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
alone equality people virtue
All people are equal, it is not birth, it is virtue alone that makes the difference.
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
argument both dispute means parties wrong
A long dispute means that both parties are wrong
feels responsibility snowflake
No snowflake in an avalanch ever feels responsible.
best french-writer possible
Everything is for the best in this best of possible worlds.
america brazil canada decisions economic final reporting security states united
The United States has subcontracted Brazil for security and Canada for economic development. But they're all reporting to Washington. The final decisions are made there,
attitude dying good joke occurred stop
I should stop myself from dying if a good joke or a good idea occurred to me
behold days french-writer god heaven night sky stars sun
You see many stars at night in the sky but find them not when the sun rises; can you say that there are no stars in the heaven of day? So, O man! because you behold not God in the days of your ignorance, say not that there is no God.
destiny vows
Your destiny is that of a man, and your vows those of a god.
ability arts devil succeed
You must have the devil in you to succeed in any of the arts
great life
The great consolation in life is to say what one thinks.
bores bores-and-boredom except good kinds
All kinds are good except the kind that bores you.
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.