Nov 21, 1694 - May 30, 1778
French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion and free trade
Share this author:
Fanaticism is a monster that pretends to be the child of religion
Common sense is both more rare and more desirable in leaders than mere intelligence.
Pleasure has its time; so too, has wisdom. Make love in thy youth, and in old age attend to thy salvation.
Stand upright, speak thy thoughts, declare The truth thou hast, that all may share; Be bold, proclaim it everywhere: They only live who dare.
Once your faith persuades you to believe what your intelligence declares absurd, beware, lest you likewise sacrifice your reason in the conduct of your life.
A torch lighted in the forests of America set all Europe in conflagration.
He was not the greatest of men but he was the greatest of kings.
Nothing is more annoying than to be obscurely hanged.
The way to be a bore is to say everything.
The darkness is at its deepest. Just before the sunrise.
When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living. Tecumseh Appreciation is a wonderful thing; it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.
The only way to see the value of a play is to see it acted.
The Pope is an idol whose hands are tied and whose feet are kissed.
A multitude of laws in a country is like a great number of physicians, a sign of weakness and malady.
The more he became truly wise, the more he distrusted everything he knew.
Paradise was made for tender hearts; hell, for loveless hearts.
You have no control over the hand that life deals you, but how you play that hand is entirely up to you.
Faith consists in believing not what seems true, but what seems false to our understanding.
In this country [England] it is good to kill an admiral from time to time, to encourage the others. The reference is to Admiral John Byng, who was executed in 1757 for failing to prevent the French from taking Minorca.
Happiness is a good that nature sells us.
Time is man's most precious asset. All men neglect it; all regret the loss of it; nothing can be done without it.
One day everything will be well, that is our hope. Everything's fine today, that is our illusion
Excellently observed\', answered Candide; \'but let us cultivate our garden.
Being a bird ain't all about flying and shitting from high places.
The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood.
Dont think money does everything or you are going to end up doing everything for money.
\'I have no more than twenty acres of ground,\' he replied, \'the whole of which I cultivate myself with the help of my children; and our labor keeps off from us the three great evils - boredom, vice, and want.\'
Not all citizens can be equally strong; but they can all be equally free.
Men fed upon carnage, and drinking strong drinks, have all an impoisoned and acrid blood which drives them mad in a hundred different ways.
Virtuous men alone possess friends.
