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 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 1770s

When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary.

Thomas Paine

Common Sense

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Read Common Sense at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
Topic
Anti-monarchism Political theory

Author

Thomas Paine
Source
Common Sense
Medium
Pamphlet
Genre
Political literature
Language
English
Time
1776 1770s 18th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Paine, Thomas [published anonymously]. Common Sense. Philadelphia: R. Bell, sect. 4.

Current Citation

Paine, Thomas. "Common Sense." Rights of Man, Common Sense, and Other Political Writings, edited by Mark Philp. Oxford University Press, 2009, sect. 4.

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.