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
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.
perfect enemy excellence
Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien. (The perfect is the enemy of the good.)
funny appreciation perfection
By appreciation, we make excellence in others our own property.
men perfection estimating
Whosoever does not know how to recognize the faults of great men is incapable of estimating their perfections.
perfection grace sublime
The abuse of grace is affectation, as the abuse of the sublime is absurdity; all perfection is nearly a fault.
perfection perfect enemy
Perfect is the enemy of good.
art perfection rude
The rude beginnings of every art acquire a greater celebrity than the art in perfection; he who first played the fiddle was looked upon as a demigod.
perfect originality imitation
A good imitation is the most perfect originality
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.
america brazil canada decisions economic final reporting security states united
The United States has subcontracted Brazil for security and Canada for economic development. But they're all reporting to Washington. The final decisions are made there,
attitude dying good joke occurred stop
I should stop myself from dying if a good joke or a good idea occurred to me
best french-writer possible
Everything is for the best in this best of possible worlds.