Popular quotes: The meaning an history behind "Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers."
"Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers" - Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (1694–1778), better known by his pen name Voltaire,
embodied the French Enlightenment. He was known for his wit, philosophical
outlook, and defense of civil liberties, including freedom of religion.
After being imprisoned in the Bastille from 1917-1918 for lampooning the
Duc d'Orléans, he adopted the name
Voltaire which is an anagram of Arovet Li, the Latinized spelling of his last
name. The name also echoes the syllables of a familial chateau, Airvault.
It is also possible that the name was intended to connote speed and daring -
volt being a French fencing term meaning to make a sudden dexterous movement to
avoid a thrust, from which comes words such as volte-face.
More quotes by Voltaire
All murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound
of trumpets.
Anything that is too stupid to be spoken is sung.
Behind every successful man stands a surprised mother-in-law.
Common sense is not so common.
God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of
living well.
He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked.
I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your
right to say it.
I know many books which have bored their readers, but I know of none which has
done real evil.
If God created us in his own image, we have more than reciprocated.
If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him.
In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible
from one class of citizens to give to another.
It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.
It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are
wrong.
One merit of poetry few persons will deny: it says more and in fewer words than
prose.
Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy the mad daughter of a
wise mother. These daughters have too long dominated the earth.
The multitude of books is making us ignorant.
The secret of being a bore... is to tell everything.
When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion.
Fearless, gripping, at once darkly funny and tender, spanning three continents and numerous lives, Americanah is a richly told story set in today's globalized world.
The story of an American family, middle class in middle America, ordinary in every way but one. But that exception is the beating heart of this extraordinary novel.
The most mature work yet from an incomparable storyteller, TransAtlantic is a profound meditation on identity and history in a wide world that grows somehow smaller and more wondrous with...
First time novelist Vaddey Ratner captured my heart and senses in this novel based on her childhood in Cambodia. Her story transcends any news story...
read more
From the first page, I was drawn in by the lyrical writing of the author and mesmerized as the narrator, eight year old Raami, remembered the years...
read more
Trite but true, all good things must come to an end. I so wanted to keep reading the wonderful prose, the settings that let one think they are part...
read more
Kenn Nesbitt is new Children's Poet Laureate(Jun 12 2013) Kenn Nesbitt has been named the new Children's Poet Laureate: Consultant in Children's Poetry to the Poetry Foundation, which noted that the two-year position...
Full Story
