Voltaire Quotes
115 quotes
Voltaire
French Enlightenment writer and philosopher
115 Quotes
The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbours, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all
— Philosophical Dictionary
The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundance of the poor
— Candide, Chapter 22
The superfluous, a very necessary thing
— Candide, Chapter 22
God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh
— Letter to Madame de Fontaine, 1761
Men argue, nature acts
— Pensées Philosophiques, Section IX
Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need
— Candide, Conclusion
Prejudices are what fools use for reason
— Philosophical Dictionary, 'Prejudices'
All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds
— Candide, Chapter 1
If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him
— Épître à l'Auteur du Livre des Trois Imposteurs
The secret of being a bore is to tell everything
— The Philosophical Dictionary
To argue with a man who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead
— Philosophical Dictionary, 'Reason'
Let us read and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world
— Letters on the English, Letter 18
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities
— Questions sur les Miracles
Love truth, but pardon error
— Letters on the English, Letter 26
To hold a pen is to be at war
— Letter to Jean Le Rond d'Alembert (1760)
The mirror is a worthless invention. The only way to truly see yourself is in the reflection of someone else’s eyes
— Notebooks
One merit of poetry few persons will deny: it says more and in fewer words than prose
— Philosophical Dictionary
He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked
— The Philosophical Dictionary
Every man is a creature of the age in which he lives and few are able to raise themselves above the ideas of the time
— Letters on the English
The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease
— Philosophical Dictionary, Medicine
Chance is a word void of sense; nothing can exist without a cause
— Philosophical Dictionary, article 'Chance'
Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy, the mad daughter of a wise mother
— Philosophical Dictionary, Superstition
Weakness on both sides is, as we know, the motto of all quarrels
— Candide, Chapter 19
Opinion has caused more trouble on this little earth than plagues or earthquakes
— Philosophical Dictionary
Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd
— Letter to Frederick II, King of Prussia
Common sense is not so common
— Dictonnaire Philosophique, Common Sense
Tears are the silent language of grief
— A Philosophical Dictionary, Article on Tears
The more often a stupidity is repeated, the more it gets the appearance of wisdom
— Philosophical Dictionary, 'Prejudice' entry
Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers
— Notebooks
The multitude of books is making us ignorant
— Notebooks
Judge by the results
— Letters on England, Letter XVII
Marriage is the only adventure open to the coward
— Philosophical Dictionary, Article on Marriage
Liberty of thought is the life of the soul
— Letters on England, Letter 6
Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?
— Letters on England, Letter XIII
Let us cultivate our garden
— Candide, Chapter 30
It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong
— The Age of Louis XIV, Chapter 13
All styles are good except the tiresome kind
— Letters on the English
Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well
— Letters on England
To succeed in the world, it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered
— Letters on England, Letter V
Judge men not by their opinions, but by what their opinions have made of them
— Letters Concerning the English Nation
If you want to know who controls you, look at who you are not allowed to criticize
— Attributed (Correspondence and later writings)
Paradise is where I am
— Candide, Chapter 24
To the living we owe respect, but to the dead we owe only truth
— Philosophical Dictionary, 'Truth'
The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us
— Philosophical Dictionary, 'Grief' entry
Men use thought only to justify their wrongdoings, and speech only to conceal their thoughts
— Dialogue XXV, Zadig
We must cultivate our own hearts before we can cultivate our gardens
— Poem on the Lisbon Disaster
It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one
— Zadig, Chapter 6
Cherish those who seek the truth but beware of those who find it
— Letters on the English
All men are born with a nose and five fingers, but no one is born with a knowledge of God
— Philosophical Dictionary
Men will always be mad, and those who think they can cure them are the maddest of all
— Philosophical Dictionary, 'Madness'
The pursuit of good sense is more worthwhile than the pursuit of meaning
— Philosophical Dictionary
Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe
— Letters on the English (Letter XV)
Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do
— Zadig, Chapter 6
Poetry is the music of the soul, and, above all, of great and feeling souls
— Letter to the Marquis de Chauvelin
The best is the enemy of the good
— Dictionnaire Philosophique
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong
— The Age of Louis XIV
The longer we enjoy our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us
— Letters on England, Letter XIV: On Descartes and Newton
He who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities
— Questions sur les miracles, Section I
We never live; we are always in the expectation of living
— Letters on England, Letter 14
