“The
instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbours,
kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of
all.” – Voltaire
Born in France on this date in 1694, François-Marie Arouet (known as Voltaire) was one of history’s great thinkers, writers, historians and philosophers, famous for his wit and his advocacy of freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Voltaire produced some 2,000 books and pamphlets, wrote plays, poems, essays and historical and scientific works, and more than 20,000 letters. And he was an outspoken advocate of civil liberties, despite the risk it placed on him with the French monarchy.
Often credited with a quote that serves as a foundation for our 1st Amendment – “I disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.” – he said that what he really said (or wrote) was: "I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write it." Fluent in five languages, including English, he also was a voracious reader and often said it was the thoughts and ideas of others that were the basis for his own writings.
“Originality,” said Voltaire, “is nothing but
judicious imitation. The most original writers have always borrowed one from
another.”
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