Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet, known by his nom de plume Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and separation of church and state...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionHistorian
Date of Birth21 November 1694
CityParis, France
CountryFrance
failure lost ruined twice won
I was never ruined but twice - once when I lost a lawsuit, once when I won one
advice philosophy sets
Superstition sets the whole world in flames; philosophy quenches them
beings cure diseases doctors human medicines men prescribe whom
Doctors are men who prescribe medicines of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, in human beings of whom they know nothing.
certainty doubt mental pleasant ridiculous
Doubt is not a pleasant mental state, but certainty is a ridiculous one.
great life
The great consolation in life is to say what one thinks.
appear cut extend few fortune happiness human means men miserable prefer ruin throats
Men appear to prefer to ruin one another's fortunes, and to cut each other's throats over a few miserable villages, than to extend the means of human happiness
feels responsibility snowflake
No snowflake in an avalanch ever feels responsible.
destiny vows
Your destiny is that of a man, and your vows those of a god.
duty goal pleasure rational
Pleasure is the object, duty and the goal of all rational creatures.
discovery shall
If we do not find anything pleasant, at least we shall find something new
attitude dying good joke occurred stop
I should stop myself from dying if a good joke or a good idea occurred to me
bad dependent digestion fate good nation prime
The fate of a nation is often dependent upon the good or bad digestion of a prime minister.
absurd certainty condition doubt pleasant
Doubt is not a pleasant condition but certainty is an absurd one.
brilliant idleness itself rust shun
Shun idleness is the rust that attaches itself to the most brilliant metals.