Voltaire
When he to whom one speaks does not understand, and he who speaks himself does not understand, that is metaphysics.
I know many books which have bored their readers, but I know of none which has done real evil.
It is not known precisely where angels dwell whether in the air, the void, or the planets. It has not been God's pleasure that we should be informed of their abode.
We must distinguish between speaking to deceive and being silent to be reserved.
Love has features which pierce all hearts, he wears a bandage which conceals the faults of those beloved. He has wings, he comes quickly and flies away the same.
The flowery style is not unsuitable to public speeches or addresses, which amount only to compliment. The lighter beauties are in their place when there is nothing more solid to say; but the flowery style ought to be banished from a pleading, a sermon, or a didactic work.
The sovereign is called a tyrant who knows no laws but his caprice.
We cannot wish for that we know not.
Weakness on both sides is, as we know, the motto of all quarrels.
In every author let us distinguish the man from his works.
The multitude of books is making us ignorant.
Our country is that spot to which our heart is bound.
Time, which alone makes the reputation of men, ends by making their defects respectable.
The first step, my son, which one makes in the world, is the one on which depends the rest of our days.
The ancients recommended us to sacrifice to the Graces, but Milton sacrificed to the Devil.
Tyrants have always some slight shade of virtue; they support the laws before destroying them.
In the case of news, we should always wait for the sacrament of confirmation.
Governments need to have both shepherds and butchers.
It is not love that should be depicted as blind, but self-love.
My life is a struggle.
Clever tyrants are never punished.
Prejudices are what fools use for reason.
A witty saying proves nothing.
The true triumph of reason is that it enables us to get along with those who do not possess it.
It is one of the superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that virginity could be a virtue.
By appreciation, we make excellence in others our own property.
I die adoring God, loving my friends, not hating my enemies, and detesting superstition.
Froth at the top, dregs at bottom, but the middle excellent.
Ice-cream is exquisite - what a pity it isn't illegal.
The public is a ferocious beast; one must either chain it or flee from it.
I have lived eighty years of life and know nothing for it, but to be resigned and tell myself that flies are born to be eaten by spiders and man to be devoured by sorrow.
He shines in the second rank, who is eclipsed in the first.
The infinitely little have a pride infinitely great.
It is the flash which appears, the thunderbolt will follow.
He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked.
We cannot always oblige; but we can always speak obligingly.
Woe to the makers of literal translations, who by rendering every word weaken the meaning! It is indeed by so doing that we can say the letter kills and the spirit gives life.
Very often, say what you will, a knave is only a fool.
The world embarrasses me, and I cannot dream that this watch exists and has no watchmaker.
I should like to lie at your feet and die in your arms.
Everything's fine today, that is our illusion.
We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongue, at our peril, risk and hazard.
Let us work without theorizing, tis the only way to make life endurable.
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.
Satire lies about literary men while they live and eulogy lies about them when they die.
Anyone who seeks to destroy the passions instead of controlling them is trying to play the angel.
Every one goes astray, but the least imprudent are they who repent the soonest.
Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors.
If you want to know who controls you, look at who you are not allowed to criticize.Collection: Looks