Voltaire
French writer and public activist (1694 to 1778), born François-Marie d'Arouet; a leading figure of the Enlightenment; lived in England from 1726 to 1729.
Voltaire did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
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Their wordsIf one religion only were allowed in England, the Government would very possibly become arbitrary; if there were but two, the people would cut one another’s throats; but as there are such a multitude, they all live happy and in peace.
↗Letters on England (1733 English edition, ed. Henry Morley, 1894)gutenberg.org 1st of 7 in this piece
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Their wordsThe Romans never knew the dreadful folly of religious wars, an abomination reserved for devout preachers of patience and humility.
↗Letters on England (1733 English edition, ed. Henry Morley, 1894)gutenberg.org 2nd of 7 in this piece
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Their wordsThe English are the only people upon earth who have been able to prescribe limits to the power of kings by resisting them; and who, by a series of struggles, have at last established that wise Government where the Prince is all-powerful to do good, and, at the same time, is restrained from committing evil; where the nobles are great without insolence, though there are no vassals; and where the people share in the Government without confusion.
↗Letters on England (1733 English edition, ed. Henry Morley, 1894)gutenberg.org 3rd of 7 in this piece
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Their wordsAs trade enriched the citizens in England, so it contributed to their freedom, and this freedom on the other side extended their commerce, whence arose the grandeur of the State.
↗Letters on England (1733 English edition, ed. Henry Morley, 1894)gutenberg.org 4th of 7 in this piece
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Their wordsHowever, I need not say which is most useful to a nation; a lord, powdered in the tip of the mode, who knows exactly at what o’clock the king rises and goes to bed, and who gives himself airs of grandeur and state, at the same time that he is acting the slave in the ante-chamber of a prime minister; or a merchant, who enriches his country, despatches orders from his counting-house to Surat and Grand Cairo, and contributes to the well-being of the world.
↗Letters on England (1733 English edition, ed. Henry Morley, 1894)gutenberg.org 5th of 7 in this piece
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Our reading
Had smallpox inoculation been practised in France, it would have saved thousands of lives
Their wordsThe Chinese, indeed, do not communicate this distemper by inoculation, but at the nose, in the same manner as we take snuff. This is a more agreeable way, but then it produces the like effects; and proves at the same time that had inoculation been practised in France it would have saved the lives of thousands.
↗Letters on England (1733 English edition, ed. Henry Morley, 1894)gutenberg.org 6th of 7 in this piece
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Their wordsThat man claims our respect who commands over the minds of the rest of the world by the force of truth, not those who enslave their fellow-creatures: he who is acquainted with the universe, not they who deface it.
↗Letters on England (1733 English edition, ed. Henry Morley, 1894)gutenberg.org 7th of 7 in this piece
The line under a date fills as the words age, a quarter at a time: past a month, six months, a year, and three years. Empty means said within the last month; full, more than three years ago. It says when, not whether it still holds — a change of mind is marked on the claim itself.
Dashed means we only know the words existed by that date; they may be older.