Quotes by Voltaire

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I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one 'O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it.
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 enemies  

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I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend to the death your right to say it.
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 death  rights  

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What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly - that is the first law of nature.
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 prejudice  humanity  

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Men will always be mad, and those who think they can cure them are the maddest of all.
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 psychology  

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No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.
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 thinking  

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As long as people believe in absurdities they will continue to commit atrocities.
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 mankind  

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Shun idleness. It is a rust that attaches itself to the most brilliant metals.
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 idleness  

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All the ancient histories, as one of our wits say, are just fables that have been agreed upon.
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 history  

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I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
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 censorship  

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

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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.
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 conformity  

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Common Sense is not so common.
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 intelligence  

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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.
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 animal  civilization  

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

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Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too.
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 censorship  

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History is filled with the sound of silken slippers going downstairs and wooden shoes coming up.
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 history  

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

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Tears are the silent language of grief.
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 crying  grief  

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History supplies little beyond a list of those who have accommodated themselves with the property of others.
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 history  

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I hate women because they always know where things are.
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 women  

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Exaggeration, the inseparable companion of greatness.
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 exaggeration  

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If God has created us in His image, we have more than returned the compliment.
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 religion  

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Illusion is the first of all pleasures.
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 reality  

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What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy.
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 age  virtue  

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What would constitute useful history? That which should teach us our duties and our rights, without appearing to teach them.
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 history  

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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.
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 angels  

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Historians are gossips who tease the dead.
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 history  

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Ice cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn't illegal.
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 desserts  

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I cannot imagine how the clockwork of the universe can exist without a clockmaker.
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 god  

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God created sex. Priests created marriage.
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 marriage  

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It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.
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 war  

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When he to whom one speaks does not understand, and he who speaks himself does not understand, that is metaphysics.
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 philosophy  

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