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
bad false good healthy ideas men money notions uses
When men do not have healthy notions of the Divinity, false ideas supplant them, just as in bad times one uses counterfeit money when there is no good money.
math use steps
When we cannot use the compass of mathematics or the torch of experience...it is certain we cannot take a single step forward.
keeping-secrets use our-words
One great use of words is to hide our thoughts.
enemy weapons use
Nothing is so common as to imitate one's enemies, and to use their weapons.
men use speech
Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts. Ils ne se servent de la pensée que pour autoriser leurs injustices, et emploient les paroles que pour déguiser leurs pensées.
funny use-it-or-lose-it fool
Prejudices are what fools use for reason.
men use criminals
The punishment of criminals should be of use; when a man is hanged he is good for nothing.
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.
shall
say, "Believe as I do, or I shall assassinate you