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
alone equality people virtue
All people are equal, it is not birth, it is virtue alone that makes the difference.
honor may virtue
A lady of honor may be raped once, but it strengthens her virtue.
hope virtue should
Hope should no more be a virtue than fear; we fear and we hope, according to what is promised or threatened us.
men virtue incapable
I have seen men incapable of the sciences, but never any incapable of virtue.
virtue
Virtue debases itself in justifying itself.
men action virtue
Virtue between men is a commerce of good actions: he who has no part in this commerce must not be reckoned.
fear virtue
Fear could never make virtue.
happy-times history virtue
History in general is a collection of crimes, follies, and misfortunes among which we have now and then met with a few virtues, and some happy times.
appearance belly female wide yellow
To a toad, what is beauty? A female with two pop-eyes, a wide mouth, yellow belly and spotted back
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.
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.
argument both motto sides weakness
Weakness on both sides is, the motto of all quarrels.
above almost creation doctors exertion great health joint men noble occupied preserve renew since skill
Men who are occupied in the restoration of health to other men, by the joint exertion of skill and humanity, are above all the great of the earth. They even partake of divinity, since to preserve and renew is almost as noble as to create.