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
advantages animals cost funerals lawsuits starts
Animals have these advantages over man: They have no theologians to instruct them, their funerals cost them nothing, and no one starts lawsuits over their wills.
party independent law
The sentiment of justice is so natural, and so universally acquired by all mankind, that it seems to be independent of all law, all party, all religion.
gun men law
Men must have somewhat altered the course of nature; for they were not born wolves, yet they have become wolves. God did not give them twenty-four-pounders or bayonets, yet they have made themselves bayonets and guns to destroy each other. In the same category I place not only bankruptcies, but the law which carries off the bankrupts’ effects, so as to defraud their creditors.
law race conquer
Why are the Jews hated? It is the inevitable result of their laws; they either have to conquer everybody or be hated by the whole human race...
exercise law rights
The tyranny of the many would be when one body takes over the rights of others, and then exercises its power to change the laws in its favor.
destiny law people
Everything happens through immutable laws, ...everything is necessary... There are, some persons say, some events which are necessary and others which are not. It would be very comic that one part of the world was arranged, and the other were not; that one part of what happens had to happen and that another part of what happens did not have to happen. If one looks closely at it, one sees that the doctrine contrary to that of destiny is absurd; but there are many people destined to reason badly; others not to reason at all others to persecute those who reason.
men rights law
All men have equal rights to liberty, to their property, and to the protection of the laws
tyrants law sovereign
The sovereign is called a tyrant who knows no laws but his caprice.
law lost ruined
I was never ruined but twice: once when I lost a lawsuit, and once when I won one.
law tyrants support
Tyrants have always some slight shade of virtue; they support the laws before destroying them.
law errors tolerance
What is toleration? It is the prerogative of humanity. We are all steeped in weaknesses and errors: Let us forgive one another's follies, it is the first law of nature.
second-chance law firsts
It is the first law of friendship that it has to be cultivated. The second is to be indulgent when the first law is neglected.
law opinion cry
The opinion of all lawyers, the unanimous cry of the nation, and the good of the state, are in themselves a law.
forgiveness failure law
What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly - that is the first law of nature.