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
advice philosophy sets
Superstition sets the whole world in flames; philosophy quenches them
good objects philosophers-and-philosophy practice pursuit true
The pursuit of what is true and the practice of what is good are the two most important objects of philosophy.
philosophy science doe
When he to whom one speaks does not understand, and he who speaks himself does not understand, that is metaphysics.
philosophy mean doe
When he who hears does not know what he who speaks means, and when he who speaks does not know what he himself means, that is philosophy.
philosophy discovery practice
The discovery of what is true and the practice of that which is good are the two most important aims of philosophy.
funny witty philosophy
I have a simple philosophy: Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. Scratch where it itches. Alice Roosevelt Longworth Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.
philosophy cutting doubt
I read these words which are the sum of all moral philosophy, and which cut short all the disputes of the casuists: When in doubt if an action is good or bad, refrain.
philosophy complaining always-complaining
Why, since we are always complaining of our ills, are we constantly employed in redoubling them?
philosophy history should
History should be written as philosophy.
philosophy science simple
The system of Descartes... seemed to give a plausible reason for all those phenomena; and this reason seemed more just, as it is simple and intelligible to all capacities. But in philosophy, a student ought to doubt of the things he fancies he understands too easily, as much as of those he does not understand.
philosophy flames world
Superstition sets the whole world in flames, but philosophy douses them.
prayer philosophy made
We offer up prayers to god only because we have made him after our own image. We treat him like a pasha, or a sultan, who is capable of being exasperated and appeased.
philosophy men desire
The necessity of saying something, the embarrassment produced by the consciousness of having nothing to say, and the desire to exhibit ability, are three things sufficient to render even a great man ridiculous.
philosophy views purpose
Pleasantry is never good on serious points, because it always regards subjects in that point of view in which it is not the purpose to consider them.