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Voltaire

Quote of Voltaire - What is tolerance? It is the...


Biography - Voltaire:

François-Marie Arouet, known by his nom de plume Voltaire was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher.
Born: 1694 - Died: 1778
Period:
18th century
17th century
Place of birth: France
France

What is tolerance? It is the endowment of humanity. We are all steeped in weakness and error; let us forgive each other our stupidities, that is the first law of nature.


Note 

Note




Quote source: Philosophical Dictionary

Wikisource - Voltaire - Œuvres complètes (fr) 




Translation

Translation

(French, German)



French
Qu'est-ce que la tolérance ? C'est l'apanage de l'humanité. Nous sommes tous pétris de faiblesses et d'erreurs ; pardonnons-nous réciproquement nos sottises, c'est la première loi de la nature.

German
Was ist Toleranz? Sie ist Menschlichkeit überhaupt. Wir sind alle gemacht aus Schwächen und Fehlern; darum sei erstes Naturgesetz, dass wir uns wechselseitig unsere Dummheiten verzeihen.




See also 

See also...



I have laboured carefully, not to mock, lament, or execrate, but to understand human actions.

Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err.

Love truth, but pardon error.

The golden rule of conduct is mutual toleration, seeing that we will never all think alike and we shall always see Truth in fragment and from different points of vision.

No man is weak by choice.

Two persons cannot long be friends if they cannot forgive each other's little failings.

What man is without fault, and what king without weakness?




Quotes for: mistake


Quotes

Quotes about mistake:


Mistakes are, after all, the foundations of truth, and if a man does not know what a thing is, it is at least an increase in knowledge if he knows what it is not.





Any man can make mistakes.





I would never die for my beliefs, because I might be wrong.





Without music, life would be a mistake.





To rise from error to truth is rare and beautiful.





Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.











Quotes for: tolerance


Quotes

Quotes about tolerance:


In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher.





Give to every human being every right that you claim for yourself.





Tolerance should really only be a passing attitude: it should lead to appreciation. To tolerate is to offend.





Tolerance is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.





To tolerate is to take upon oneself; a tolerance that comes into being on the backs of others is no longer tolerance. To tolerate the suffering of others, to tolerate an injustice of which we are not a victim or an atrocity that we are spared is not tolerance but selfishness, indifference, or worse.





Travel teaches toleration.











Quotes for: forgiveness


Quotes

Quotes about forgiveness:


Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.





We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.





I also am other than what I imagine myself to be. To know this is forgiveness.





The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.





Children begin by loving their parents after a time they judge them rarely, if ever, do they forgive them.





Forgotten is forgiven.











Quotes for: weakness


Quotes

Quotes about weakness:


Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed.





The weakness of human reason appears more evidently in those who know it not, than in those who know it.





Love you will find only where you may show yourself weak without provoking strength.





Tolerance is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.





The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.





What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult.











Quotes

Quotes for: Stupidity


The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.





Falling in love is not at all the most stupid thing that people do — but gravitation cannot be held responsible for it.





There are well-dressed foolish ideas just as there are well-dressed fools.





If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid with regard to external things.





When people begin to philosophize they seem to think it necessary to make themselves artificially stupid.





The stupidity of people comes from having an answer for everything. The wisdom of the novel comes from having a question for everything.











Quotes

Voltaire also said...


I have decided to be happy because it's good for my health.





Love truth, but pardon error.





Let us read and let us dance—these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.





Without the art of living knowledge nought avails.





The best is the enemy of good.





All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.












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