Voltaire

I’m a rationalist, not necessarily by choice but by nature. As a result I often find myself attracted to other rationalist writers. Recently I started reading bits and pieces of Voltaire. Voltaire was one of the great thinkers of the Enlightenment. One of the pitfalls that rationalists tend to fall into especially when they get older is they get bitter and cynical. I hope to avoid this trap by always being cognizant of that and by always pushing myself to keep learning and growing. I’d like to think that with this attitude I can avoid some (being a rationalist I acknowledge that I won’t be able to avoid them all) of the downsides associated with growing older. However I do hope that in my effort to stay upbeat I don’t find myself growing out of touch with reality like some of those that I know and admire. With that said, here are a few wonderful quotes:

All sects are different, because they come from men; morality is everywhere the same, because it comes from God.

Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.

Every man is guilty of all the good he didn’t do.