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
dog monkeys candide
Dogs, monkeys, and parrots are a thousand times less miserable than we are.
funny men thinking
There are men who can think no deeper than a fact.
believe men brain
The human brain is a complex organ with the wonderful power of enabling man to find reasons for continuing to believe whatever it is that he wants to believe.
purpose criminal-mind
There are some that only employ words for the purpose of disguising their thoughts.
art lying
Is politics nothing other than the art of deliberately lying?
hatred prosperity greedy
The Jewish nation dares to display an irreconcilable hatred toward all nations, and revolts against all masters; always superstitious, always greedy for the well-being enjoyed by others, always barbarous - cringing in misfortune and insolent in prosperity.
army two brilliant
Nothing could be smarter, more splendid, more brilliant, better drawn up than two armies. Trumpets, fifes, hautboys, drums, cannons, formed a harmony such as never been heard in hell.
pleasure enjoy knows
To really enjoy pleasures, you must know how to leave them.
hope virtue should
Hope should no more be a virtue than fear; we fear and we hope, according to what is promised or threatened us.
shining wit
He who cannot shine by thought, seeks to bring himself into notice by a witticism.
men virtue incapable
I have seen men incapable of the sciences, but never any incapable of virtue.
atheist men deities
A false science makes atheists, a true science prostrates men before the Deity
law lost ruined
I was never ruined but twice: once when I lost a lawsuit, and once when I won one.
eye color may
The little may contrast with the great, in painting, but cannot be said to be contrary to it. Oppositions of colors contrast; but there are also colors contrary to each other, that is, which produce an ill effect because they shock the eye when brought very near it.