Voltaire

French writer, historian, and philosopher (1694–1778)

François-Marie Arouet (November 21, 1694 – May 30, 1778), better known by his pen name Voltaire, was a French writer, deist and philosopher.

Voltaire

Sourced quotes

  • "L'homme est libre au moment qu'il veut l'être."[1]
Translation: Man is free at the instant he wants to be.
Simple: Man is free when he wants to be free
  • "Le paradis terrestre est où je suis."[2]
Translation: Paradise on Earth is where I am.
Simple: I am in paradise where I live
What it means: Paradise is where Voltaire is on Earth
  • "Si Dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer."[3]
Translation: If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.
Simple: If God did not exist, we would have to invent him
What it means: Voltaire believes in God, but if someone proved God didn't exist, people would have to invent God.
  • "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."     
Simple: I do not have to agree with what you believe and what you say, but I will make sure that you are allowed to say what you want.
  • "It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong."      [4]
Simple: It is dangerous to disagree with government.

References

  1. Source Brutus, act II, scene I (1730)
  2. Le Mondain (1736)
  3. Épître à l'Auteur du Livre des Trois Imposteurs (1770-11-10)
  4. http://www.lpboulder.org/quotes/ Libertarian Quotes

Other websites