Voltaire Quotes
20 quotes
Voltaire
French Enlightenment writer and philosopher
20 Quotes
Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd
— Letter to Frederick the Great
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities
— Questions sur les miracles, Section I
History is the lie commonly agreed upon
— Attributed (widely cited in works and correspondence, not tied to one major publication)
All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds
— Candide, Chapter 1
Men will always be mad, and those who think they can cure them are the maddest of all
— Letter to Friedrich Grimm, October 1760
The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing
— Correspondence
Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well
— Letters on England
Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do
— Zadig
Work keeps at bay three great evils: boredom, vice, and need
— Candide, Chapter 30
The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor
— Candide
I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it
— Attributed; not found in his works, but commonly associated with Voltaire
If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him
— Essay on the Customs and the Spirit of the Nations, Chapter 17
The secret of being boring is to say everything
— Letters on England, Letter XXI
Prejudices are what fools use for reason
— Philosophical Dictionary
Paradise was made for tender hearts; hell, for loveless hearts
— Philosophical Dictionary, Article 'Heaven'
It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong
— Philosophical Letters
Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers
— Philosophical Dictionary, 'Questions' entry
Love truth, but pardon error
— Letters on England, Letter XIII
Let us cultivate our garden
— Candide, Chapter 30 (Conclusion)
Common sense is not so common
— Dictionnaire Philosophique