Quotes By Voltaire

If there were no God, it would be necessary to invent him.

The public is a ferocious beast; one must either chain it or flee from it.

The best way to be boring is to leave nothing out.

One great use of words is to hide our thoughts.

Ice-cream is exquisite - what a pity it isn't illegal.

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

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

Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.

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

We must distinguish between speaking to deceive and being silent to be reserved.

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

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

Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.

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

The multitude of books is making us ignorant.

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.

As long as people believe in absurdities they will continue to commit atrocities.

Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too.

It is not enough to conquer; one must learn to seduce.

Anyone who seeks to destroy the passions instead of controlling them is trying to play the angel.

It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.

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

It is not love that should be depicted as blind, but self-love.

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

It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.

The infinitely little have a pride infinitely great.

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

Anything that is too stupid to be spoken is sung.

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

It is not known precisely where angels dwell whether in the air, the void, or the planets. It has not been God's pleasure that we should be informed of their abode.