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
bores bores-and-boredom except good kinds
All kinds are good except the kind that bores you.
french-writer judge man questions rather
Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.
argument both dispute means parties wrong
A long dispute means that both parties are wrong
above age age-and-aging creature few ideas man raise themselves
Every man is the creature of the age in which he lives; very few are able to raise themselves above the ideas of the time.
appearance belly female wide yellow
To a toad, what is beauty? A female with two pop-eyes, a wide mouth, yellow belly and spotted back
freedom natural pens risk
We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongues, at our peril, risk and hazard.
argument both motto sides weakness
Weakness on both sides is, the motto of all quarrels.
beast chain either ferocious flee public
The public is a ferocious beast -- one must either chain it up or flee from it.
criminals hanged man punishment serve
The punishment of criminals should serve a purpose. When a man is hanged he is useless.
justice prejudice opinion
Prejudice is an opinion without judgment.
life peace atheist
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
inspirational funny life
I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.
religious sleep exercise
So long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those who wish to tyrannize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men.
wisdom freedom fool
It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.