Inspirational Quotes

Facebook X-twitter-square Youtube Instagram

Voltaire

Voltaire, born François-Marie Arouet in 1694, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher renowned for his wit, advocacy of civil liberties, and criticism of institutional dogma. A prolific author, Voltaire’s works encompassed a wide range of genres, including plays, essays, novels, and poems. He is perhaps best known for his satirical novella Candide, which boldly challenges the optimism of his time and criticizes the corruption of society, the church, and the state. Voltaire’s relentless pursuit of reason and justice, often in the face of persecution, made him a key figure in the intellectual movement that laid the groundwork for modern secular thought and human rights. His legacy endures as a champion of freedom of expression, religious tolerance, and the power of reason.

Here are selected quotations by Voltaire on various topics, organized by theme:

Inspiration
  • “Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.”
  • “Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.”
  • “The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.”
  • “No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.”
  • “Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.”
  • “Our wretched species is so made that those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.”
  • “It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.”
  • “The best is the enemy of the good.”
  • “We must cultivate our garden.”
  • “Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”
  • “All is for the best, in the best of all possible worlds.”
  • “Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too.”
  • “Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.”
  • “To hold a pen is to be at war.”
  • “The secret of being a bore is to tell everything.”
Motivation
  • “The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.”
  • “All men are born with a nose and ten fingers, but no one was born with a knowledge of God.”
  • “Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need.”
  • “The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood.”
  • “Prejudices are what fools use for reason.”
  • “He who thinks himself wise, O heavens! is a great fool.”
  • “What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy.”
  • “The best way to be boring is to leave nothing out.”
  • “Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.”
  • “Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable.”
  • “Tears are the silent language of grief.”
  • “The pursuit of what is true and the practice of what is good are the two most important objects of philosophy.”
  • “Don’t think money does everything or you are going to end up doing everything for money.”
  • “Faith consists in believing what reason cannot.”
  • “I have chosen to be happy because it is good for my health.”
Wealth
  • “When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion.”
  • “Don’t think money does everything or you are going to end up doing everything for money.”
  • “The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor.”
  • “I know of no great men except those who have rendered great services to the human race.”
  • “It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.”
  • “Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice, and need.”
  • “All the reasonings of men are not worth one sentiment of women.”
  • “He who dies rich, dies disgraced.”
  • “Men are equal; it is not birth but virtue that makes the difference.”
  • “To be uncertain is to be uncomfortable, but to be certain is to be ridiculous.”
Health
  • “The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.”
  • “I have chosen to be happy because it is good for my health.”
  • “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.”
  • “The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.”
  • “The first step, my son, which one makes in the world, is that one on which depends the rest of our days.”
  • “Men who are occupied in the restoration of health to other men acquire no property themselves.”
  • “Life is bristling with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to cultivate one’s garden.”
  • “The only way to comprehend what mathematicians mean by Infinity is to contemplate the extent of human stupidity.”
  • “Let us cultivate our garden.”
  • “To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind.”
Life
  • “Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them.”
  • “The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.”
  • “The happiest of all lives is a busy solitude.”
  • “Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.”
  • “Life is bristling with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to cultivate one’s garden.”
  • “It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.”
  • “Let us cultivate our garden.”
  • “What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity.”
  • “Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.”
  • “God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.”
  • “It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.”
  • “The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.”
  • “The happiest of all lives is a busy solitude.”
  • “Common sense is not so common.”
  • “He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked.”
Success
  • “Work spares us from three great evils: boredom, vice, and need.”
  • “Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.”
  • “We must cultivate our garden.”
  • “Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.”
  • “Common sense is not so common.”
  • “It is dangerous to be right in matters where established men are wrong.”
  • “All men are born with a nose and ten fingers, but no one was born with a knowledge of God.”
  • “The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.”
  • “Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable.”
  • “Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.”
  • “Let us cultivate our garden.”
  • “The best is the enemy of the good.”
  • “God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.”
  • “All is for the best, in the best of all possible worlds.”
  • “It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it.”
Beauty
  • “Beauty pleases the eyes only; sweetness of disposition charms the soul.”
  • “It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it.”
  • “All the reasonings of men are not worth one sentiment of women.”
  • “Love truth, but pardon error.”
  • “Common sense is not so common.”
  • “The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.”
  • “It is dangerous to be right in matters where established men are wrong.”
  • “What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy.”
  • “The best way to be boring is to leave nothing out.”
  • “Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.”
  • “Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”
  • “It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.”
  • “It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.”
  • “The best is the enemy of the good.”
  • “Love truth, but pardon error.”
Love
  • “Love truth, but pardon error.”
  • “It is not love that should be depicted as blind, but self-love.”
  • “The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.”
  • “Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination.”
  • “The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood.”
  • “Tears are the silent language of grief.”
  • “Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”
  • “Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.”
  • “It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it.”
  • “The best way to be boring is to leave nothing out.”
  • “Common sense is not so common.”
  • “It is not love that should be depicted as blind, but self-love.”
  • “It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.”
  • “The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.”
  • “The secret of being a bore is

Latest Quotes

Quote – 1044

17/10/2024 No Comments

“The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious

Read More »

Quote – 1043

24/09/2024 No Comments

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” William Arthur  

Read More »
Scroll to Top