What a pity and what a poverty of spirit, to assert that beasts are machines deprived of knowledge and sentiment, which affect all their operations in the same manner, which learn nothing, never improve, &c. [...] Some barbarians seize this dog, who so prodigiously excels man in friendship, they nail him to a table, and dissect him living, to show the mezarian veins. You discover in him all the same organs of sentiment which are in yourself. Answer me, machinist, has nature arranged all the springs of sentiment in this animal that he should not feel? Has he nerves to be incapable of suffering? Do not suppose this impertinent contradiction in nature. [...] The animal has received those of sentiment, memory, and a certain number of ideas. Who has bestowed these gifts, who has given these faculties? He who has made the herb of the field to grow, and who makes the earth gravitate towards the sun.

It was in the reign of Charles II that they obtained the noble distinction of being exempted from giving their testimony on oath in a court of justice, and being believed on their bare affirmation. On this occasion the chancellor, who was a man of wit, spoke to them as follows: "Friends, Jupiter one day ordered that all the beasts of burden should repair to be shod. The asses represented that their laws would not allow them to submit to that operation. 'Very well,' said Jupiter; 'then you shall not be shod; but the first false step you make, you may depend upon being severely drubbed.'"

Define your terms, you will permit me again to say, or we shall never understand one another.

"You're a bitter man," said Candide. "That's because I've lived," said Martin.

It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.

His reputation will go on increasing because scarcely anyone reads him.

Our labour preserves us from three great evils -- weariness, vice, and want.

Money is always to be found when men are to be sent to the frontiers to be destroyed: when the object is to preserve them, it is no longer so.

I cannot guess what may be the fate of Quakerism in America; but I perceive it loses ground daily in England. In all countries, where the established religion is of a mild and tolerating nature, it will at length swallow up all the rest.

Prejudice is an opinion without judgement.

Let us cultivate our garden.

Doctors are men who prescribe medicine of which they know little, to human beings of whom they know less, to cure diseases of which they know nothing.

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.

In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.

Virtue supposes liberty, as the carrying of a burden supposes active force. Under coercion there is no virtue, and without virtue there is no religion. Make a slave of me, and I shall be no better for it. Even the sovereign has no right to use coercion to lead men to religion, which by its nature supposes choice and liberty. My thought is no more subject to authority than is sickness or health.

Morality is everywhere the same for all men, therefore it comes from God; sects differ, therefore they are the work of men.

A testimony is sufficient when it rests on: 1st. A great number of very sensible witnesses who agree in having seen well. 2d. Who are sane, bodily and mentally. 3d. Who are impartial and disinterested. 4th. Who unanimously agree. 5th. Who solemnly certify to the fact.

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, and for that purpose made a visit to one of the most eminent of that sect in England, who, after having been in trade for thirty years, had the wisdom to prescribe limits to his fortune, and to his desires, and withdrew to a small but pleasant retirement in the country, not many miles from London. Here it was that I made him my visit. His house was small, but neatly built, and with no other ornaments but those of decency and convenience.

I cannot imagine how the clockwork of the universe can exist without a clockmaker.

Such then is the human condition, that to wish greatness for one's country is to wish harm to one's neighbors.

"Let us work without reasoning," said Martin; "it is the only way to make life endurable."

Divorce is probably of nearly the same age as marriage. I believe, however, that marriage is some weeks the more ancient.

To pray to God is to flatter oneself that with words one can alter nature.

All of the other people have committed crimes, the Jews are the only ones who have boasted about committing them. They are, all of them, born with raging fanaticism in their hearts, just as the Bretons and the Germans are born with blond hair. I would not be in the least bit surprised if these people would not some day become deadly to the human race.

The ancient Romans built their greatest masterpieces of architecture for wild beasts to fight in.

There are truths which are not for all men, nor for all times.

It is very important to note that some 2,500 years ago at the least Pythagoras went from Samos to the Ganges to learn geometry...But he would certainly not have undertaken such a strange journey had the reputation of the Brahmins' science not been long established in Europe...

May we not return to those scoundrels of old, the illustrious founders of superstition and fanaticism, who first took the knife from the altar to make victims of those who refused to be their disciples?

Life is bristling with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to cultivate one's garden.

God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.

This body which called itself and which still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.

Superstition sets the whole world in flames; philosophy quenches them.

Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror.

A false science makes atheists, a true science prostrates men before the Deity.

We all look for happiness, but without knowing where to find it: like drunkards who look for their house, knowing dimly that they have one.

The best is the enemy of the good.

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.

Men will always be mad, and those who think they can cure them are the maddest of all.

If I had had more time, this letter would have been shorter.

The first who was king was a fortunate soldier: Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors.

It is a serious question among them whether they [Africans] are descended from monkeys or whether the monkeys come from them. Our wise men have said that man was created in the image of God. Now here is a lovely image of the Divine Maker: a flat and black nose with little or hardly any intelligence. A time will doubtless come when these animals will know how to cultivate the land well, beautify their houses and gardens, and know the paths of the stars: one needs time for everything.

Life is just a notebook with blank pages. Every time we make a mistake, the pages get stained and living in it becomes impossible.

While loving glory so much how can you persist in a plan which will cause you to lose it?

The public is a ferocious beast: one must chain it up or flee from it.

Love truth, but pardon error.

Religion may be purified. This great work was begun two hundred years ago: but men can only bear light to come in upon them by degrees.

The necessity of speaking, the predicament of having nothing to say, and the desire for tact are three things that can turn the greatest man into a laughingstock.

If God has made us in his image, we have returned him the favor.

I am very fond of truth, but not at all of martyrdom.

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.