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
perfection grace sublime
The abuse of grace is affectation, as the abuse of the sublime is absurdity; all perfection is nearly a fault.
may boldness-and-courage speak
Stand upright, speak thy thoughts, declare The truth thou hast, that all may share; Be bold, proclaim it everywhere: They only live who dare.
true-power vanity politeness
True power and true politeness are above vanity.
nature animal men
Animals have these advantages over man: they never hear the clock strike, they die without any idea of death, they have no theologians to instruct them, their last moments are not disturbed by unwelcome and unpleasant ceremonies, their funerals cost them nothing, and no one starts lawsuits over their wills.
children monsters fanaticism
Fanaticism is a monster that pretends to be the child of religion
heart mouths
The mouth obeys poorly when the heart murmurs.
praying praying-to-god oneself
To pray to God is to flatter oneself that with words one can alter nature.
inspirational inspiring christmas
Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.
goal pleasure pursuit
The pursuit of pleasure must be the goal of every rational person.
opportunity neglected life-opportunity
Present opportunities are not to be neglected; they rarely visit us twice.
inspirational men risk
It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.
queens world usurpers
Opinion is called the queen of the world; it is so, for when reason opposes it, it is condemned to death. It must rise twenty times from its ashes to gradually drive away the usurper.
democracy fables
History is fables agreed upon.
misery spirit spirituality
He who doesn't have the spirit of his time, has all its misery.