E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Ferney.
The patriarch of Ferney. Voltaire; so called because he retired to Ferney, a small sequestered village near Gene’va, from which obscure retreat he poured forth his invectives against the French Government, the Church, nobles, huns, priests, and indeed all classes.
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“There are in Paris five or six statues of the patriarch of Ferney.”—The Times.
