Voltaire

Voltaire

François-Marie Arouet (November 21, 1694 – May 30, 1778), better known by his pen name Voltaire, was a French writer, deist and philosopher.

Sourced quotes

• "L'homme est libre au moment qu'il veut l'être."

Translation: Man is free at the instant he wants to be.

Simple: Man is free when he wants to be free

• "Le paradis terrestre est où je suis."

Translation: Paradise on Earth is where I am.

Simple: I am in paradise where I live

What it means: Paradise is where Voltaire is on Earth

• "Si Dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer."

Translation: If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.

Simple: If God did not exist, we would have to invent him

What it means: Voltaire believes in God, but if someone proved God didn't exist, people would have to invent God.

• "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."    

Simple: I do not have to agree with what you believe and what you say, but I will make sure that you are allowed to say what you want.

• "It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong."    

Simple: It is dangerous to disagree with government.

Other websites

• Voltaire on Wikipedia
• Voltaire on Wikimedia Commons
• Works by Voltaire on the English Wikisource