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
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.
positive-thinking world pandoras-box
All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.
wise wisdom
Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?
historical records crime
History is but the record of crimes and misfortunes. L'histoire n'est que le tableau des crimes et des malheurs
historical fables ancient
All the ancient histories, as one of our wits say, are just fables that have been agreed upon
prayer persistence mind
Persistence with patience and prayer pays with profits, prosperity and peace of mind.
christian rome religion
In all the disputes which have excited Christians against each other, Rome has invariably decided in favor of that opinion which tended most towards the suppression of the human intellect and the annihilation of the reasoning powers.
love errors pardon
Love truth, and pardon error.
country war pay
In this country we find it pays to shoot an admiral from time to time to encourage the others.
inspirational tragedy has-beens
Most of my life has been one tragedy after another, most of which hasn't happened.
hands sowing firsts
Everything I see about me is sowing the seeds of a revolution that is inevitable, though I shall not have the pleasure of seeing it. The lightning is so close at hand that it will strike at the first chance, and then there will be a pretty uproar. The young are fortunate, for they will see fine things.
hypocrite hell horrible
How inexpressible is the meanness of being a hypocrite! how horrible is it to be a mischievous and malignant hypocrite.
silly religion priests
Our priests are not what a silly populace supposes; all their learning consists in our credulity.
insanity insane asylums
Earth is an insane asylum, to which the other planets deport their lunatics.