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 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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Read Candide at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
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 1770s

And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

Declaration of Independence

Read The Declaration of Independence at the National Archives website
More information about this quote
Topic
Declaration of Independence American Revolution
Source
Declaration of Independence
Genre
Political literature
Language
English
Time
1776 1770s 18th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

United States Declaration of Independence. 1776.

Current Citation

The National Archives. The Declaration of Independence: A Transcript. 24 July 2020, www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript.

Another quote originally in French

I bend but do not break.

Jean de la Fontaine

Read The Fables of La Fontaine at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
Topic
Resilience

Author

Jean de la Fontaine
Source
The Oak and the Reed Fables (de la Fontaine)
Medium
Fable and fairytale
Language
French
Time
1668 1660s 17th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

La Fontaine, Jean. "Le chene et le roseau [The Oak and the Reed]." Fables. Paris, 1668, bk. 1, no. 22.

Current Citation

La Fontaine, Jean. "The Oak and the Reed." The Complete Fables of Jean de La Fontaine, translated by Norman R. Shapiro. University of Illinois Press, 2007, bk. 1, no. 22.