When the masses get involved in reasoning, everything is lost.

Quand la populace se mele de raisonner, tout est perdu.

Voltaire

More information about this quote

Topic

The masses Democracy Political theory

Author

Voltaire

Medium

Letter

Language

French

Time

1766 1760s 18th century

Occupation

Philosopher Writer

From

France Europe

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Voltaire. Letter to Etienne Noel Damilaville. 1 Apr. 1766.

Illustrated Quote

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A quote by Voltaire about the masses: “When the masses get involved in reasoning, everything is lost.”
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A quote by Voltaire about the masses: “When the masses get involved in reasoning, everything is lost.”
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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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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 1760s

Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

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More information about this quote
Topic
Freedom Liberation The human condition

Author

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Source
The Social Contract
Genre
Political literature Philosophical literature
Statement Type
Metaphor, analogy and simile
Language
French
Time
1762 1760s 18th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Du contrat social ou Principes du droit politique [On the Social Contract or Principles of Political Law]. Amsterdam: Marc Michel Rey, 1762, bk. 1, ch. 1.

Current Citation

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. "Of the Social Contract." Of the Social Contract and Other Political Writings, translated by Quintin Hoare. Penguin Classics, 2012, bk. 1, ch. 1.

Another quote about Political theory

A little rebellion now and then is a good thing.

Thomas Jefferson

More information about this quote
Topic
Rebellion Revolution Political theory Politics

Author

Thomas Jefferson
Source
Letters of Thomas Jefferson
Medium
Letter
Language
English
Time
1787 1780s 18th century
Era
American Revolutionary Period
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Jefferson, Thomas. Letter to James Madison. 30 Jan. 1787.

Current Citation

Jefferson, Thomas. "James Madison, Jan. 30, 1787." The Life and Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson, edited by Adrienne Koch and William Peden. Modern Library, 1998.

Another quote originally in French

They have all a lively faith in the perfectibility of man, they judge that the diffusion of knowledge must necessarily be advantageous, and the consequences of ignorance fatal; they all consider society as a body in a state of improvement, humanity as a changing scene, in which nothing is, or ought to be, permanent; and they admit that what appears to them today to be good, may be superseded by something better tomorrow.

Alexis de Tocqueville

Democracy in America

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More information about this quote
Topic
American character Americans

Author

Alexis de Tocqueville
Source
Democracy in America
Genre
Political literature
Language
French
Time
1835 1830s 19th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Tocqueville, Alexis De. De La Democratie en Amerique [Democracy in America]. Vol. 1, London: Saunders and Otley, 1835, ch. 18, pt. 6.

Current Citation

Tocqueville, Alexis De. Democracy in America: The Complete and Unabridged Volumes I and II, translated by Henry Reeve. Bantam Classics, 2000, vol. 1, ch. 18, pt. 6.