“But for what purpose was the earth formed?" asked Candide. "To drive us mad," replied Martin.”
“In this country we find it pays to shoot an admiral from time to time to encourage the others.”
“The art of government is to make two-thirds of a nation pay all it possibly can pay for the benefit of the other third.”
“Luxury has been railed at for two thousand years, in verse and in prose, and it has always been loved.”
“The perfect is the enemy of the good.”
“What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity.”
“A lady of honor may be raped once, but it strengthens her virtue.”
“The pursuit of pleasure must be the goal of every rational person.”
“The right of commanding is no longer an advantage transmitted by nature; like an inheritance, it is the fruit of labors, the price of courage.”
“Opinion has caused more trouble on this little earth than plagues or earthquakes.”
“We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongue, at our peril, risk and hazard.”
“Life is bristling with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to cultivate one's garden.”
“Hope should no more be a virtue than fear; we fear and we hope, according to what is promised or threatened us.”
“Marriage is the only adventure open to the cowardly.”
“Man can have only a certain number of teeth, hair and ideas; there comes a time when he necessarily loses his teeth, hair and ideas.”
“The true triumph of reason is that it enables us to get along with those who do not possess it.”
“Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.”
“The only way to comprehend what mathematicians mean by Infinity is to contemplate the extent of human stupidity.”
“A witty saying proves nothing.”
“To hold a pen is to be at war.”
“The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.”
“The Jews are of all peoples the grosses, the most ferocious, the most fanatical, and the most absurd.”
“He who is not just is severe, he who is not wise is sad.”
“Answer me, you who believe that animals are only machines. Has nature arranged for this animal to have all the machinery of feelings only in order for it not to have any at all?”
“History is but the record of crimes and misfortunes. L'histoire n'est que le tableau des crimes et des malheurs”
