Voltaire, pseud. de Fran�ois-Marie Arouet
France
21 Nov 1694 // 30 May 1778
Philosopher / Writer / Historian
21 Nov 1694 // 30 May 1778
Philosopher / Writer / Historian
Quotes
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It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere
It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong
It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one
It is an infantile superstition of the human spirit that virginity would be thought a virtue and not the barrier that separates ignorance from knowledge
Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?
Illusion is the first of all pleasures
I know many books which have bored their readers, but I know of none which has done real evil
I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it
I am very fond of truth, but not at all of martyrdom
How pleasant it is for a father to sit at his child's board. It is like an aged man reclining under the shadow of an oak which he has planted
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays
Essays