Voltaire Quotes (373 Quotes)

A multitude of laws in a country is like a great number of physicians, a sign of weakness and malady.

The true character of liberty is independence, maintained by force.

Stand upright, speak thy thoughts, declare The truth thou hast, that all may share; Be bold, proclaim it everywhere: They only live who dare.

To enjoy life we must touch much of it lightly.

How I like the boldness of the English, how I like the people who say what they think

The best government is a benevolent tyranny tempered by an occasional assassination.

Everything is for the best in this best of possible worlds.

Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.

Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?

The ancients recommended us to sacrifice to the Graces, but Milton sacrificed to the Devil.

The public is a ferocious beast; one must either chain it or flee from it.

Woe to the makers of literal translations, who by rendering every word weaken the meaning! It is indeed by so doing that we can say the letter kills and the spirit gives life.

Society therefore is an ancient as the world.

Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.

If God created us in his own image, we have more than reciprocated.

We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongue, at our peril, risk and hazard.

He shines in the second rank, who is eclipsed in the first.

Never argue at the dinner table, for the one who is not hungry always gets the best of the argument.

If there were no God, it would be necessary to invent him.

We cannot wish for that we know not.

The punishment of criminals should be of use when a man is hanged he is good for nothing

A woman can keep one secret the secret of her age.

Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too.

Men are in general so tricky, so envious, so cruel, that when we find one who is only weak, we are happy.

Thought depends absolutely on the stomach, but in spite of that, those who have the best stomachs are not the best thinkers.

I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: "O Lord make my enemies ridiculous." And God granted it.

By appreciation, we make excellence in others our own property.

It is hard to free fools from the chains they revere.

They (the British) are like their own beer froth on top, dregs at bottom, the middle excellent.

The history of human opinion is scarcely anything, more than the history of human errors

Optimism, said Candide, is a mania for maintaining all that is well when things are going badly.

Friendship is the marriage of the soul, and this marriage is liable to divorce.

My life is a struggle.

I am convinced that everything has come down to us from the banks of the Ganges, - astronomy, astrology, metempsychosis, etc. It is very important to note that some 2,500 years ago at the least Pythagoras went from Samos to the Ganges to learn geometry... But he would certainly not have undertaken such a strange journey had the reputation of the Brahmins' science not been long established in Europe.

It is not enough to conquer one must also know how to seduce

Every style that is not boring is good. All styles are good save the tiresome kind.

The Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire.

Everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.

Independence in the end is the fruit of injustice.

All men have equal rights to liberty, to their property, and to the protection of the laws

The safest course is to do nothing against one's conscience. With this secret, we can enjoy life and have no fear from death.

They use thought only to justify their injustices, and speech only to disguise their thoughts.

Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time.

All people are equal, it is not birth, it is virtue alone that makes the difference.

Superstition sets the whole world in flames philosophy quenches them

To a toad, what is beauty A female with two pop-eyes, a wide mouth, yellow belly and spotted back.

Love has features which pierce all hearts, he wears a bandage which conceals the faults of those beloved. He has wings, he comes quickly and flies away the same.

I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.

The right of commanding is no longer an advantage transmitted by nature like an inheritance, it is the fruit of labors, the price of courage.

To the living we owe respect, but to the dead we owe only the truth.