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

I die adoring God, loving my friends, not hating my enemies, and detesting superstition.

Voltaire

More information about this quote
Topic
Approaching death

Author

Voltaire
Language
French
Time
1778 1770s 18th century
Authentication Score 1
Citation

Voltaire. Note to his secretary, Jean-Louis Wagniere. 28 Feb. 1778.

Another quote from the 1760s

The king, moreover, is not only incapable of doing wrong, but even of thinking wrong: he can never mean to do an improper thing: in him is no folly or weakness.

William Blackstone

Commentaries on the Laws of England

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Read Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book I at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
Topic
Monarchy Legal theory

Author

William Blackstone
Source
Commentaries on the Laws of England
Medium
Treatise
Genre
Legal writing
Language
English
Time
1765 1760s 18th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Law of England: Book the First. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1765, ch. 7.

Current Citation

Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Laws of England: Book I Of the Rights of Persons, edited by David Lemmings. Oxford University Press, 2016, ch. 7.

Another quote about God

God is, or He is not. But to which side shall we incline? Reason can decide nothing here. There is an infinite chaos which separates us. A game is being played at the extremity of this infinite distance where heads or tails will turn up. What will you wager?... If you win, you win everything; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.

Blaise Pascal

Pensées

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More information about this quote
Topic
Existence of God God Probability

Author

Blaise Pascal
Source
Pensées
Medium
Epigram
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
French
Time
1662 1660s 17th century
Era
Age of Enlightenment
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Pascal, Blaise. Pensées [Thoughts]. Paris: Chez G. Desprez, 1670, no. 229.

Current Citation

Pascal, Blaise. "Pensées." Pensées and Other Writings, edited by Anthony Levi, translated by Honor Levi. Oxford University Press, 2008, no. 229.

Another quote originally in French

An invasion of armies can be resisted; an invasion of ideas cannot be resisted.

Victor Hugo

Read History of a Crime at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
Topic
Power of ideas

Author

Victor Hugo
Source
The History of a Crime
Language
French
Time
1878 1870s 19th century
Authentication Score 2
Citation

Hugo, Victor. Histoire d'un crime [The History of a Crime]. Paris: Calmann-Levy, c. 1878, conclusion, ch. 10.