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
console frivolous miseries nature
Nature has made us frivolous to console us for our miseries
nature sells
Happiness is a good that nature sells us.
war slavery human-nature
Slavery is also as ancient as war, and war as human nature.
nature truth being-true
What is not in nature can never be true.
nature men arguing
Men argue. Nature acts.
death forgiveness nature
We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies - it is the first law of nature.
nature animal men
Animals have these advantages over man: they never hear the clock strike, they die without any idea of death, they have no theologians to instruct them, their last moments are not disturbed by unwelcome and unpleasant ceremonies, their funerals cost them nothing, and no one starts lawsuits over their wills.
nature order eels
If God did not exist, He would have to be invented. But all nature cries aloud that he does exist: that there is a supreme intelligence, an immense power, an admirable order, and everything teaches us our own dependence on it.
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.