Voltaire (November 21, 1694-May 30, 1778) whose given name was Francois Marie Arouet, was a French author. In a letter to M. Damilaville, May 16, 1767, Voltaire wrote:
<I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: "O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous." And God granted it.> 1694VL001
Voltaire expressed:
<Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do.> 1694VL002
In 1736, Voltaire wrote a satirical play Mahomet, describing it to Pope Benedict XIV, August 17, 1745, as:
<...written in opposition to the founder of a false and barbarous sect to whom could I with more propriety inscribe a satire on the cruelty and errors of a false prophet.> 1694VL003
In 1565, Muslim Ottoman Turks were the greatest naval power in the Mediterranean Sea. They attacked the Island of Malta which was blocking their conquest of Europe. The Knights of Malta courageously withstood a full-blown siege by the Turks. Voltaire stated:
<Nothing is more well known than the siege of Malta.> 1694VL004
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1694VL001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Voltaire, Francois Marie Arouet, May 16, 1767, in a letter to M. Damilaville. John Bartlett, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1855, 1980), p. 343.
1694VL002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Voltaire, Francois Marie Arouet. Carroll E. Simcox, 3000 Quotations on Christian Themes (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House 1989), p. 85.
1694VL003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Voltaire, August 17, 1745, in a letter to Pope Benedict XIV regarding his satirical play "Mahomet," 1736.
1694VL004. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Voltaire. Fernand Braudel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, vol. II ( University of California Press: Berkeley, 1995).