I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.
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Quotes by Voltaire
Explore 39 verified and sourced quotes attributed to Voltaire. Open any quote for its dedicated page, source details and related topics.
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Selected quotes by Voltaire
God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.
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.
Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable.
Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.
Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.
It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.
Common sense is not so common.
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?
To hold a pen is to be at war.
It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.
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.
The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.
Of all religions, the Christian should of course inspire the most tolerance, but until now Christians have been the most intolerant of all men.
It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.
Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.
Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy the mad daughter of a wise mother. These daughters have too long dominated the earth.
Tears are the silent language of grief.
Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.
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.
Opinion has caused more trouble on this little earth than plagues or earthquakes.
The superfluous, a very necessary thing.
Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.
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