400 Quotations from the Great Philosophers of the 17th Century

‘400 Quotations from the Great Philosophers of the 17th Century’ features the unparalleled wit and wisdom of some of the 17th century’s greatest philosophers, including Voltaire and Montesquieu. These great minds are responsible for some of the most famous quotes in the world, and their influence continues to this day. Guaranteed to educate and entertain, ‘400 Quotations from the Great Philosophers of the 17th Century’ is a hand-picked collection ideal for those needing a bit of extra philosophical guidance. Charles-Louis de Secondat Montesquieu (1689-1755) was a French historian and political philosopher, famous for his work ‘The Spirit of Law’ which influenced the drafting of the U.S. Constitution. Voltaire (1694-1778) was a French enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his novella ‘Candide’. He famously criticised Christianity and slavery and advocated for freedom of speech and the separation of church and state. Baruch Spinoza (1635-1677) was a leading philosophical figure of the Dutch Golden Age and wrote the influential ‘Ethics’. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was a French mathematician, philosopher, and writer. His two most famous works are ‘The Lettres Provinciales’ and ‘The Pensées’.

Blaise Pascal; (19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, writer and Catholic theologian. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. Pascal's earliest mathematical work was on conic sections; he wrote a significant treatise on the subject of projective geometry at the age of 16. He later corresponded with Pierre de Fermat on probability theory, strongly influencing the development of modern economics and social science. In 1642, while still a teenager, he started some pioneering work on calculating machines (called Pascal's calculators and later Pascalines), establishing him as one of the first two inventors of the mechanical calculator. He also worked in the natural and applied sciences, where he made important contributions to the study of fluids, and clarified the concepts of pressure and vacuum by generalising the work of Evangelista Torricelli. Following Galileo Galilei and Torricelli, in 1647, he rebutted Aristotle's followers who insisted that nature abhors a vacuum. Pascal's results caused many disputes before being accepted. Pascal also wrote in defence of the scientific method.

RANÇOIS-MARIE AROUET, DIT VOLTAIRE (1694 – 1778) Philosophe et écrivain des Lumières ayant participé à l’Encyclopédie, Voltaire met en scène ses idées dans des contes, des nouvelles et des pamphlets. Sa prose spirituelle fait de lui un polémiste de génie. Candide (n° 31), Zadig ou la Destinée (n° 77), L’Ingénu (n° 180) et La Princesse de Babylone (n° 356) sont disponibles chez Librio.