Voltaire (1694-1778)

AKA: François-Marie Arouet.
- …
Counter-Example(s):
- Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536).
See: Age of Enlightenment, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Expression, Separation of Church And State, Satire.

References

(Wikipedia, 2015) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/voltaire Retrieved:2015-12-21.
- François-Marie Arouet (21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778), known by his nom de plume Voltaire (^[1] ), was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and separation of church and state. Voltaire was a versatile writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, and historical and scientific works. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and more than 2,000 books and pamphlets. He was an outspoken advocate of several liberties, despite the risk this placed him in under the strict censorship laws of the time. As a satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma, and the French institutions of his day.

"Commentaires sur Corneille," Oeuvres complètes de Voltaire (1827).
- QUOTE: ... On parle toujours mal quand on n'a rien à dire. ... " => "One always speaks badly when one has nothing to say."

Brutus, act II, scene I (1730).
- QUOTE: "... L'homme est libre au moment qu'il veut l'être. ... "
  => "Man is free at the instant he wants to be."