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"Common sense is not so common."
Source: Philosophical Dictionary (CE.1764) |
Voltaire wrote this phrase during a time when France still believed in witchcraft and exorcism. The phrase "common sense," in its original meaning, referred to the basic wisdom that all humans should possess. However, Voltaire observed that most people abandoned this, and as soon as they entered church or court, what seemed like the "most commonplace" became the "rarest" in real life. |
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"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd."
Source: Letter to Frederick William, Prince of Prussia (November 28, 1770) |
Voltaire wrote about a young prince in an era when most kings believed their authority was divinely ordained, leaving no room for doubt or questioning. This passage is a subtle warning: a wise leader must acknowledge their own mistakes; doubt can be painful, but it is a sign of a still functioning mind. |
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"The more read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing."
Source: Letter to Marie Louise Denis (CE.1754) |
Voltaire wrote this quote at the age of 60, after a lifetime of reading and writing hundreds of books. It is an echo of Socrates' statement, "I know that I know nothing." This humility is not a lack of confidence, but a symbol of true wisdom. The wiser a person is, the more they see that the universe of knowledge is far too vast for any single human being to encompass. |
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5. |
"It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong."
Source: The Age of Louis XIV (1751) |
This sentence represents a lesson Voltaire learned from his own life. He was imprisoned, exiled, and censored because his righteousness conflicted with the wrongdoings of those in power. Galileo experienced something similar; he was tried for stating that the Earth revolves around the sun, even though that was true. |
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"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."
Source: Questions sur les miracles (1765) |
Voltaire wrote this sentence three years after the successful trial of Jean Calas. The entire city of Toulouse believed that Calas had killed his own child because the child was going to convert to another religion. This irrational belief fueled the mob's pressure on the court, leading to the torture and execution of the innocent man. Voltaire saw that the largest brainwashing in history began with making people believe something that could not be verified. |
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8. |
"The truths of religion are never so well understood as by those who have lost the power of reasoning."
Source: Philosophical Dictionary (1764) |
Voltaire was not irreligious; he was a deist (a theist, meaning someone who believes in the existence of a supreme God or creator, relying more on reason and observation of nature than on scriptures or religious ceremonies. His core belief is that God created the universe but no longer interferes with or meddles in the world). He believed in a creator, but he felt that what is called "strong faith" often switches off critical thinking. |
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