"If you want to know who controls you, look at who you are not allowed to criticize."
"I have been a hundred times on the point of killing myself, but still was fond of life. This ridiculous weakness is perhaps one of our worst instincts. What can be more absurd than choosing to carry a burden that one really wants to throw to the ground? To detest, and yet to strive to preserve our existence? To caress the serpent that devours us, and hug him close to our bosoms till he has gnawed into our hearts?"
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Source: Francois Voltaire (1977). “The Portable Voltaire”, p.79, Penguin
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