Quotes by Voltaire
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The best government is a benevolent tyranny tempered by an occasional assassination.

Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.

The ear is the avenue to the heart.

Every one goes astray, but the least imprudent are they who repent the soonest.

Friendship is the marriage of the soul, and this marriage is liable to divorce.

The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.

It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.

Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable.

He who is not just is severe, he who is not wise is sad.

The best is the enemy of the good.

Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another.

All men are born with a nose and five fingers, but no one is born with a knowledge of God.

Nature has always had more force than education.

Ice-cream is exquisite -- what a pity it isn't illegal.

Very learned women are to be found, in the same manner as female warriors; but they are seldom or ever inventors.

The little may contrast with the great, in painting, but cannot be said to be contrary to it. Oppositions of colors contrast; but there are also colors contrary to each other, that is, which produce an ill effect because they shock the eye when brought very near it.

One great use of words is to hide our thoughts.

Illusion is the first of all pleasures.

Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?

The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbours, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all.

It is one of the superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that virginity could be a virtue.

God is not on the side of the big battalions, but on the side of those who shoot best.

To believe in God is impossible not to believe in Him is absurd.

If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him.

It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.

No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.

Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination.

We are rarely proud when we are alone.

Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time.

To hold a pen is to be at war.

It is not enough to conquer; one must learn to seduce.

The truths of religion are never so well understood as by those who have lost the power of reason.

Clever tyrants are never punished.

In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to another.

Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.

It is not love that should be depicted as blind, but self-love.