Voltaire was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher.
His real name was François-Marie Arouet, and he was most famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and separation of church and state.
We’ve put together a collection of the best Voltaire quotes:
27 Voltaire Quotes
1. “Judge of a man by his questions rather than by his answers.” – Voltaire
2. “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” – Voltaire
3. “Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” – Voltaire
4. “The secret of being a bore is to tell everything.” – Voltaire
5. “It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.” – Voltaire
6. “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
7. “Common sense is not so common.” – Voltaire
8. “Chance is a word void of sense; nothing can exist without a cause.” – Voltaire
9. “Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.” – Voltaire
10th of 27 Voltaire Quotes
10. “I disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.” – Voltaire
11. “Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.” – Voltaire
12. “Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too.” – Voltaire
13. “The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” – Voltaire
14. “It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.” – Voltaire
15. “No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.” – Voltaire
16. “Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination.” – Voltaire
17. “The progress of rivers to the ocean is not so rapid as that of man to error.” – Voltaire
18. “The opportunity for doing mischief is found a hundred times a day, and of doing good once in a year.” – Voltaire
19. “Common sense is genius in homespun.” – Voltaire
20th of 27 Voltaire Quotes
20. “If there were no God, it would be necessary to invent him.” – Voltaire
21. “It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.” – Voltaire
22. “Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable.” – Voltaire
23. “Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.” – Voltaire
24. “Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?” – Voltaire
25. “One great use of words is to hide our thoughts.” – Voltaire
26. “The safest course is to do nothing against one’s conscience. With this secret, we can enjoy life and have no fear from death.” – Voltaire
27. “He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked.” – Voltaire
Summary
Thanks for viewing this collection of the best Voltaire quotes! Don’t forget to share them on social media using the share buttons below.