Voltaire Quotes
French Enlightenment writer whose wit defended reason, tolerance and free thought. Voltaire's Candide and his letters sparkle with sayings on gardens, judgment and common sense. Below are 15 of the most loved Voltaire quotes, chosen from across their works and letters. Tap Copy on any quote to save or share it.
It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.
Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.
The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.
Let us cultivate our garden.
Appreciation is a wonderful thing: it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.
Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need.
Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.
The secret of being a bore is to tell everything.
Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.
Love truth, but pardon error.
Common sense is not so common.
God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position. But certainty is an absurd one.
I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. And God granted it.