Voltaire quotes

Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.

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

Injustice in the end produces independence.

The truths of religion are never so well understood as by those who have lost the power of reason.

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

Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination.

God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.

Better is the enemy of good.

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

It is said that the present is pregnant with the future.

He was a great patriot, a humanitarian, a loyal friend; provided, of course, he really is dead.

One great use of words is to hide our thoughts.

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

Fear follows crime and is its punishment.

Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination.

The truths of religion are never so well understood as by those who have lost the power of reason.

All the reasonings of men are not worth one sentiment of women.

To hold a pen is to be at war.

The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.

It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it.

If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him.

History is only the register of crimes and misfortunes.

To hold a pen is to be at war.

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

The best is the enemy of the good.

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

Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.

God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.

We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies - it is the first law of nature.

Chance is a word void of sense; nothing can exist without a cause.

It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it.

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

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

Of all religions, the Christian should of course inspire the most tolerance, but until now Christians have been the most intolerant of all men.

To believe in God is impossible not to believe in Him is absurd.

Indeed, history is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes.

We are rarely proud when we are alone.

Very learned women are to be found, in the same manner as female warriors; but they are seldom or ever inventors.

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

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

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

Such is the feebleness of humanity, such is its perversity, that doubtless it is better for it to be subject to all possible superstitions, as long as they are not murderous, than to live without religion.

The ancient Romans built their greatest masterpieces of architecture, their amphitheaters, for wild beasts to fight in.

God is not on the side of the big battalions, but on the side of those who shoot best.

The ear is the avenue to the heart.

It is vain for the coward to flee; death follows close behind; it is only by defying it that the brave escape.

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

The best is the enemy of the good.

Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.

It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.

Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy the mad daughter of a wise mother. These daughters have too long dominated the earth.

Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.

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

Tears are the silent language of grief.

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

It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.

Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.

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

When men do not have healthy notions of the Divinity, false ideas supplant them, just as in bad times one uses counterfeit money when there is no good money.

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

God is not on the side of the big battalions, but on the side of those who shoot best.

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.

Religion was instituted to make us happy in this life and in the other. What must we do to be happy in the life to come? Be just.

He who has not the spirit of this age, has all the misery of it.

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

Wherever there is a settled society, religion is necessary; the laws cover manifest crimes, and religion covers secret crimes.

I am very fond of truth, but not at all of martyrdom.

Nature has always had more force than education.

All the reasonings of men are not worth one sentiment of women.

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

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

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.

He is a hard man who is only just, and a sad one who is only wise.

Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination.

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

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

When men do not have healthy notions of the Divinity, false ideas supplant them, just as in bad times one uses counterfeit money when there is no good money.

We must cultivate our own garden. When man was put in the garden of Eden he was put there so that he should work, which proves that man was not born to rest.

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.

Nature has always had more force than education.

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

The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.

The superfluous, a very necessary thing.

To hold a pen is to be at war.

Wherever there is a settled society, religion is necessary; the laws cover manifest crimes, and religion covers secret crimes.

To believe in God is impossible not to believe in Him is absurd.

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.

History should be written as philosophy.

Men use thought only as authority for their injustice, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.

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.

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

Divorce is probably of nearly the same date as marriage. I believe, however, that marriage is some weeks the more ancient.

The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.

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

What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy.

My life is a struggle.

Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.

God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.