Voltaire, pseud. de Fran�ois-Marie Arouet

France
21 Nov 1694 // 30 May 1778
Philosopher / Writer / Historian

Quotes

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The mouth obeys poorly when the heart murmurs
Fear follows crime and is its punishment
Slavery is also as ancient as war, and was as human nature
This self-love is the instrument of our preservation; it resembles the provision for the perpetuity of mankind: it is necessary, it is dear to us, it gives us pleasure, and we must conceal it
Common sense is not so common
Clever tyrants are never punished
Nature has always had more force than education
He who has not the spirit of this age, has all the misery of it
It is said that God is always on the side of the heaviest battalions
There are truths which are not for all men, nor for all times
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays