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
french-writer invent necessary
If there were no God, it would be necessary to invent him.
art citizens consists french-writer government money party possible taking
In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.
books books-and-reading great lost multitude number rest small
It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude
best boring french-writer leave
The best way to be boring is to leave nothing out.
advice philosophy sets
Superstition sets the whole world in flames; philosophy quenches them
alone equality people virtue
All people are equal, it is not birth, it is virtue alone that makes the difference.
bores bores-and-boredom except good kinds
All kinds are good except the kind that bores you.
great life
The great consolation in life is to say what one thinks.
chains fools free french-writer hard
It is hard to free fools from the chains they revere.
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.
men good-man enemy
Now, now my good man, this is no time to be making enemies." (Voltaire on his deathbed in response to a priest asking him that he renounce Satan.)
success winning order
It is not enough to be exceptionally mad, licentious and fanatical in order to win a great reputation; it is still necessary to arrive on the scene at the right time.
atheist evil able
The atheists are for the most part imprudent and misguided scholars who reason badly who, not being able to understand the Creation, the origin of evil, and other difficulties, have recourse to the hypothesis the eternity of things and of inevitability.
life years found-you
Who are you, Nature? I live in you; for fifty years I have been seeking you, and I have not found you yet.