How has Voltaire inspired me?

While i may not agree with everything Voltaire advocates i am inspired greatly by some of his writing. This includes many of his quotes such as:

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

"Better is the enemy of good."

"Do well and you will have no need for ancestors."

"Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game."

"All murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets."

"Every one goes astray, but the least imprudent are they who repent the soonest."

"God is not on the side of the big battalions, but on the side of those who shoot best."

"Governments need to have both shepherds and butchers."

"He is a hard man who is only just, and a sad one who is only wise. "

"He shines in the second rank, who is eclipsed in the first. "

-Voltaire in various writings.

All of these are allusions and also apply to life today, as they shall apply forever.

My favorite work by Voltaire is Candide, from which many of the preceding quotes were taken.