A quote from Voltaire came up in a thread today. Voltaire was redpilled as hell. I just wanna share some quotes; they're generally relevant to the broader goals of this sub, but it's certainly off-topic from the normal fare here. Hopefully you may find some of these inspiring, insightful, or at least conducive to a discussion.

The one that came up earlier is:

To find out who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.

but I can't find a source for this, I've never read it in any of his work, and a lot of people are saying it was misattributed to him, so this one is questionable. Still, the guy had some good stuff to say.

In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.

The institution of religion exists only to keep mankind in order, and to make men merit the goodness of God by their virtue. Everything in a religion which does not tend towards this goal must be considered foreign or dangerous.

Prejudice is an opinion without judgment.

It is sad that often, to be a good patriot, one must be the enemy of the rest of mankind.

Common sense is quite rare.

Ancient histories... are but fables that have been agreed upon.

If you want good laws, burn those you have and make new ones.

Man ought to be content, it is said; but with what?

I die adoring God, loving my friends, not hating my enemies, and detesting superstition.

I am very fond of truth, but not at all of martyrdom.

The best is the enemy of the good.

Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.

It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.

There are truths which are not for all men, nor for all times.

It is dangerous to be right in matters where established men are wrong.

We all look for happiness, but without knowing where to find it: like drunkards who look for their house, knowing dimly that they have one.

It is one of the superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that virginity could be a virtue.

The secret of being a bore is to tell everything.

Neither abstinence nor excess ever renders man happy.

Man is free at the instant he wants to be.

Virtue debases in justifying itself.

and my personal favorite:

It is not enough to conquer; one must learn to seduce.