Voltaire is a French writer, historian and philosopher whose real name is François-Marie Arouet. He is mostly known by his pen name nom de plume Voltaire.
He is quite famous for his wit, criticism of Christianity and freedom of speech & religion. There is a lot of versatility in his writings. He has worked in all literary forms such as plays, poems, novels, essays and histories.
About Voltaire Parents & Earlier Life
Voltaire was born on 21 November 1694 in Paris, France. His father François Arouet was a lawyer & minor treasury official and his mother’s name was Marie Marguerite Daumard.
Voltaire did his studies at the Collège Louis-le-Grand where he studied subjects such as Latin, theology, & rhetoric and learned Italian, Spanish, & English languages.
But during his studies, he left the college in the middle because he wanted to become a writer while his father wanted to make him a lawyer.
He worked as an assistant to a notary and also wrote poetry. But after a while, his father sent him to college to study law. But Voltaire continued writing along with his studies.
Voltaire’s Troubles and Successes
Voltaire has faced many difficulties in his life. Because he used to criticize the government without fear. He write without fear on subjects like religious tolerance and freedom of thought.
For all this, Voltaire was also put in jail several times, which did not have a single window. And once he was even banned from coming to England for a short time.
But after a play named Oedipus at the Comédie-Française Theater in January 1717, his reputation increased significantly and financial success was also achieved.
Apart from this, George I, A king of Great Britain also praised Voltaire and honoured him with medals.
He wrote about 20,000 letters, 2,000 books and pamphlets in his lifetime. He is one of the first writers of that time to become commercially successful internationally.
Voltaire’s Death
Voltaire lived in different countries for many years in his life. Out of which he spent 20 years in Ferney, France. In February 1778, after about 25 years, he returned to Paris. Here he was welcomed as the returning hero.
Voltaire had little doubt that his death was near. So he kept writing a sentence which is “I die adoring God, loving my friends, not hating my enemies, and detesting superstition.”
He wrote this sentence on 28 February 1778 and after that, he died on 30 May 1778 at the age of 83 due to his ill health.
On 11 July 1791, the National Assembly of France called Voltaire the forerunner of the French Revolution.
Best Voltaire Quotes :
Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats. – Voltaire
Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. – Voltaire
It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one. – Voltaire
Think for yourself and let others enjoy the privilege of doing so too. – Voltaire
Faith consists in believing what reason cannot. – Voltaire
Minds differ still more than faces. – Voltaire
Animals have these advantages over man: they never hear the clock strike, they die without any idea of death, they have no theologians to instruct them, their last moments are not disturbed by unwelcome and unpleasant ceremonies, their funerals cost them nothing, and no one starts lawsuits over their wills. – Voltaire
The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us. – Voltaire
The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing. – Voltaire
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. – Voltaire
The secret of being a bore is to tell everything. – Voltaire
Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do. – Voltaire
The human brain is a complex organ with the wonderful power of enabling man to find reasons for continuing to believe whatever it is that he wants to believe. – Voltaire
Prejudices are what fools use for reason. – Voltaire
Don’t think money does everything or you are going to end up doing everything for money. – Voltaire
Discord is the great ill of mankind; and tolerance is the only remedy for it. – Voltaire
Men use thought only as authority for their injustice, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts. – Voltaire
One day everything will be well, that is our hope. Everything’s fine today, that is our illusion. – Voltaire
The happiest of all lives is a busy solitude. – Voltaire
There is a wide difference between speaking to deceive, and being silent to be impenetrable. – Voltaire
We all look for happiness, but without knowing where to find it: like drunkards who look for their house, knowing dimly that they have one. – Voltaire
To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid – one must also be polite. – Voltaire
Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in Eternal awareness or Pure consciousness without objectification, knowing without thinking, merging finitude in infinity. – Voltaire
We are rarely proud when we are alone. – Voltaire
If there’s life on other planets, then the earth is the Universe’s insane asylum. – Voltaire
Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her; but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game. – Voltaire
The more a man knows, the less he talks. – Voltaire
It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong. – Voltaire
Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position. But certainty is an absurd one. – Voltaire
The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood. – Voltaire
Doubt is an uncomfortable condition, but certainty is a ridiculous one. – Voltaire
Fools have a habit of believing that everything written by a famous author is admirable. – Voltaire
Voltaire Quotes Freedom Of Speech :
It is clear that the individual who persecutes a man, his brother, because he is not of the same opinion, is a monster. – Voltaire
Cherish those who seek the truth but beware of those who find it. – Voltaire
Liberty of thought is the life of the soul. – Voltaire
Voltaire Quotes on Religion & God :
When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion. – Voltaire
If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. – Voltaire
God is a circle whose center is everywhere and circumferences nowhere. – Voltaire
If you have two religions in your land, the two will cut each other’s throats; but if you have thirty religions, they will dwell in peace. – Voltaire
Religion began when the first scoundrel met the first fool. – Voltaire
Voltaire Love Quotes :
Love truth, but pardon error. – Voltaire
When a man is in love, jealous, and just whipped by the Inquisition, he is no longer himself. – Voltaire
Only love is the comfort of the human species, the preserver of the universe, the soul of all sentient beings. – Voltaire
Whatever you do, crush the infamous thing, and love those who love you. – Voltaire
Also See: Fyodor Dostoevsky Quotes On Love
Voltaire Quotes On Freedom :
Man is free at the instant he wants to be. – Voltaire
It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence. – Voltaire
Injustice in the end produces independence. – Voltaire
Funny Voltaire Quotes :
Opinions have caused more ills than the plague or earthquakes on this little globe of ours. – Voltaire
Men will always be mad, and those who think they can cure them are the maddest of all. – Voltaire
The only way to comprehend what mathematicians mean by Infinity is to contemplate the extent of human stupidity. – Voltaire
