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
above almost creation doctors exertion great health joint men noble occupied preserve renew since skill
Men who are occupied in the restoration of health to other men, by the joint exertion of skill and humanity, are above all the great of the earth. They even partake of divinity, since to preserve and renew is almost as noble as to create.
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
except great human man rendered service services
I know of no great man except those who have rendered great services to the human race.
great life
The great consolation in life is to say what one thinks.
greatness evil boredom
Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need.
country war greatness
Such then is the human condition, that to wish greatness for one's country is to wish harm to one's neighbors.
greatness companion inseparable
Exaggeration, the inseparable companion of greatness.
torment greater offenders
The more estimable the offender, the greater the torment.
country greatness men
So it is the human condition that to wish for the greatness of one's fatherland is to wish evil to one's neighbors. The citizen of the universe would be the man who wishes his country never to be either greater or smaller, richer or poorer.
powerful greatness understanding
True greatness consists in the use of a powerful understanding to enlighten oneself and others.
independent greatness men
Great men have all been formed either before academies or independent of 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.
charming french-writer secret telling tiresome
The secret of being tiresome is in telling everything.