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

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

Voltaire

Candide

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Read Candide at Project Gutenberg
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 1770s

It is not a field of a few acres of ground, but a cause, that we are defending, and whether we defeat the enemy in one battle, or by degrees, the consequences will be the same.

Thomas Paine

The American Crisis

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More information about this quote
Topic
American Revolution

Author

Thomas Paine
Source
The American Crisis
Genre
Political literature
Language
English
Time
1777 1770s 18th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Paine, Thomas. The American Crisis: Number 4. Philadelphia: Styner and Cist, 1777.

Current Citation

Paine, Thomas. "The American Crisis, Number IV, September 12, 1777." Common Sense, The Crisis, & Other Writings from the American Revolution. Library of America, 2015.

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.