WORDS FROM A GREAT MIND

Voltaire

Writer, historian & philosopher

Born: 21 November 1694
Died: 30 May 1778
Lived in: Paris, London, Cirey, Berlin & Ferney

Voltaire was a French writer, historian, satirist, and philosopher of the Enlightenment. Through plays, letters, histories, and tales such as Candide, he attacked intolerance, fanaticism, censorship, and comfortable nonsense.

A LESSER-KNOWN DETAIL

Voltaire became wealthy partly by exploiting a flaw in a French state lottery with mathematician Charles Marie de La Condamine. Their syndicate legally bought favourable combinations and repeatedly won.

Words by Voltaire

“Let us work without disputing; it is the only way to render life tolerable.”

Voltaire ↗

“We must cultivate our garden.”

Voltaire ↗

“Optimism is the madness of maintaining that everything is right when it is wrong.”

Voltaire ↗