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
attitude dying good joke occurred stop
I should stop myself from dying if a good joke or a good idea occurred to me
condemned criminals good hanged man public serves works
Let the punishments of criminals be useful. A hanged man is good for nothing; a man condemned to public works still serves the country, and is a living lesson.
bad false good healthy ideas men money notions uses
When men do not have healthy notions of the Divinity, false ideas supplant them, just as in bad times one uses counterfeit money when there is no good money.
good objects philosophers-and-philosophy practice pursuit true
The pursuit of what is true and the practice of what is good are the two most important objects of philosophy.
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.
bores bores-and-boredom except good kinds
All kinds are good except the kind that bores you.
men good-man enemy
Now, now my good man, this is no time to be making enemies." (Voltaire on his deathbed in response to a priest asking him that he renounce Satan.)
action argument good-actions
A good action is preferable to an argument.
swimming animal perfectly-good
I confess that my stomach does not take to this style of cooking. I cannot accept calves sweetbreads swimming in a salty sauce, nor can I eat mince consisting of turkey, hare, and rabbit, which they try to persuade me comes from a single animal... As for the cooks, I really cannot be expected to put up with this ham essence, nor the excessive quantity of morels and other mushrooms, pepper, and nutmeg with which they disguise perfectly good food.
good-day opportunity years
The opportunity for doing mischief is found a hundred times a day, and of doing good once in a year.
good-health
There can be no happiness without good health
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.
charming french-writer secret telling tiresome
The secret of being tiresome is in telling everything.