Voltaire quote: "Woe to the makers of literal translations, who by rendering every word weaken the meaning! It is indeed by so doing that we can say the letter kills and the spirit gives life."

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

Paradise was made for tender hearts; hell, for loveless hearts.
VOLTAIRE

Such is the feebleness of humanity, such is its perversity, that doubtless it is better for it to be...
VOLTAIRE

The infinitely little have a pride infinitely great.
VOLTAIRE

Fear follows crime and is its punishment.
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Wherever there is a settled society, religion is necessary; the laws cover manifest crimes, and reli...
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My life is a struggle.
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The ancient Romans built their greatest masterpieces of architecture, their amphitheaters, for wild ...
VOLTAIRE

He who has not the spirit of this age, has all the misery of it.
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The ancients recommended us to sacrifice to the Graces, but Milton sacrificed to the Devil.
VOLTAIRE

The first step, my son, which one makes in the world, is the one on which depends the rest of our da...
VOLTAIRE

Satire lies about literary men while they live and eulogy lies about them when they die.
VOLTAIRE

Governments need to have both shepherds and butchers.
VOLTAIRE

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

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

The sovereign is called a tyrant who knows no laws but his caprice.
VOLTAIRE

Love has features which pierce all hearts, he wears a bandage which conceals the faults of those bel...
VOLTAIRE

He who is not just is severe, he who is not wise is sad.
VOLTAIRE

The little may contrast with the great, in painting, but cannot be said to be contrary to it. Opposi...
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What then do you call your soul? What idea have you of it? You cannot of yourselves, without revelat...
VOLTAIRE

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

It is the flash which appears, the thunderbolt will follow.
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The superfluous, a very necessary thing.
VOLTAIRE

Use, do not abuse... neither abstinence nor excess ever renders man happy.
VOLTAIRE

We cannot always oblige; but we can always speak obligingly.
VOLTAIRE

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

It is not known precisely where angels dwell whether in the air, the void, or the planets. It has no...
VOLTAIRE

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

The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbours, kindle it at home, c...
VOLTAIRE

We are rarely proud when we are alone.
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The true triumph of reason is that it enables us to get along with those who do not possess it.
VOLTAIRE

When men do not have healthy notions of the Divinity, false ideas supplant them, just as in bad time...
VOLTAIRE

The best is the enemy of the good.
VOLTAIRE

Clever tyrants are never punished.
VOLTAIRE

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

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

The husband who decides to surprise his wife is often very much surprised himself.
VOLTAIRE

Nature has always had more force than education.
VOLTAIRE

History should be written as philosophy.
VOLTAIRE

I am very fond of truth, but not at all of martyrdom.
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Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well ...
VOLTAIRE

Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors.
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Men hate the individual whom they call avaricious only because nothing can be gained from him.
VOLTAIRE

The opportunity for doing mischief is found a hundred times a day, and of doing good once in a year.
VOLTAIRE

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

When he to whom one speaks does not understand, and he who speaks himself does not understand, that ...
VOLTAIRE

Tyrants have always some slight shade of virtue; they support the laws before destroying them.
VOLTAIRE

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

Let the punishments of criminals be useful. A hanged man is good for nothing; a man condemned to pub...
VOLTAIRE

To the wicked, everything serves as pretext.
VOLTAIRE

I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord make my enemies ridiculous.&#...
VOLTAIRE

The progress of rivers to the ocean is not so rapid as that of man to error.
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The secret of being a bore... is to tell everything.
VOLTAIRE

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

The world embarrasses me, and I cannot dream that this watch exists and has no watchmaker.
VOLTAIRE

We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongue, at our peril, risk and hazard.
VOLTAIRE

Weakness on both sides is, as we know, the motto of all quarrels.
VOLTAIRE

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

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

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

Very often, say what you will, a knave is only a fool.
VOLTAIRE

In the case of news, we should always wait for the sacrament of confirmation.
VOLTAIRE

