Prejudices are what fools use for reason.
VoltaireRead
It is not known precisely where angels dwell whether in the air, the void, or the planets. It has not been God's pleasure that we should be informed of their abode.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the mystery surrounding the existence and location of angels, suggesting that such knowledge is not meant for humans.
In this quote, Voltaire highlights the enigmatic nature of angels and their dwelling place, asserting that humanity is not privy to divine secrets regarding their existence. This forms part of a larger philosophical discourse on the limitations of human knowledge and the nature of the divine, suggesting that some mysteries are intended to remain beyond our understanding.
In practice
In a discussion about the nature of spirituality, one might invoke Voltaire's observation on angels.
Prejudices are what fools use for reason.
He was a great patriot, a humanitarian, a loyal friend; provided, of course, he really is dead.
It is dangerous to be right in matters where established men are wrong.
It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it.
We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies - it is the first law of nature.
It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.
There can be no peace in the world so long as a large proportion of the population lack the necessities of life and believe that a change of the political and economic system will make them available. World peace must be based on world plenty.
If there's anything you absolutely hate, why, it must be unconstitutional. Or, if there's anything you absolutely have to have, it must be required by the Constitution. That's where we are. That is utterly mindless.
Is not anyone with any degree of mental honesty conscious of telling lies all day long, both in talking and writing, simply because lies will fall into artistic shape when truth will not?
Perhaps there is no other knowing than the mere competence of the act. If at the heart of one's being, there is no self to which one ought to be true, then sincerity is simply nerve; it lies in the unabashed vigor of the pretense. But pretense is only pretense when it is assumed that the act is not true to the agent. Find the agent.
Here between the hither and the farther shore_x000D_ _x000D_ While time is withdrawn, consider the future_x000D_ _x000D_ And the past with an equal mind.
O Reader! had you in your mind Such stores as silent thought can bring, O gentle Reader! you would find A tale in everything.
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