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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Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts
Everything is for the best in this best of possible worlds
If we do not find anything pleasant, at least we shall find something new
Tears are the silent language of grief
What then do you call your soul? What idea have you of it? You cannot of yourselves, without revelation, admit the existence within you of anything but a power unknown to you of feeling and thinking
The progress of rivers to the ocean is not so rapid as that of man to error
One merit of poetry few persons will deny: it says more and in fewer words than prose
Chance is a world void of sense; nothing can exist without a cause
The art of government is to make two-thirds of a nation pay all it possibly can pay for the benefit of the other third
God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh
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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