Voltaire
Biography
François-Marie Arouet, better known by the pen name Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion and free trade. Voltaire was a prolific writer and produced works in almost every literary form including plays, poetry, novels, essays, historical and scientific works, more than 20,000 letters and more than 2,000 books and pamphlets. He was an outspoken supporter of social reform, despite strict censorship laws and harsh penalties for those who broke them. As a satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma and the French institutions of his day. Voltaire was one of several Enlightenment figures (along with Montesquieu, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau) whose works and ideas influenced important thinkers of both the American and French Revolutions. ([Source][1]) [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltaire
Quotes from Voltaire
"If you want to know who controls you, look at who you are not allowed to criticize."
681
"Cherish those who seek the truth but beware of those who find it."
682
"Judge of a man by his questions rather than by his answers."
683
"Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well."
684
"Think for yourself and let others enjoy the privilege of doing so too."
685
"Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game."
686
"The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing."
687
"Every man is guilty of all the good he didn’t do."
688
"Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination."
689
"When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion."
690
"Don’t think money does everything or you are going to end up doing everything for money."
691
"May God defend me from my friends: I can defend myself from my enemies."
692
"Give me the patience for the small things of life, courage for the great trials of life. Help me to do my best each day and then go to sleep knowing God is awake."
693
"God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well."
694
"The right to free speech is more important than the content of the speech."
695
"I disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it."
696
"Dare to think for yourself."
697
"Beware of the words 'internal security,' for they are the eternal cry of the oppressor."
698
"Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world."
699
"Our wretched species is so made that those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road."
700
"It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong."
701
"It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one."
702
"It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence."
703
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."
704
"In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to another."
705
"It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets."
706
"It is clear that the individual who persecutes a man, his brother, because he is not of the same opinion, is a monster."
707
"Many are destined to reason wrongly; others, not to reason at all; and others, to persecute those who do reason."
708
"Life is too short, time too valuable, to spend it on what is useless."
709
"The pursuit of what is true and the practice of what is good are the two most important objects of philosophy."
710
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."
711
"The more you read without thinking, the more you think you know a lot but the more you meditate, the more you see that you know very little."
712
"Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats."
713
"The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us."
714
"The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood."
715
"Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need."
716
"The mirror is a worthless invention. The only way to truly see yourself is in the reflection of someone else’s eyes."
717
"Men are equal; it is not birth but virtue that makes the difference."
718
"Fools have a habit of believing that everything written by a famous author is admirable. For my part I read only to please myself and like only what suits my taste."
719
"Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable."
720
"Faith consists in believing what reason cannot."
721
"Common sense is not so common."
722
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value – zero."
723
"The secret of being a bore is to tell everything."
724
"To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered."
725
"Love truth, but pardon error."
726
"The more often a stupidity is repeated, the more it gets the appearance of wisdom."
727
"I don’t know where I am going, but I am on my way."
728
"Every man is a creature of the age in which he lives and few are able to raise themselves above the ideas of the time."
729
"Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?"
730
"It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere."
731
"Prejudices are what fools use for reason."
732
"Doubt is an uncomfortable condition, but certainty is a ridiculous one."
733
"We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies."
734
"The happiest of all lives is a busy solitude."
735
"I’ve decided to be happy because it is good for my health."
736