Voltaire (2024)

FAQs

What is Voltaire's famous saying? ›

"Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do."

According to one story of French philosopher Voltaire's last words, his response to a priest at his deathbed urging him to renounce Satan was "Now is not the time for making new enemies."

Voltaire believed above all in the efficacy of reason. He believed social progress could be achieved through reason and that no authority—religious or political or otherwise—should be immune to challenge by reason. He emphasized in his work the importance of tolerance, especially religious tolerance.

make you commit atrocities” - Voltaire via.

In this way, Enlightenment philosophie became associated through Voltaire with the cultural and political program encapsulated in his famous motto, “Écrasez l'infâme!” (“Crush the infamy!”).

Contrary to the popular myth, Voltaire wasn't an atheist at all, while it was true that he opposed religious fanaticism. It is no accident that one of his favorite sayings was the aphorism, "If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him" ('Si Dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer').

He died on 5 May 1821 and was buried on the island. His last words were 'France, the Army, the Head of the Army, Josephine'. Napoleon's body was returned to France and in 1840 was interred in Les Invalides along with the bodies of his brothers and son.

Voltaire died 11 years too early to see the French Revolution take place, but revolutionaries honoured him by burying him at the Panthéon. His epitaph reads: "He fought against atheists and fanatics. He inspired tolerance. He promoted human rights against the servitude of feudalism".

From early on, Voltaire had trouble with the authorities for critiques of the government. As a result, he was twice sentenced to prison and once to temporary exile to England. One satirical verse, in which Voltaire accused the Régent of incest with his daughter, resulted in an eleven-month imprisonment in the Bastille.

Did Voltaire believe in free will? ›

Voltaire fought for free will. He believed free will was enabled through one's freedom of liberty, hedonism, empirical science, and skepticism.

4: Voltaire. Voltaire was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher, who attacked the Catholic Church and advocated freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and separation of church and state.

Voltaire does not offer a clear answer to this question, but he implies that human nature is complex and influenced by many factors, such as education, environment, free will, and chance. He does not believe that people are born evil, but rather that they are corrupted by the evils of society and the misuse of reason.

And how can we forget 'If God did not exist, He would have to be invented'? Or again the oft-quoted cynical line that 'God is on the side of the big battalions'. The list of Voltaire's aperçus is a long one.

FS on X: "“The most courageous decision that you can make each day is to be in a good mood.” — Voltaire" / X.

We often quote Voltaire: “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” But reciting it hasn't helped us learn how to focus on excellence rather than perfection.

In The Friends of Voltaire, Hall wrote: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" as an illustration of Voltaire's beliefs. This quotation – which is sometimes misattributed to Voltaire himself – is often cited to describe the principle of freedom of speech.

At the end of the novel, Candide comes to the conclusion that the key to happiness is to cultivate one's own garden. This means that instead of trying to change the world or worrying about the problems of others, you should focus on tending to your own life and finding joy in simple pleasures.

In his criticism of the French society and existing social structures, Voltaire hardly spared anyone. He perceived the French bourgeoisie to be too small and ineffective, the aristocracy to be parasitic and corrupt, the commoners as ignorant and superstitious, and the church as a static and oppressive force.