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
ignorance needs guides
had no need of a guide to learn ignorance
ignorance animal two
I envy animals for two things - their ignorance of evil to come, and their ignorance of what is said about them.
ignorance knowledge would-be
It is an infantile superstition of the human spirit that virginity would be thought a virtue and not the barrier that separates ignorance from knowledge.
ignorance learning political
He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked.
ignorance stupidity appearance
The more often a stupidity is repeated, the more it gets the appearance of wisdom.
art citizens consists french-writer government money party possible taking
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.
best boring french-writer leave
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.
advice philosophy sets
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.