Were Voltaire to return to France today, he would be in for a big surprise! He would immediately note that not much has changed since he died in 1778! Voltaire's wisdom is timeless for the ages! Not to compete with Voltaire, but I humbly tried to provide some commentary.
All quotes are taken from: Wikiquote: Voltaire
Je meurs en adorant Dieu, en aimant mes amis, en ne haïssant pas mes ennemis et en détestant la superstition
(I die adoring God, loving my friends, not hating my enemies, and detesting superstition)
Comment: Voltaire would not believe that humans in the 21st century believe in such superstitions like Climate Change!
On parle toujours mal quand on n'a rien à dire
(One always speaks badly when one has nothing to say)
Comment: I like his observation about human nature.
Les anciens Romains élevaient des prodiges d'architecture pour faire combattre des bêtes
(The ancient Romans built their greatest masterpieces of architecture for wild beasts to fight in)
Comment: That is one reductionist way to look at Rome! :-)
Go into the London Stock Exchange – a more respectable place than many a court – and you will see representatives from all nations gathered together for the utility of men. Here Jew, Mohammedan and Christian deal with each other as though they were all of the same faith, and only apply the word infidel to people who go bankrupt. Here the Presbyterian trusts the Anabaptist and the Anglican accepts a promise from the Quaker.
Comment: What a great observation on the many merits of free market economies
- If there were only one religion in England there would be danger of despotism, if there were two they would cut each other's throats, but there are thirty, and they live in peace and happiness.
- Being of opinion that the doctrine and history of so extraordinary a sect as the Quakers were very well deserving the curiosity of every thinking man, I resolved to make myself acquainted with them
Le superflu, chose très nécessaire
(The superfluous, a very necessary thing)
Comment: Who gets to decide what is superfluous and what is not? Is superfluous not in the eye of the beholder?
Le paradis terrestre est où je suis
(Paradise on earth is where I am)
Comment: During your lifetime, is it not your choice to make paradise on earth for yourself and for others?
Usez, n’abusez point; le sage ainsi l’ordonne. Je fuis également Épictète et Pétrone. L’abstinence ou l’excès ne fit jamais d’heureux.
(Use, do not abuse; as the wise man commands. I flee Epictetus and Petronius alike. Neither abstinence nor excess ever renders man happy.)
Comment: Avoid extremes!
Il vaut mieux hasarder de sauver un coupable que de condamner un innocent
(It is better to risk sparing a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one.)
Comment: Have you ever wondered why capital punishment was abolished in Western countries? I have written a critical assessment of the death penalty here.
Les opinions ont plus causé de maux sur ce petit globe que la peste et les tremblements de terre
(Opinions have caused more ills than the plague or earthquakes on this little globe of ours)
Comment: Was Voltaire a misanthrope you have to wonder sometimes
Mari qui veut surprendre est souvent fort surpris
(The husband who decides to surprise his wife is often very much surprised himself)
Comment: Gender equality? How naive men can be when it is about women?
Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande
(Men will always be mad, and those who think they can cure them are the maddest of all)
Comment: Something to ponder about!
Si Dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer
(If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him)
Comment: Wise words indeed!
Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien
(The best is the enemy of the good)
Comment: This is one of his most famous quotes!
L'amour est de toutes les passions la plus forte, parce qu'elle attaque à la fois la tête, le cœur et le corps
(Love is of all the passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart, and the body)
Comment: Could anyone, but a French philosopher have said it any better?
I am convinced that everything has come down to us from the banks of the Ganges, astronomy, astrology, metempsychosis, etc. It does not behoove us, who were only savages and barbarians when these Indians and Chinese peoples were civilized and learned, to dispute their antiquity.
Comment: That is called enlightenment!
If this is the best of possible worlds, what then are the others?
Comment: Good question!
Our labor preserves us from three great evils -- weariness, vice, and want.
Comment: Very ancient wisdom, I suspect! But, it deserves repeating especially also in our time! The virtue of labor!
On dit quelquefois, le sens commun est fort rare...
(It is sometimes said, common sense is very rare.)
Comment: Common sense is very rare indeed!
Tous les hommes seraient donc nécessairement égaux, s’ils étaient sans besoins. La misère attachée à notre espèce subordonne un homme à un autre homme: ce n’est pas l’inégalité qui est un malheur réel, c’est la dépendance.
(All men would then be necessarily equal, if they were without needs. It is the poverty connected with our species which subordinates one man to another. It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.)
Comment: Humans are not equal in their wants and needs!
Les hommes vertueux ont seuls des amis.
(Virtuous men alone possess friends)
Comment: This is about true friendship, which is rare.
Qu’est-ce que la tolérance? c’est l’apanage de l’humanité. Nous sommes tous pétris de faiblesses et d’erreurs; pardonnons-nous réciproquement nos sottises, c’est la première loi de la nature.
(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.)
Comment: If you want peace on earth ...
En général, l’art du gouvernement consiste à prendre le plus d’argent qu’on peut à une grande partie des citoyens, pour le donner à une autre partie.
(In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.)
Comment: Do we need government to replace voluntary charity, philanthropy and private individual donations?
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