If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.

Si Dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer.

Voltaire

More information about this quote

Topic

Existence of God God

Author

Voltaire

Source

Letter to the Author of The Three Imposters

Medium

Letter

Language

French

Time

1768 1760s 18th century

Occupation

Philosopher Writer

From

France Europe

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Voltaire. Épître à l'Auteur du Livre des Trois Imposteurs [Letter to the author of The Three Impostors]. 10 Nov. 1770.

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A quote by Voltaire about existence of god: “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.”
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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

All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.

Voltaire

Candide

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More information about this quote
Topic
Problem of evil Nature of the world The world
Speaker
Pangloss

Author

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

Voltaire. Candide, ou l'Optimisme [Candide: or, All for the Best]. Geneva: Gabriel Cramer, 1759, ch. 1.

Current Citation

Voltaire. Candide, edited by Nicholas Cronk. W. W. Norton & Company, 2016, ch. 1.

Another quote from the 1760s

The first step is the hardest.

Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond

More information about this quote
Topic
Getting started

Author

Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond
Language
French
Time
1763 1760s 18th century
Authentication Score 1
Citation

Madame du Deffand. Letter to Jean Le Rond d'Alembert. 7 July 1763.

Another quote about God

God is dead: but as the human race is constituted, there will perhaps be caves for millenniums yet, in which people will show his shadow.

Friedrich Nietzsche

The Gay Science

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More information about this quote
Topic
Existence of God God Decline of religion Atheism Human nature

Author

Friedrich Nietzsche
Source
The Gay Science
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
German
Time
1882 1880s 19th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Nietzsche, Friedrich. Die frohliche Wissenschaft [The Gay Science]. Chemnitz: Ernst Schmeitzner, 1882, bk. 3, no. 108.

Current Citation

Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Joyous Science, translated by R. Kevin Hill. Penguin Classics, 2019, bk. 3, no. 108.

Another quote originally in French

My diving bell becomes less oppressive, and my mind takes flight like a butterfly. There is so much to do. You can wander off in space or in time, set out for Tierra del Fuego or for King Midas's court. You can visit the woman you love, slide down beside her and stroke her still-sleeping face.

Jean-Dominique Bauby

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

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More information about this quote
Topic
Imagination Power of thought

Author

Jean-Dominique Bauby
Source
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Medium
Novel
Language
French
Time
1997 1990s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Bauby, Jean-Dominique. Le Scaphandre et le Papillon [The Diving Bell and the Butterfly]. Editions Robert Laffont, 1997, prologue.