Better is the enemy of good.
VOLTAIRE

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

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

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

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
VOLTAIRE

We cannot wish for that we know not.
VOLTAIRE

The safest course is to do nothing against one's conscience. With this secret, we can enjoy life...
VOLTAIRE

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

The true character of liberty is independence, maintained by force.
VOLTAIRE

For seventeen hundred years the Christian sect has done nothing but harm
VOLTAIRE

He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked.
VOLTAIRE

Many are destined to reason wrongly; others, not to reason at all; and others, to persecute those wh...
VOLTAIRE

Opinion has caused more trouble on this little earth than plagues or earthquakes.
VOLTAIRE

It requires ages to destroy a popular opinion
VOLTAIRE

There are truths that are not for all men, nor for all times.
VOLTAIRE

I was never ruined but twice: once when I lost a lawsuit and once when I won one.
VOLTAIRE

What is tolerance? -- it is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; le...
VOLTAIRE

Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another.
VOLTAIRE

It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one.
VOLTAIRE

If God has created us in His image, we have more than returned the compliment.
VOLTAIRE

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

One day everything will be well, that is our hope. Everything's fine today, that is our illusion
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Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.
VOLTAIRE

Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in Eternal awareness or Pure consciousness without objecti...
VOLTAIRE

The best is the enemy of good.
VOLTAIRE

The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.
VOLTAIRE

Now, now my good man, this is no time to be making enemies."
(Voltaire on his deathbed in respo...
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Fools have a habit of believing that everything written by a famous author is admirable. For my part...
VOLTAIRE

Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.
VOLTAIRE

‎Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.
VOLTAIRE

But for what purpose was the earth formed?" asked Candide. "To drive us mad," replied Martin.
VOLTAIRE

Whoever serves his country well has no need of ancestors.
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Marriage is the only adventure open to the cowardly
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The punishment of criminals should be of use; when a man is hanged he is good for nothing
VOLTAIRE

Our wretched species is so made that those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at ...
VOLTAIRE

Nothing can be more contrary to religion and the clergy than reason and common sense
VOLTAIRE

I have lived eighty years of life and know nothing for it, but to be resigned and tell myself that f...
VOLTAIRE

To believe in God is impossible - to not believe in Him is absurd
VOLTAIRE

Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy: the mad daughter of a wise mother
VOLTAIRE

Judge a person by their questions, rather than their answers.
VOLTAIRE

Doubt is uncomfortable, certainty is ridiculous.
VOLTAIRE

The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.
VOLTAIRE

All the citizens of a state cannot be equally powerful, but they may be equally free
VOLTAIRE

Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well
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Only your friends steal your books
VOLTAIRE

Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do.
VOLTAIRE

Love has features which pierce all hearts, he wears a bandage which conceals the faults of those b...
VOLTAIRE

Tyrants have always some slight shade of virtue; they support the laws before destroying them
VOLTAIRE

Poetry is the music of the soul, and, above all, of great and feeling souls.
VOLTAIRE

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

Doctors are men who prescribe medicines of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they kn...
VOLTAIRE

Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers
VOLTAIRE

Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need
VOLTAIRE

I do not agree with a word that you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it
VOLTAIRE

Fear follows crime, and is its punishment
VOLTAIRE

A long dispute means both parties are wrong
VOLTAIRE

The only way to comprehend what mathematicians mean by Infinity is to contemplate the extent of huma...
VOLTAIRE

Originality is nothing by judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another.
VOLTAIRE

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

Now, now my good man, this is no time for making enemies.
VOLTAIRE

Once the people begin to reason, all is lost
VOLTAIRE

"I can't" isn't a reason to give up, it's a reason to try harder
VOLTAIRE

If there were no God, it would have been necessary to invent him.
VOLTAIRE

Of all religions, Christianity is without a doubt the one that should inspire tolerance most, althou...
VOLTAIRE

It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and ...
VOLTAIRE

Don't think money does everything or you are going to end up doing everything for money.
VOLTAIRE

