<P> The leaders of the Enlightenment were not especially democratic, as they more often look to absolute monarchs as the key to imposing reforms designed by the intellectuals . Voltaire despised democracy and said the absolute monarch must be enlightened and must act as dictated by reason and justice--in other words, be a "philosopher - king". </P> <P> In several nations, rulers welcomed leaders of the Enlightenment at court and asked them to help design laws and programs to reform the system, typically to build stronger states . These rulers are called "enlightened despots" by historians . They included Frederick the Great of Prussia, Catherine the Great of Russia, Leopold II of Tuscany and Joseph II of Austria . Joseph was over-enthusiastic, announcing many reforms that had little support so that revolts broke out and his regime became a comedy of errors and nearly all his programs were reversed . Senior ministers Pombal in Portugal and Johann Friedrich Struensee in Denmark also governed according to Enlightenment ideals . In Poland, the model constitution of 1791 expressed Enlightenment ideals, but was in effect for only one year before the nation was partitioned among its neighbors . More enduring were the cultural achievements, which created a nationalist spirit in Poland . </P> <P> Frederick the Great, the king of Prussia from 1740 to 1786, saw himself as a leader of the Enlightenment and patronized philosophers and scientists at his court in Berlin . Voltaire, who had been imprisoned and maltreated by the French government, was eager to accept Frederick's invitation to live at his palace . Frederick explained: "My principal occupation is to combat ignorance and prejudice...to enlighten minds, cultivate morality, and to make people as happy as it suits human nature, and as the means at my disposal permit". </P> <P> The Enlightenment has been frequently linked to the French Revolution of 1789 . One view of the political changes that occurred during the Enlightenment is that the "consent of the governed" philosophy as delineated by Locke in Two Treatises of Government (1689) represented a paradigm shift from the old governance paradigm under feudalism known as the "divine right of kings". In this view, the revolutions of the late 1700s and early 1800s were caused by the fact that this governance paradigm shift often could not be resolved peacefully and therefore violent revolution was the result . Clearly a governance philosophy where the king was never wrong was in direct conflict with one whereby citizens by natural law had to consent to the acts and rulings of their government . </P>

Who was the best known example of the enlightenment period