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  • Atheist, agnostic, deist and skeptic writers. Verses Across shows each tradition in its own words. This section holds the classic public-domain writing of those who questioned or rejected religion.

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Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary 21Laws

18

Freethought · Deism & Biblical criticism

Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary 21

Laws

VoltaireEnglish
EXTRACT FROM SOME NOTES FOUND AMONG A LAWYER'S PAPERS, WHICH MAYBE MERIT EXAMINATION.
Let the punishments of criminals be useful. A hanged man is good for nothing, and a man condemned to public works still serves the country, and is a living lesson.
Let all laws be clear, uniform and precise: to interpret laws is almost always to corrupt them.
Let nothing be infamous save vice.
Let taxes be always proportional.
Let the law never be contradictory to custom: for if the custom be good, the law is worthless.

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Sources & credits: Voltaire

Voltaire — Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary (Voltaire) (1764). Public Domain. Voltaire, Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary; public domain in the US; text from Project Gutenberg #18569. Source

Freethought · Deism & Biblical criticism

Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary 22

VoltaireEnglish