Whoe'er thou art, thy master see;
He was—or is—or is to be.
Il l'est—le fut—ou le doit être.
Original text (French)
Original text (French)
There are truths which are not for all men, nor for all times.
Satire lies about literary men while they live and eulogy lies about them when they die.
We have never intended to enlighten shoemakers and servants—this is up to apostles.
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind.
To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.
Not for the body, but for the heart; companion and company are needed.
Love seldom haunts the breast where learning lies,
And Venus sets ere Mercury can rise.
Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Voltaire (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.