Superstition sets the whole world in flames; philosophy quenches them.

La superstition met le monde entier en flammes; la philosophie les eteint.

Voltaire

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Topic

Superstition Power of philosophy Philosophy

Author

Voltaire

Source

Philosophical Dictionary

Language

French

Time

1764 1760s 18th century

Occupation

Philosopher Writer

From

France Europe

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Voltaire. "Superstition." Dictionnaire Philosophique. Vol. 8, Paris: Chez l'éditeur.

Current Citation

Voltaire. "Superstition." Philosophical Dictionary, translated by Theodore Besterman. Penguin Classics, 1984.

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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 wanted to kill myself a hundred times, but somehow I am still in love with life. This ridiculous weakness is perhaps one of our more stupid melancholy propensities, for is there anything more stupid than to be eager to go on carrying a burden which one would gladly throw away, to loathe one’s very being and yet to hold it fast, to fondle the snake that devours us until it has eaten our hearts away?

Voltaire

Candide

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Topic
Love of life

Author

Voltaire
Source
Candide
Medium
Novel
Genre
Satire
Language
French
Time
1759 1750s 18th century
Era
Age of Enlightenment
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Voltaire. Candide, ou l'Optimisme [Candide: or, All for the Best]. Geneva: Gabriel Cramer, 1759, ch. 12.

Current Citation

Voltaire. Candide, edited by Nicholas Cronk. W. W. Norton & Company, 2016, ch. 12.

Another quote from the 1760s

The body politic, like the human body, begins to die from its birth, and bears in itself the cause of its destruction.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The Social Contract

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Topic
Political community Things get worse

Author

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Source
The Social Contract
Genre
Political literature Philosophical literature
Language
French
Time
1762 1760s 18th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Du contrat social ou Principes du droit politique [On the Social Contract or Principles of Political Law]. Amsterdam: Marc Michel Rey, 1762, bk. 3, ch. 11.

Current Citation

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. "Of the Social Contract." Of the Social Contract and Other Political Writings, translated by Quintin Hoare. Penguin Classics, 2012, bk. 3, ch. 11.

Another quote originally in French

It happens as with the cages: the birds without despair to get in, and those within despair of getting out.

Michel de Montaigne

Essays

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Topic
Marriage

Author

Michel de Montaigne
Source
Upon Some Verses of Virgil Essays
Medium
Essay
Language
French
Time
1580 1580s 16th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

De Montaigne, Michel. "Sur des Vers de Virgile [Upon Some Verses of Virgil]." Essais [Essays]. Paris: Simon Millanges and Jean Richer, 1580.

Current Citation

De Montaigne, Michel. "On Some Lines of Virgil." The Complete Essays, edited and translated by M. A. Screech. Penguin Classics, 1993.