Doubt is not a pleasant condition. But certainty is an absurd one.

Le doute n'est pas un etat bien agreable, mais l'assurance est un etat ridicule.

Voltaire

More information about this quote

Topic

Doubt vs. certainty Doubt and skepticism Certainty

Author

Voltaire

Medium

Letter

Language

French

Time

1770 1770s 18th century

Occupation

Philosopher Writer

From

France Europe

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Voltaire. Letter to Frederick William. 28 Nov. 1770.

Illustrated Quote

A quote by Voltaire about doubt vs. certainty: “Doubt is not a pleasant condition. But certainty is an absurd one.”
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A quote by Voltaire about doubt vs. certainty: “Doubt is not a pleasant condition. But certainty is an absurd one.”
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A quote by Voltaire about doubt vs. certainty: “Doubt is not a pleasant condition. But certainty is an absurd one.”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote by Voltaire

I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: "Oh Lord, make my enemies ridiculous." And God granted it.

Voltaire

More information about this quote
Topic
Enemies

Author

Voltaire
Medium
Letter
Language
French
Time
1767 1760s 18th century
Authentication Score 1
Citation

Voltaire. Letter to Etienne Noel Damilaville. 16 May 1767.

Another quote from the 1770s

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Declaration of Independence

Read The Declaration of Independence at the National Archives website
More information about this quote
Topic
Equality Natural law Human rights Freedom
Source
Declaration of Independence
Genre
Political literature
Language
English
Time
1776 1770s 18th century
Era
American Revolutionary Period
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

United States Declaration of Independence. 1776, preamble.

Current Citation

The National Archives. The Declaration of Independence: A Transcript. 24 July 2020, www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript.

Another quote originally in French

The first man who, having fenced in a piece of land, said, "This is mine," and found people naïve enough to believe him, that man was the true founder of civil society.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Discourse on Inequality

Buy A Discourse on Inequality at Amazon Buy A Discourse on Inequality at Amazon
Read A Discourse on Inequality at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
Topic
Civil society Property rights

Author

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Source
Discourse on Inequality
Genre
Political literature
Language
French
Time
1755 1750s 18th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Discours sur l'origine et les fondemonts de l'inegalite parmi les hommes [Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men]. Amsterdam: Marc-Michel Rey, 1755, pt. 2.

Current Citation

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, translated by Donald A. Cress. Hackett, 1992, pt. 2.