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François-Marie Arouet (1694 – 1778), known as Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher.

1838. To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid - one must also be polite.
1839. I loved him as we always love for the first time with idolatry and wild passion.
1840. People will continue to commit atrocities as long as they believe in absurdities.
1841. The art of medicine consists of amusing the patiet while nature cures the disease.
1842. God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.
1843. Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.
1844. Don’t think money does everything or you are going to end up doing everything for money.
1845. I know many books which have bored their readers, but I know of none which has done real evil.
1809. Our labor preserves us from three great evils -- weariness, vice, and want.
1810. It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one.
1811. Discord is the great ill of mankind; and tolerance is the only remedy for it.
1812. Verses which do not teach men new and moving truths do not deserve to be read.
1813. If God created us in his own image, we have more than reciprocated.
1814. If we do not find anything very pleasant, at least we shall find something new.
1815. The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.
1816. I have seen so many extraordinary things that nothing seems extraordinary to me.
1748. It is said that God is always on the side of the big battalions.
1749. Cherish those who seek the truth but beware of those who find it.
1750. If this is the best of possible worlds, what then are the others?
1751. It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part.
1752. The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor.
1753. God is a circle whose center is everywhere and circumference nowhere.
1754. Reading nurtures the soul, and an enlightened friend brings it solace.
1755. Doubt is an uncomfortable condition, but certainty is a ridiculous one.
1676. The heart has its own reasons that reason can't understand.
1677. The most important decision you make is to be in good mood.
1678. Behind every successful man stands a surprised mother-in-law.
1679. If you want good laws, burn those you have and make new ones.
1680. Having lived with kings, I have become a king in my own home.
1681. There are truths which are not for all men, nor for all times.
1682. Paradise was made for tender hearts; hell, for loveless hearts.
1683. By appreciation, we make excellence in others our own property.
1638. Had no need of a guide to learn ignorance.
1639. Fear follows crime and is its punishment.
1640. Injustice in the end produces independence.
1641. Faith consists in believing what reason cannot.
1642. Men employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.
1643. Marriage is the only adventure open to the cowardly.
1644. Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.
1645. It is dangerous to be right, when the government is wrong.
1646. I've decided to be happy because it's good for my health.
1647. We never live: we are always in the expectation of living.
1640. The heart has its own reasons that reason can't understand.
1582. He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked.
1583. History never repeats itself. Man always does.
1584. Every evil begets some good.
1585. Love truth, but pardon error.
1586. Perfect is the enemy of good.
1587. The best is the enemy of good.
1588. A witty saying proves nothing.
1589. Writing is the painting of the voice.
1590. We are rarely proud when we are alone.
1591. Tears are the silent language of grief.
1592. Illusion is the first of all pleasures.
1371. What is history? The lie that everyone agrees on...
1372. Doubt is an uncomfortable condition, but certainty is a ridiculous one.
1373. I loved him as we always love for the first time; with idolatry and wild passion.
1374. Liberty of thought is the life of the soul.
1375. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.
1376. One day everything will be well, that is our hope. Everything's fine today, that is our illusion
1377. May God defend me from my friends: I can defend myself from my enemies.
1378. Men are equal; it is not birth but virtue that makes the difference.
1335. . It is not enough to conquer; one must learn to seduce.
1336. Man is free at the instant he wants to be.
1337. Don’t think money does everything or you are going to end up doing everything for money.
1338. Let us cultivate our garden.
1339. The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.
1340. Sensual pleasure passes and vanishes, but the friendship between us, the mutual confidence, the delight of the heart, the enchantment of the soul, these things do not perish and can never be destroyed.
1341. Men will always be mad, and those who think they can cure them are the maddest of all.
1342. The only way to comprehend what mathematicians mean by Infinity is to contemplate the extent of human stupidity.
1283. The secret of being a bore is to tell everything.
1284. It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one.
1285. Think for yourself and let others enjoy the privilege of doing so too.
1286. Cherish those who seek the truth but beware of those who find it.
1287. Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.
1288. If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.
1289. 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.
1290. The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor.
1144. Love truth, but pardon error.
1145. I don’t know where I am going, but I am on my way.
1146. God is a comedian playing to an audience that is too afraid to laugh.
1147. Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.
1148. Now, now my good man, this is no time to be making enemies.
1149. Fools have a habit of believing that everything written by a famous author is admirable. For my part I read only to please myself and like only what suits my taste.
1150. It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.
1151. The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood. 
1084. The art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one class of the citizens to give to the other.
1085. It is clear that the individual who persecutes a man, his brother, because he is not of the same opinion, is a monster.
1086. Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.
1087. Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.
1088. Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.
1089. It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.
1090. Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.
1091. Common sense is not so common.

763. You despise books; you whose lives are absorbed in the vanities of ambition, the pursuit of pleasure or indolence; but remember that all the known world, excepting only savage nations, is governed by books.
764. Governments need to have both shepherds and butchers.
765. It is better to risk sparing a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one.
766. The secret of being a bore is to tell everything.
767. I have only ever made one prayer to God, a very short one: ‘O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.’ And God granted it.
768. Illusion is the first of all pleasures.
769. When it is a question of money, everyone is of the same religion.
770. Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too.
206. Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value - zero.
207. The mirror is a worthless invention. The only way to truly see yourself is in the reflection of someone else's eyes.
208. 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.
209. Give me the patience for the small things of life, courage for the great trials of life. Help me to do my best each day and then go to sleep knowing God is awake.
210. 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.
211. The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.