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
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.