Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis of Condorcet (...), known as Nicolas de Condorcet, was a French philosopher and mathematician. His ideas, including support for a liberal economy, free and equal public instruction, constitutional government, and equal rights for women and people of all races, have been said to embody the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment and Enlightenment rationalism. He died in prison after a period of flight from French Revolutionary authorities." [Wikipedia] "The Revolution seemed to have turned on and destroyed the enlightened reason that had arguably helped bring it about." [Merriman: Modern Europe, p. 537] "In a biography of Voltaire published in 1789, the marquis de Condorcet reviewed the improvements achieved during the lifetime of his hero (born 1694) as a result of his efforts: health had been improved by more rational burial practices and inoculation; ‘the clergy of the countries subject to the Roman religion have lost their dangerous power, and will lose their scandalous wealth’; freedom of the press had improved; in Scandinavia, Poland, Prussia and the Habsburg Monarchy religious intolerance had vanished and there were even some signs of improvement in France and parts of Italy; serfdom appeared to be on the way out in most parts of Europe; various beneficial law reforms had been instituted; wars were less frequent; sovereigns and their privileged orders were no longer able to dupe their subjects; and generally ‘for the first time reason had started to diffuse over the peoples of Europe a pure and steady light.'" [Blanning: Pursuit of Glory, p. 514]