To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered.
VOLTAIRE

Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively
VOLTAIRE

All men have equal rights to liberty, to their property, and to the protection of the laws
VOLTAIRE

God is a comedian, playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.
VOLTAIRE

Illusion is the first of the pleasures
VOLTAIRE

He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked
VOLTAIRE

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
VOLTAIRE

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

If there had been a censorship of the press in Rome we should have had today neither Horace nor Juve...
VOLTAIRE

Men are equal; it is not birth but virtue that makes the difference.
VOLTAIRE

It is an infantile superstition of the human spirit that virginity would be thought a virtue and not...
VOLTAIRE

There are some that only employ words for the purpose of disguising their thoughts.
VOLTAIRE

The secret of being boring is to say everything.
VOLTAIRE

The secret of being a bore is to tell everything.
VOLTAIRE

Prejudice is opinion without judgement.
VOLTAIRE

I die adoring God, loving my friends, not hating my enemies, and detesting superstition.
VOLTAIRE

Illusion is the first of all pleasures.
VOLTAIRE

Tears are the silent language of grief.
VOLTAIRE

To hold a pen is to be at war.
VOLTAIRE

It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.
VOLTAIRE

Let us read and let us dance - two amusements that will never do any harm to the world.
VOLTAIRE

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

Common sense is not so common.
VOLTAIRE

Injustice in the end produces independence.
VOLTAIRE

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

What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us...
VOLTAIRE

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

The mouth obeys poorly when the heart murmurs.
VOLTAIRE

In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one class of cit...
VOLTAIRE

Of all religions, the Christian should of course inspire the most tolerance, but until now Christian...
VOLTAIRE

Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.
VOLTAIRE

Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable.
VOLTAIRE

Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.
VOLTAIRE

Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The ...
VOLTAIRE

By appreciation, we make excellence in others our own property.
VOLTAIRE

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

Prejudices are what fools use for reason.
VOLTAIRE

Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone ...
VOLTAIRE

The ear is the avenue to the heart.
VOLTAIRE

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

We must cultivate our own garden. When man was put in the garden of Eden he was put there so that he...
VOLTAIRE

Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.
VOLTAIRE

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

This self-love is the instrument of our preservation; it resembles the provision for the perpetuity ...
VOLTAIRE

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

Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.
VOLTAIRE

Think for yourself and let others enjoy the privilege of doing so too.
VOLTAIRE

Let us cultivate our garden.
VOLTAIRE

Opinion has caused more trouble on this little earth than plagues or earthquakes.
VOLTAIRE

Doubt is an uncomfortable condition, but certainty is a ridiculous one.
VOLTAIRE

Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.
VOLTAIRE

Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy the mad daughter of a wise mother. These ...
VOLTAIRE

Every one goes astray, but the least imprudent are they who repent the soonest.
VOLTAIRE

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

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

No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.
VOLTAIRE

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

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

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

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

The flowery style is not unsuitable to public speeches or addresses, which amount only to compliment...
VOLTAIRE

We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongues, at our peril, risk and hazard.
VOLTAIRE

I advise you to go on living solely to enrage those who are paying your annuities. It is the only pl...
VOLTAIRE

It is one of the superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that virginity could be a virtue.
VOLTAIRE

Every abuse ought to be reformed, unless the reform is more dangerous than the abuse itself.
VOLTAIRE

Rest is a good thing, but boredom is its brother.
VOLTAIRE

Faith consists in believing what reason cannot.
VOLTAIRE

He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked.
VOLTAIRE

The public is a ferocious beast: one must either chain it up or flee from it.
VOLTAIRE

Providence has given us hope and sleep as a compensation for the many cares of life
VOLTAIRE

Prejudice is the reason of fools
VOLTAIRE

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

Woe to the makers of literal translations, who by rendering every word weaken the meaning! It is indeed by so doing that we can say the letter kills and the spirit gives life.

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Voltaire

Woe to the makers of literal translations, who by rendering every word weaken the meaning! It is indeed by so doing that we can say the letter kills and the spirit gives life.

Voltaire

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