“Common sense is not so common.”Voltaire
Common SenseWit
Voltaire Quotes
French - Writer & Philosopher|November 21, 1694 - May 30, 1778
50 FAMOUS QUOTES · WRITER & PHILOSOPHER
Voltaire Quotes
Read 50 genuine Voltaire quotes on reason, tolerance, freedom, doubt and human folly from the witty French philosopher and author of Candide.
“The best is the enemy of the good.”Voltaire
PerfectionismWisdom
“We must cultivate our garden.”Voltaire
CandidePurpose
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”Voltaire
Critical ThinkingTruth
“Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.”Voltaire
DoubtWisdom
“Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too.”Voltaire
Freedom Of ThoughtTolerance
“What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly; that is the first law of nature.”Voltaire
ToleranceHumanity
“It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.”Voltaire
JusticeZadig
“It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.”Voltaire
CourageTruth
“It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.”Voltaire
FreedomWisdom
“Prejudices are what fools use for reason.”Voltaire
PrejudiceReason
“Opinion has caused more trouble on this little earth than plagues or earthquakes.”Voltaire
OpinionConflict
“The progress of rivers to the ocean is not so rapid as that of man to error.”Voltaire
MistakesHuman Nature
“Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?”Voltaire
ExperienceWisdom
“Chance is a word void of sense; nothing can exist without a cause.”Voltaire
Cause And EffectPhilosophy
“Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.”Voltaire
FreedomChoice
“Injustice in the end produces independence.”Voltaire
JusticeIndependence
“Tyrants have always some slight shade of virtue; they support the laws before destroying them.”Voltaire
TyrannyPower
“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.”Voltaire
WarIrony
“It is lamentable that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.”Voltaire
PatriotismHumanity
“History is only the register of crimes and misfortunes.”Voltaire
HistoryCynicism
“The Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.”Voltaire
HistoryWit
“To the living we owe respect, but to the dead we owe only the truth.”Voltaire
TruthHistory
“Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable.”Voltaire
OptimismCandide
“One day all will be well, that is our hope. All is well today, that is our illusion.”Voltaire
HopeIllusion
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About Voltaire
French - Writer & Philosopher | November 21, 1694 - May 30, 1778
Voltaire (November 21, 1694 – May 30, 1778), born François-Marie Arouet in Paris, was a French writer, historian and philosopher of the Enlightenment. Educated by Jesuits, he became famous young for his sharp wit, but his satirical verses landed him in the Bastille prison for nearly a year, after which he adopted the pen name "Voltaire."
Exiled to England in the 1720s, he came to admire English freedom of thought, science and religious tolerance. He went on to write plays, poems, histories, the *Philosophical Dictionary* and the satirical novel *Candide* (1759), and campaigned against injustice and religious persecution, most famously in the case of Jean Calas. A champion of reason, free speech and tolerance, he wrote more than 20,000 letters and over 2,000 books and pamphlets. He returned to Paris in triumph shortly before his death in 1778. Here are 50 genuine Voltaire quotes.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Voltaire and these famous quotes.
Who was Voltaire?
Voltaire was an 18th-century French writer and philosopher, one of the leading figures of the Enlightenment. He was famous for his wit, his satire and his defence of reason, free speech and religious tolerance.
What was Voltaire's real name?
His real name was François-Marie Arouet. He adopted the pen name "Voltaire" around 1718, after his release from the Bastille prison.
What is Candide about?
*Candide* (1759) is a satirical novel following a naive young man who travels the world and suffers countless disasters while his tutor insists that "all is for the best." It mocks blind optimism and ends with the famous advice, "We must cultivate our garden."
Did Voltaire say "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"?
No. This line was written by English author Evelyn Beatrice Hall in her 1906 book *The Friends of Voltaire*, as a summary of his attitude toward free speech. Voltaire never wrote or said these exact words.
Did Voltaire say "To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticise"?
No. This quote is often shared online with Voltaire's name, but it actually comes from a 1993 essay by an American white supremacist, Kevin Alfred Strom.
What was the Calas affair?
In 1762, Jean Calas, a Protestant merchant in Toulouse, was wrongly executed after being accused of murdering his son. Voltaire campaigned to clear his name and wrote his *Treatise on Tolerance*, and Calas was officially declared innocent in 1765.