Prejudices are what fools use for reason.
VoltaireRead
Use, do not abuse; neither abstinence nor excess ever renders man happy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Moderation is key to happiness; both overindulgence and total avoidance can lead to unhappiness.
Voltaire's quote emphasizes the importance of moderation in life. He suggests that true happiness is not found in extremes—whether that be in excess or in complete denial of pleasures—but rather in a balanced approach that allows for responsible enjoyment of life's offerings.
Themes
ModerationHappinessBalanceExcessAbstinence
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about healthy lifestyle choices.
More from Voltaire
All quotes →He was a great patriot, a humanitarian, a loyal friend; provided, of course, he really is dead.
VoltaireRead
It is dangerous to be right in matters where established men are wrong.
VoltaireRead
It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it.
VoltaireRead
We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies - it is the first law of nature.
VoltaireRead
It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.
VoltaireRead
Similar quotes
...Be grateful for what you have to be thankful for instead of complaining about the little things that annoy you.
Dale CarnegieRead
Happiness is but a mere episode in the general drama of pain.
Thomas HardyRead
A way of life that keeps saying 'Around the next corner, above the next step,' works against the natural order of things and makes it so difficult to be happy and good.
Benjamin HoffRead
Peace is one of the most precious gifts God has promised His children. I know, because for many years my life was not peaceful, and I was miserable.
Joyce MeyerRead
You are the one that possesses the keys to your being. You carry the passport to your own happiness.
Diane Von FurstenbergRead
Happy. Just in my swim shorts, barefooted, wild-haired, in the red fire dark, singing, swigging wine, spitting, jumping, running—that's the way to live. All alone and free in the soft sands of the beach by the sigh of the sea out there, with the Ma-Wink fallopian virgin warm stars reflecting on the outer channel fluid belly waters. And if your cans are redhot and you can't hold them in your hands, just use good old railroad gloves, that's all.
Jack KerouacRead