Voltaire Quotes

It is one of the superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that virginity could be a virtue.

we often meet with those whom we expected never to see more;

The man visited by ecstasies and visions, who takes dreams for realities is an enthusiast; the man who supports his madness with murder is a fanatic.

Faith consists in believing what reason cannot.

Love truth, and pardon error.

Contemplation of the stupidity which deems happiness possible almost made Voltaire happy.

We are obliged to place ourselves on the level of our age before we can rise above it.

Every beauty, when out of it's place, is a beauty no longer.

Changing a habit is hard work. But it's harder to find work that would be more fulfilling

He was not the greatest of men but he was the greatest of kings.

The only way to make men speak well of us is to do it.

The first step, my son, which one makes in the world, is the one on which depends the rest of our days.

Poetry is the music of the soul, and, above all, of great and feeling souls.

To make a vow for life is to make oneself a slave.

Fame is a heavy burden.

Don't think money does everything or you are going to end up doing everything for money.

The moment of meeting, and that of parting are the two greatest epochs of life as sayeth the great book of Zend.

God created women only to tame men.

The infinitely small have a pride infinitely great.

A long dispute means both parties are wrong.

One feels like crawling on all fours after reading your work.

We adore each other, and yet are afraid to love; we are consumed with a passion which we both condemn. Zadig

All sects are different, because they come from men; morality is everywhere the same, because it comes from God.

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

The right to free speech is more important than the content of the speech.

When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion.

Prejudices are what rule the vulgar crowd.

Indolence is sweet, and its consequence bitter.

He who cannot shine by thought, seeks to bring himself into notice by a witticism.

I know of nothing more laughable than a doctor who does not die of old age.

In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to another.

The opinion of all lawyers, the unanimous cry of the nation, and the good of the state, are in themselves a law.

He is the man who knows everything and never dies.

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

The secret of being a bore is to tell everything.

A historian has many duties ... the first is not to slander; the second is not to bore

You are very hard of belief," said Candide. "I have lived," said Martin.

Happiness is a good that nature sells us.

What is madness? To have erroneous perceptions, and to reason correctly from them?

Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.

Our labour preserves us from three great evils
weariness, vice, and want.

Work keeps at bay three great evils: boredom, vice, and need.

There is the history of opinions which is hardly anything but a collection of human errors.

Time, which alone makes the reputation of men, ends by making their defects respectable.

Exaggeration, the inseparable companion of greatness.

The monster, fanaticism, still exists, and whoever seeks after truth will run the risk of being persecuted.

Prejudice is opinion without judgement.

The pursuit of pleasure must be the goal of every rational person.

There are men who can think no deeper than a fact.

A small number of choice books are sufficient.

Ice-cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn't illegal.

Love has various lodgings; the same word does not always signify the same thing.

I also know that we should cultivate our gardens.

But whether he be, or whether he be not, I want bread.

Men are equal; it is not birth but virtue that makes the difference.

History is a collection of agreed upon lies.

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.

Perfect is the enemy of good.

The only reward to be expected from literature is contempt if one fails and hatred if one succeeds.

To achieve a goal, a dream, a wish, you must plan it out for success!

We cannot always oblige; but we can always speak obligingly.

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.

The prudent man does himself good; the virtuous one does it to other men.

The ear is the avenue to the heart.

Those who can be made to believe absurdities can be made to commit atrocities.

Love truth, but pardon error.

History contains little beyond a list of people who have accommodate themselves with other people's property.

To announce truths is an infallible receipt for being persecuted.

History is the lie commonly agreed upon.

The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.

Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position. But certainty is an absurd one.

Work is often the father of pleasure.

The instinct of a man is to pursue everything that flies from him, and to fly from all that pursue him.

I have wanted to kill myself a million times,
but somehow I am still in love with life.

History is only the register of crimes and misfortunes.

I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write.

I cannot imagine how the clockwork of the universe can exist without a clockmaker.

I advise you to go on living solely to enrage those who are paying your annuities. It is the only pleasure I have left.

There are truths which are not for all men, nor for all times.

These marranos go wherever there is money to be made.

In France every man is either an anvil or a hammer; he is a beater or must be beaten.

It is not the answers you give, but the questions you ask.

This thought has met with the fate of many other useful projects, of being applauded and neglected.

History should be written as philosophy.

God prefers bad verses recited with a pure heart to the finest verses chanted by the wicked.

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

The effervescence of this fresh wine reveals the true brilliance of the French people.

He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked.

It is the triumph of superior reason to live with folks who don't have any.

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

Theology is to religion what poisons are to food

It is not a mistress I have lost but half of myself, a soul for which my soul seems to have been made.

Every evil begets some good.

Optimism," said Cacambo, "What is that?" "Alas!" replied Candide, "It is the obstinacy of maintaining that everything is best when it is worst.

Life is bristling with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to cultivate one's garden.

Governments need to have both shepherds and butchers.

My dear young lady, when you are in love, and jealous, and have been flogged by the Inquisition, there's no knowing what you may do.

What a pessimist you are!" exclaimed Candide.
"That is because I know what life is," said Martin.

Liberty, then, about which so many volumes have been written is, when accurately defined, only the power of acting.

The most genuine and efficacious charity is that which greases the paws of the priests; such charity covers a multitude of sins.