“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.”
Voltaire2 likes
“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.”
“Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.”
“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.”
“Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination.”
“The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.”
“If God made us in his image, we have certainly returned the compliment.”
“The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.”
“The more often a stupidity is repeated, the more it gets the appearance of wisdom.”
“Fear follows crime, and is its punishment.”
“The husband who decides to surprise his wife is often very much surprised himself.”
“Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy the mad daughter of a wise mother. These daughters have too long dominated the earth.”
“History is only the register of crimes and misfortunes.”
“Common sense is not so common.”
“I should like to lie at your feet and die in your arms.”
“When he to whom one speaks does not understand, and he who speaks himself does not understand, that is metaphysics.”
“Better is the enemy of the good.”
“Everything's fine today, that is our illusion.”
“Satire lies about literary men while they live and eulogy lies about them when they die.”
“Let the punishments of criminals be useful. A hanged man is good for nothing; a man condemned to public works still serves the country, and is a living lesson.”
“The sovereign is called a tyrant who knows no laws but his caprice.”
“There are truths that are not for all men, nor for all times.”
“He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked.”
“The infinitely little have a pride infinitely great.”
“Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.”
“The perfect is the enemy of the good.”
“Verses which do not teach men new and moving truths do not deserve to be read.”
“Men use thought only as authority for their injustice, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.”
“Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors.”
“There are truths which are not for all men, nor for all times.”
“Very learned women are to be found, in the same manner as female warriors; but they are seldom or ever inventors.”
“Clever tyrants are never punished.”
“The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbours, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all.”
“It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it.”
“I advise you to go on living solely to enrage those who are paying your annuities. It is the only pleasure I have left.”
“The multitude of books is making us ignorant.”
“The world embarrasses me, and I cannot dream that this watch exists and has no watchmaker.”
“Shun idleness. It is a rust that attaches itself to the most brilliant metals.”
“We are rarely proud when we are alone.”
“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”
“I have lived eighty years of life and know nothing for it, but to be resigned and tell myself that flies are born to be eaten by spiders and man to be devoured by sorrow.”
“By appreciation, we make excellence in others our own property.”
“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.”
“Love has features which pierce all hearts, he wears a bandage which conceals the faults of those beloved. He has wings, he comes quickly and flies away the same.”
“This self-love is the instrument of our preservation; it resembles the provision for the perpetuity of mankind: it is necessary, it is dear to us, it gives us pleasure, and we must conceal it.”
“Wherever there is a settled society, religion is necessary; the laws cover manifest crimes, and religion covers secret crimes.”
“Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.”
“The ancients recommended us to sacrifice to the Graces, but Milton sacrificed to the Devil.”
“Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.”