Prejudices are what fools use for reason
— Philosophical Dictionary, 'Prejudice'
Every man is a creature of the age in which he lives
— Philosophical Letters, Letter 1
Prejudices are what fools use for reason
— Dictonnaire Philosophique, Prejudices
The progress of rivers to the ocean is not so rapid as that of man to error
— Philosophical Dictionary
All men are equal; it is not birth, but virtue alone, that makes the difference
— Oedipus
To the living we owe respect, but to the dead we owe only the truth
— Letter to M. Francois Liste, 1770
It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets
— Questions sur les Miracles, Chap. I
He who believes in absurdities will commit atrocities
— Questions sur les Miracles
The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing
— Letter to Frederick the Great
It is not love that should be depicted as blind, but self-love
— Philosophical Dictionary
The opportunity of doing mischief is found a hundred times a day, and of doing good once in a year
— Zadig, Chapter 12
Work keeps at bay three great evils: boredom, vice, and need
— Candide (Chapter 30)
Books console us in sorrow and keep us from being a burden to ourselves
— Letter to M. Damilaville, January 1765
We must distinguish between speaking to deceive and being silent to be reserved
— Letter to Frederick the Great, July 5, 1770
I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write
— Abridged and paraphrased in S.G. Tallentyre's 'The Friends of Voltaire' (attributed sentiment)
When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion
— Letter to Mme. d'Épinay, April 5, 1761
I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it
— Letter to Étienne Noël Damilaville
Satire lies about literary men while they live and eulogy lies about them when they die
— Letter to Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve
Every sensible man, every honest man, must hold the Christian sect in horror
— Philosophical Dictionary, 'Christianity'
It is better to risk sparing a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one
— Zadig
Discretion is not found with the foolish
— Letters on England, Letter IX
If we do not find anything very pleasant, at least we shall find something new
— Letters on England, Letter X: On Commerce
The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease
— Philosophical Dictionary, 'Medicine'
It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it
— Letters Concerning the English Nation, Letter 24
History never repeats itself; man always does
— Philosophical Dictionary, 'History' entry
Prejudices are what fools use for reason
— Philosophical Dictionary, article 'Prejudices'
Every sect, as far as reason will help it, prepares a sort of box of new ideas for itself
— Philosophical Dictionary, 'Sect'
Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy, the mad daughter of a wise mother
— Philosophical Dictionary, 'Superstition' entry
No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking
— Letters on the English, Letter 22
One great use of words is to hide our thoughts
— Dialogue Socratique
Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices
— Questions sur les Miracles
The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing
— Correspondence, Letter to Frederick the Great, June 1740
The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us
— Letters on England, Letter VIII
What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly—that is the first law of nature
— Treatise on Tolerance, Chapter 1
The perfect is the enemy of the good
— Philosophical Dictionary, article 'Perfection'
To hold a pen is to be at war
— Letter to Jean-Baptiste Rousseau
To pray to God is to flatter oneself that with words one can alter nature
— Philosophical Dictionary
Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable
— Candide, Chapter 19
History is only the register of crimes and misfortunes
— Philosophical Dictionary, Article: History
Liberty is not and cannot be anything but the power of doing what we will
— Philosophical Dictionary, 'Liberty'
What is history? The lie that everyone agrees on
— Letter to Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, September 20, 1722
To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, one must also be polite
— Letter to M. L’Abbé de la Roche, 1765
I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it
— Attributed by Evelyn Beatrice Hall in Friends of Voltaire
Those who seek the absolute will find only contradiction
— Philosophical Dictionary, Article on Absolute
It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets
— Philosophical Dictionary, 'War'
Prejudice is opinion without judgment
— Dictionnaire Philosophique, 'Préjugés'
Superstition sets the whole world in flames; philosophy quenches them
— Philosophical Dictionary, Article: Superstition
Fools admire everything in an author of reputation
— Philosophical Dictionary, 'Criticism' entry
It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere
— Essay on Superstition
The comfort of the poor depends on an abundance of the rich
— Philosophical Dictionary, Article 'Equality'
The art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to another
— Dictionnaire Philosophique
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities
— Questions sur les miracles
History is only the register of crimes and misfortunes
— The Philosophical Dictionary
Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too
— Essay on Tolerance
Superstition sets the whole world in flames; philosophy quenches them
— Philosophical Dictionary, Superstition
To hold a pen is to be at war
— Letter to Jeanne-Grâce Bosc du Bouchet, 1736