Voltaire

Men argue. Nature acts.

— Voltaire

Dare to think for yourself.

— Voltaire

Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.

— Voltaire

Clever tyrants are never punished.

— Voltaire

Prejudice is the reason of fools

— Voltaire

Historians are gossips who tease the dead

— Voltaire

Illusion is the first of the pleasures

— Voltaire

He who seeks truth should be of no country.

— Voltaire

I die adoring God, loving my friends, not hating my enemies, and detesting superstition

— Voltaire

“It is difficult to free people from the chains they revere.”

— Voltaire

What a heavy burden is a name that has become too famous.

— Voltaire

An admiral should be put to death now and then to encourage the others.

— Voltaire

No opinion is worth burning your neighbor for.

— Voltaire

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

— Voltaire

Chess is a game which reflects most honor on human wit.

— Voltaire

Let us help one another to bear our burdens.

— Voltaire

“[Charles XII] seldom took a more active part in the council than to cross his legs upon the table.”

— Voltaire

Fools have a habit of believing that everything written by a famous author is admirable. For my part I read only to…

— Voltaire

The fate of a nation has often depended upon the good or bad digestion of a prime minister.

— Voltaire

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

— Voltaire

Satire lies about literary men while they live and eulogy lies about them when they die.

— Voltaire

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

— Voltaire

All men are born with a nose and ten fingers, but no one was born with a knowledge of God.

— Voltaire

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

— Voltaire

Among the illusions which have invested our civilization is an absolute belief that the solutions to our problems must be a more…

— Voltaire

The atheists are for the most part imprudent and misguided scholars who reason badly who, not being able to understand the Creation,…

— Voltaire

So it is the human condition that to wish for the greatness of one's fatherland is to wish evil to one's neighbors.…

— Voltaire

The Jewish nation dares to display an irreconcilable hatred toward all nations, and revolts against all masters; always superstitious, always greedy for…

— Voltaire

Los Padres have everything and the people have nothing; 'tis the masterpiece of reason and justice. For my part, I know nothing…

— Voltaire

Even in those cities which seem to enjoy the blessings of peace, and where the arts florish, the inhabitants are devoured by…

— Voltaire

“Perhaps there is nothing greater on earth than the sacrifice of youth and beauty, often of high birth, made by the gentle…

— Voltaire

Men who are occupied in the restoration of health to other men, by the joint exertion of skill and humanity, are above…

— Voltaire

“Sir, you think doubtless that all is for the best in the moral and physical world, and that nothing could be otherwise…

— Voltaire

“The Apology (of Socrates) is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he defends himself against the charges of being…

— Voltaire

“There is a concatenation of events in this best of all possible worlds: for if you had not been kicked out of…

— Voltaire

“I have received your new book against the human race, and thank you for it. Never was such a cleverness used in…

— Voltaire

Observe that noses were made to wear spectacles; and so we have spectacles. Legs were visibly instituted to be breeched, and we…

— Voltaire

“I do not know by what power I think; but well I know that I should never have thought without the assistance…

— Voltaire

Let us therefore reject all superstition in order to become more human; but in speaking against fanaticism, let us not imitate the…

— Voltaire

“The shrieks were coming from two quite naked girls, who were pursued by a pair of apes snapping at their bottoms. [...]…

— Voltaire