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

If this is the best of possible worlds, what then are the others?

Voltaire

Candide

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More information about this quote
Topic
Problem of evil

Author

Voltaire
Source
Candide
Medium
Novel
Genre
Satire
Statement Type
Question
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. 6.

Current Citation

Voltaire. Candide, edited by Nicholas Cronk. W. W. Norton & Company, 2016, ch. 6.

Another quote from the 1770s

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.

Samuel Johnson

Quoted in The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D, by James Boswell

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More information about this quote
Topic
Abuses of patriotism Patriotism
Speaker
Samuel Johnson

Author

James Boswell
Source
The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D
Genre
Biography
Language
English
Time
1778 1770s 18th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Johnson, Samuel. Quoted in journal entry, written by James Boswell. 7 Apr. 1778.

Current Citation

Johnson, Samuel. Quoted in The Life of Samuel Johnson, written by James Boswell, edited by David Womersley. Penguin Classics, 2008.

Another quote originally in French

I am condemned to be free.

Jean-Paul Sartre

Being and Nothingness

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More information about this quote
Topic
Downsides of freedom Freedom

Author

Jean-Paul Sartre
Source
Being and Nothingness
Medium
Essay
Genre
Philosophical literature
Statement Type
Paradox
Language
French
Time
1943 1940s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Sartre, Jean Paul. Le etre et le neant: Essai d'ontologie phenomenologique [Being and Nothingness: An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology]. Librairie Gallimard, 1943, pt. 4, ch. 1.

Current Citation

Sartre, Jean Paul. Being and Nothingness, translated by Sarah Richmond. Washington Square Press, 2021, pt. 4, ch. 1.