Voltaire Quotes

Voltaire in color

Portrait by Nicolas de Largillière

Voltaire’s real name was Francois-Marie Arouet. He was born in Paris, France on November 21, 1694 and died at age 83 on May 30, 1778.

Voltaire was a writer, philosopher, playwright, and historian. He studied law, but left that career to be a writer. Wise investments made him wealthy in his mid-thirties.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltaire

“His epic poem La Henriade, a satirical attack on politics and religion, infuriated the government and landed Voltaire in the Bastille for nearly a year in 1717. ”

In 1726 his satirical writing displeased authorities again so he fled to England. H returned to France a few years later but was forced to leave again, this time to the Champagne area. He lived in Berlin, but finally settled in Switzerland where he wrote Candide, his best known work. He died in Paris where he had returned to supervise one of his plays. www.history.com

 

 

“It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.” Voltaire

 

“History consists of a series of accumulated imaginative inventions.” Voltaire

 

“Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need.” Voltaire

 

“Work is often the father of pleasure.” Voltaire

 

“Doctors are men who prescribe medicines of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, in human beings of whom they know nothing.”  Voltaire

 

“One great use of words is to hide our thoughts.” Voltaire

 

“God is a comedian, playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.” Voltaire

 

Voltaire

Voltaire 1694–1778

 

 

 

 

 

2 Comments

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2 Responses to Voltaire Quotes

  1. ladywinfred

    I’m all about this one: “Doctors are men who prescribe medicines of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, in human beings of whom they know nothing.” Nice to know my thoughts are shared by one of the greatest minds of all times. Thanks, Jules. The

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