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
absurd certainty condition doubt pleasant
Doubt is not a pleasant condition but certainty is an absurd one.
religious absurd jew
The Jews are of all peoples the grosses, the most ferocious, the most fanatical, and the most absurd.
believe atrocities absurdity
He who can lead you to believe an absurdity can lead you to commit an atrocity.
order tears absurd
The supposed right of intolerance is absurd and barbaric. It is the right of the tiger; nay, it is far worse, for tigers do but tear in order to have food, while we rend each other for paragraphs.
believe injustice absurdity
Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.
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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.
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The best way to be boring is to leave nothing out.
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.
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Superstition sets the whole world in flames; philosophy quenches them
criminals hanged man punishment serve
The punishment of criminals should serve a purpose. When a man is hanged he is useless.
beast chain either ferocious flee public
The public is a ferocious beast -- one must either chain it up or flee from it.
argument both motto sides weakness
Weakness on both sides is, the motto of all quarrels.
appearance belly female wide yellow
To a toad, what is beauty? A female with two pop-eyes, a wide mouth, yellow belly and spotted back
certainty doubt mental pleasant ridiculous
Doubt is not a pleasant mental state, but certainty is a ridiculous one.