, did not believe in immortality of the soul.

Mind you, given that Voltaire was never lacking visitors and that Boswell wasn't anyone of social significance or a cause like the Calas affair to justify his visit - simply a young Scotsman on the Grand Tour - it's all the more remarkable he managed two audiences and an overnight stay. And I regret once more he was foiled by Fritz, because with Boswell's excellent memory and note taking, we could have gotten this kind of detailed description there. :)