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
beast chain either ferocious flee public
The public is a ferocious beast -- one must either chain it up or flee from it.
condemned criminals good hanged man public serves works
Let the punishments of criminals be useful. A hanged man is good for nothing; a man condemned to public works still serves the country, and is a living lesson.
criminals hanged man punishment serve
The punishment of criminals should serve a purpose. When a man is hanged he is useless.
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.
shall
say, "Believe as I do, or I shall assassinate you
above age age-and-aging creature few ideas man raise themselves
Every man is the creature of the age in which he lives; very few are able to raise themselves above the ideas of the time.
beings cure diseases doctors human medicines men prescribe whom
Doctors are men who prescribe medicines of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, in human beings of whom they know nothing.
certainty doubt mental pleasant ridiculous
Doubt is not a pleasant mental state, but certainty is a ridiculous one.
absurd certainty condition doubt pleasant
Doubt is not a pleasant condition but certainty is an absurd one.
failure lost ruined twice won
I was never ruined but twice - once when I lost a lawsuit, once when I won one
freedom natural pens risk
We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongues, at our peril, risk and hazard.