1,052 Quotes by Voltaire

Men employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.

Verses which do not teach men new and moving truths do not deserve to be read.

Da ich nun einmal nicht imstande war, die Menschen vernünftiger zu machen, war ich lieber fern von ihnen glücklich.

To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid - one must also be polite.

Faith consists in believing what reason cannot.

Daignez plutôt honorer tout d'un tempsDe vos bontés vos deux jeunes amants,Et gardez-vous de risquer votre vie.

S'il n'existait pas Dieu il faudrait l'inventer." (If God did not exist he would have to be invented.)

I do not know by what power I think; but well I know that I should never have thought without the assistance of my senses. That there are immaterial and intelligent substances I do not at all doubt; but that it is impossible for God to communicate the faculty of thinking to matter, I doubt very much. I revere the Eternal Power, to which it would ill become me to prescribe bounds. I affirm nothing, and am contented to believe that many things are possible than are usually thought so".

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