Prejudices are what fools use for reason.
VoltaireRead
The man who leaves money to charity in his will is only giving away what no longer belongs to him
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that charitable donations often come from surplus rather than true selflessness.
Voltaire's quote argues that when a person bequeaths their wealth to charity after their death, they are merely giving away something that they can no longer use or possess. It highlights a potential moral dilemma regarding the motivations behind philanthropy and raises questions about the nature of generosity, suggesting that true altruism involves giving while one is still able to impact the world.
Themes
CharityWealthAltruismGenerosityPhilanthropy
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about legacy, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of living a life of true generosity.
More from Voltaire
All quotes βHe 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
LOGOMACHY, n. A war in which the weapons are words and the wounds punctures in the swim-bladder of self-esteem - a kind of contest in which, the vanquished being unconscious of defeat, the victor is denied the reward of success.
Ambrose BierceRead
This, and this alone, is Christianity, a universal holiness in every part of life, a heavenly wisdom in all our actions, not conforming to the spirit and temper of the world but turning all worldly enjoyments into means of piety and devotion to God.
William LawRead
Society was cut in two: those who had nothing united in common envy; those who had anything united in common terror.
Alexis De TocquevilleRead
The universe is then one, infinite, immobile. ... It is not capable of comprehension and therefore is endless and limitless, and to that extent infinite and indeterminable, and consequently immobile.
Giordano BrunoRead
May I not forget that poverty and riches are of the spirit. Though the world knows me not, may my thoughts and actions be such as will keep me friendly with myself.
Max EhrmannRead
And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power to make of us not simply victims, as nature and accident do, but active accomplices.
Joyce Carol OatesRead