Voltaire/works/historical

Famous quotes containing the words voltaire, works and/or historical:

    “Jesus wept; Voltaire smiled. From that divine tear and from that human smile is derived the grace of present civilization.”
    —Victor Hugo (1802–1885)

    “When life has been well spent, age is a loss of what it can well spare,—muscular strength, organic instincts, gross bulk, and works that belong to these. But the central wisdom, which was old in infancy, is young in fourscore years, and dropping off obstructions, leaves in happy subjects the mind purified and wise.”
    —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    “Yet the companions of the Muses
    will keep their collective nose in my books
    And weary with historical data, they will turn to my dance tune.”
    —Ezra Pound (1885–1972)