Fools have a habit of believing that everything written by a famous author is admirable. For my part I read only to please myself and like only what suits my taste.
VoltaireMonsieur l'abbé, I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write.
VoltaireWhat! Have you no monks to teach, to dispute, to govern, to intrigue and to burn people who do not agree with them?
VoltaireIt requires twenty years for a man to rise from the vegetable state in which he is within his mother's womb, and from the pure animal state which is the lot of his early childhood, to the state when the maturity of reason begins to appear. It has required thirty centuries to learn a little about his structure. It would need eternity to learn something about his soul. It takes an instant to kill him.
Voltaire