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Voltaire Quotes - Page 25

All Quotes Abuse Acceptance Adversity Age Appreciation Art Atheism Atheist Beauty Beer Belief Boredom Certainty Character Children Christianity Church Common Sense Cooking Country Courage Crime Death Democracy Destiny Devil Doubt Dying Earth Eating Education Equality Evil Excellence Exercise Failure Faith Fame Fate Fear Feelings Food Freedom Friendship Funny Genius Giving God Gossip Grace Greatness Grief Happiness Hate Health Heart Heaven Hell History Human Nature Humanity Ignorance Imagination Independence Injustice Insanity Inspiration Inspirational Inspiring Justice Killing Knowledge Language Learning Liberty Life Loss Love Lying Madness Mankind Marriage Math Metaphysics Military Money Morality Motivational Nature Optimism Originality Passion Peace Perfection Philosophy Pleasure Poetry Politics Positive Thinking Prayer Prejudice Pride Progress Property Purpose Reading Reality Religion Reputation Revolution Risk Running Science Sin Sleep Soul Spirituality Stupidity Style Time Today Tolerance Tragedy Truth Virtue War Weakness Wine Wisdom Wit Work Writing Yoga

A witty quote proves nothing.

A witty quote proves nothing.

Witty, Hate, Prove

All events are linked together in the best of possible worlds; after all, if you had not been driven from a fine castle by being kicked in the backside for love of Miss Cunegonde, if you hadn't been sent before the Inquisition, if you hadn't traveled across America on foot, if you hadn't given a good sword thrust to the baron, if you hadn't lost all your sheep from the good land of Eldorado, you wouldn't be sitting here eating candied citron and pistachios. - That is very well put, said Candide, but we must cultivate our garden.

Garden, Feet, America

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

Knavery, Knaves, Fool

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

Inspire, Tolerance, Doubt

For can anything be sillier than to insist on carrying a burden one would continually much rather throw to the ground?

Burden

Voltaire, Roger Pearson (2006). “Candide and Other Stories”, p.23, OUP Oxford

She blushed and so did he. She greeted him in a faltering voice, and he spoke to her without knowing what he was saying.

Crush, Voice, Knowing

Voltaire (2003). “Candide”, p.16, Bantam Classics

The multiplicity of facts and writings is become so great that every thing must soon be reduced to extracts and dictionaries.

Writing, Facts, Dictionary

Whenever an important event, a revolution, or a calamity turns to the profit of the church, such is always signalised as the Finger of God.

Important Events, Atheism, Church

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

Life, Retirement, Age

Voltaire (1949). “The portable Voltaire”

We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation.

Scotland, Ideas, Looks

Voltaire (1976). “Candide”, p.119, Lulu.com

Observe that noses were made to wear spectacles; and so we have spectacles. Legs were visibly instituted to be breeched, and we have breeches. Stones were formed to be quarried and to build castles; and My Lord has a very noble castle; the greatest Baron in the province should have the best house; and as pigs were made to be eaten, we eat pork all year round; consequently, those who have asserted all is well talk nonsense; they ought to have said that all is for the best.

Years, Pigs, Should Have

Francois Voltaire (1977). “The Portable Voltaire”, p.154, Penguin

Your destiny is that of a man, your vows those of a god.

Destiny, Men, Vow

Nothing could be smarter, more splendid, more brilliant, better drawn up than two armies. Trumpets, fifes, hautboys, drums, cannons, formed a harmony such as never been heard in hell.

Army, Two, Brilliant

To caress the serpent that devours us, until it has eaten away our heart.

Heart, Caress, Serpent

Voltaire (2005). “Candide, or, Optimism”, Lane, Allen

How inexpressible is the meanness of being a hypocrite! how horrible is it to be a mischievous and malignant hypocrite.

Hypocrite, Hell, Horrible

Voltaire (2015). “Delphi Collected Works of Voltaire (Illustrated)”, p.4227, Delphi Classics

The abuse of grace is affectation, as the abuse of the sublime is absurdity; all perfection is nearly a fault.

Perfection, Grace, Sublime

Voltaire (2016). “Voltaire – The Philosophical Works: Treatise On Tolerance, Philosophical Dictionary, Candide, Letters on England, Plato’s Dream, Dialogues, The Study of Nature, Ancient Faith and Fable, Zadig…: From the French writer, historian and philosopher, famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion and freedom of expression”, p.1061, e-artnow

The right of commanding is no longer an advantage transmitted by nature; like an inheritance, it is the fruit of labors, the price of courage.

Leadership, Courage, Nature

Friends should be preferred to kings.

Kings, Should

A torch lighted in the forests of America set all Europe in conflagration.

Europe, America, History

Men must have somewhat altered the course of nature; for they were not born wolves, yet they have become wolves. God did not give them twenty-four-pounders or bayonets, yet they have made themselves bayonets and guns to destroy each other. In the same category I place not only bankruptcies, but the law which carries off the bankrupts’ effects, so as to defraud their creditors.

Gun, Men, Law

Voltaire (1956). “Candide: or, Optimism”

Know that the secret of the arts is to correct nature.

Art, Secret, Art Is

Man is free the moment he wants to be.

Men, Want, Moments

The adjective is the enemy of the noun. Variant: The adjective is the enemy of the substantive.

Writing, Enemy, Adjectives

The best way to be boring is to include everything.

Boredom, Way, Boring

This poem will never reach its destination. On Rousseau's Ode To Posterity

Poetry, Odes, Destination

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